Moving from Shared Files
Bring your shared files into a library you can manage over time.
Keep supported files, categories, tags and counters, then add FileDeck’s search, private collections and review workflow.
One click, on your own site
Switch in three steps
Install FileDeck alongside
Add FileDeck Pro to the same site, with Shared Files still active. Installing it doesn’t change your existing file pages.
Click Import
Go to Documents → Import & Export → Migrate. FileDeck shows a Shared Files card with the number of files it found. Choose Publish or Import as drafts, then click Import. It runs in the background, so a large library won’t tie up your browser.
Check, then switch
Work through the permission checks below, swap in the FileDeck block or shortcode, and deactivate Shared Files once the new library is ready.
What comes across
What the importer reads from Shared Files, and what it becomes in FileDeck — with nothing sent off your server.
Files & descriptions
Every file becomes a FileDeck document with its title and description. A file from your Media Library is linked as the same attachment; a file Shared Files stores in its own folder is registered in the Media Library where it sits, or copied in if that folder is closed to direct web access.
Categories & tags
Your categories — including sub-categories — are rebuilt with the same nesting, and your tags come too, even a custom tag taxonomy.
Download counters
Each file’s counter becomes the document’s starting count, so the number doesn’t reset to zero.
Password-protected files
Password-protected files become documents restricted to logged-in users, and their files move into FileDeck’s protected vault. Logged-in-only is a different audience from a password, so review it before you publish.
Check before you switch
Review private-file permissions before publishing. The importer converts a Shared Files password into logged-in-only access. That is not the same audience. A WordPress password on the file’s own post (Password protected visibility) comes across as the same password; any other restriction on a file is not read. Import as drafts or use a private staging copy, recreate the intended access rules, and test with authorised and unauthorised accounts before switching the live page. Existing source URLs need their own check.
- Protected files and old links. A password-protected file kept on this site gets its own copy in FileDeck’s protected vault, and Shared Files’ original stays where it was, so its links keep working until launch day. Access you add in FileDeck after the import moves that document’s file into the vault, so Shared Files’ link to it stops working from then on. Once you’ve switched, delete the originals that no page or other document still uses: until then they’re only as private as Shared Files kept them.
- Drafts. Files that aren’t published in Shared Files come in as drafts.
- Keep the upload folder. Imported documents use files from Shared Files’ own folder where they sit, so keep that folder when you remove the plugin.
- Historic links. Once you deactivate Shared Files, FileDeck answers its file links (
/shared-files/…) and its[shared_files]shortcode: see what happens to your old links. Its other pages aren’t redirected, so update any that are linked from elsewhere.
Why teams move to FileDeck
Search inside your files
Pro indexes supported PDFs and Office files stored on your site, with OCR for scanned PDFs included with Pro (enable OCR in the plugin).
Access control that scales
Gate categories by role, by password or to logged-in users, with client areas for private document sets and per-document assignment to named people — set once for a whole category, not file by file.
A library that stays current
Pro keeps earlier file versions, schedules review dates with a reminder digest, and can require approval before publication.
Prefer a hand? We’ll help you move.
Free assisted migration is available. Tell us which plugin you use and roughly how many documents you have, and we’ll help scope the import and check the result with you. If you’re on an eligible paid plan with your current plugin, the time left on it can be added to your FileDeck licence — contact us to confirm how it applies to your plan. No credential handoff needed; the importer runs on your own site.
Questions about moving
Do I need to export anything first?
No. FileDeck reads your Shared Files library directly from your own site, so there’s no file to export and no columns to map. Keep Shared Files active while you import. See the full walkthrough.
Will my download counters be preserved?
Each file’s counter carries over as the starting count on its FileDeck document. Files from your Media Library are linked as the same attachment, and files Shared Files manages itself are registered in the Media Library where they sit, or copied in if that folder is closed to direct web access.
What happens to password-protected files?
They come across as documents restricted to logged-in users, each with its own copy of the file in FileDeck’s protected vault. That isn’t the same as a password prompt: if you want one, FileDeck can password-protect a single document (the editor’s Password protected visibility) or a whole category, so set a category password and move them in. Test with an authorised and an unauthorised account before you publish.
Are other Shared Files restrictions imported?
The importer reads each file’s password setting only. Set any other audience limits with FileDeck’s access control before you publish.
Is it safe to run more than once?
Yes. FileDeck records which file each document came from, so re-running skips files it has already imported. If an import is interrupted, start it again and it continues with the rest. The import doesn’t edit your Shared Files entries, but password-protected files move into FileDeck’s protected vault, so check their old links.
Make your next document library FileDeck.
Bring the supported files and metadata across, review the result, then replace your library page when it is ready. FileDeck Pro includes the source-specific importer and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Free assisted migration is available.
Try the free library first if you want to evaluate the display. Source-specific automatic import requires Pro. For private libraries, verify permissions with representative accounts before publishing.
Written by the FileDeck team. What the importer brings across was reviewed against the current FileDeck Pro importer on 26 September 2026 — read about our methods.
Shared Files is a trademark of its respective owner. FileDeck is an independent product and is not affiliated with or endorsed by it; the name is used only to identify the plugin you are migrating from.