Help with Downloads and payment options ...

[aperfecthost]

I have a customer that sells Bible class books. Options are physical books, CD or download.
She accepts two payment methods, paypal and checks by mail. She is a trusting person who would rather let the person have the book and not get paid than to deny them the book, especially if they are a repeat customer. In other words, she wants customers to be able to download books immediately even if they are mailing a check. This has been her practice since she started offering downloads, but it wasn't all automated before now.

Please help me figure out how to make that work. (If I've missed the obvious and it's an easy thing to do, please don't make fun... been a hard few months!)

[mc12345678]

I have a customer that sells Bible class books. Options are physical books, CD or download.
She accepts two payment methods, paypal and checks by mail. She is a trusting person who would rather let the person have the book and not get paid than to deny them the book, especially if they are a repeat customer. In other words, she wants customers to be able to download books immediately even if they are mailing a check. This has been her practice since she started offering downloads, but it wasn't all automated before now.

Please help me figure out how to make that work. (If I've missed the obvious and it's an easy thing to do, please don't make fun... been a hard few months!)

There are two ways to approach this without changing the computer code that I can think of off the bat...

If I may offer a little description: a successful purchase (where funds are collected) typically default to a payment status of 2 (typically called processing), if a problem occurs or the money is not yet in hand, the status is typically set to 1 (don't recall the statement) paying via cash/mailed check goes to this status as well as PayPal with authorization and/or some error codes. The setting(s) for the status of a payment after using the module are in the modules' setup. Admin panel->modules->shipping, select module then edit it.

Downloads are typically set to be allowed as long as the status of the purchase is >=2 and <=4. So in the typical condition of pay by mail, status of 1 after payment, can receive payment and update status to status level 2, download available.

So either the pay by mail option is updated to be a status level 2 after payment (all such payments will be recorded with whatever text is defined for that level) which will allow download automatically, or the other option is to downgrade the status value that is needed to initiate the download... (Admin->configuration->attributes, there is:
Downloads Controller Order Status Value >= lower value and##
Downloads Controller Order Status Value <= upper value
)
Could change the lower value to 1, which would basically allow download regardless of a successful receipt of funds, but would allow download for a purchase of the product like described...

I'm somewhat leaning towards the change of the download requirements instead of the payment status, personally, but those two are minimalist mods to allow a trusted individual to download while the store is awaiting payment.