Build a downloads page with a table per category Free

The classic downloads page — a manufacturer’s resource center, a school’s document hub, a firm’s client page — is one page with a heading per section and the right documents under each heading:

• Drawings — one table per product line
• Standards — one table
• Test reports — one table

Each section is an ordinary FileDeck library scoped to a category. All documents live in one place under Documents; each table just shows its slice.

Step 1: model the sections as categories

Create one category per section under Documents → Document Categories — drawings-porcelain, standards, test-reports, and so on — and assign every document to its category. See categories and tags.

Two modeling tips from real libraries:

• Use categories for the section split and tags for the document type. A parts library that sections by product line (categories: mx-40-servo, mx-60-actuator) and tags by kind (datasheet, user-manual, cad-models) gets working section tables and a working type filter inside each.
• A document that belongs in several sections gets several categories. Assign the document to each category — do not create a combined category named "MX-40, MX-60, MX-90" to mean "all three". A combined name becomes one real (and confusing) entry in every category dropdown.

Step 2: one scoped library per section

In Elementor

For each section, add a Heading widget, then a FileDeck Library widget under it. In the widget’s Categories picker, choose that section’s category — the picker lists your real categories, no slugs to remember. Repeat per section. Layout, columns, page size and sort are per-widget, so a drawings section can be a thumbnail grid while standards stay a compact table. More on the widgets: Use FileDeck with Elementor.

In the block editor

Same pattern: a Heading block, then a Document Library block with the section’s slug in its Category slugs field (comma-separated when a section spans several categories — a category’s slug is shown on the Documents → Document Categories screen).

With shortcodes

<h2>Standards</h2>
[filedeck layout="table" category="standards" columns="title,date,size,link"]

<h2>Test reports</h2>
[filedeck layout="table" category="test-reports" columns="title,date,size,link"]

The full attribute list is in the shortcode reference.

The one-widget alternative: folders layout

If you’d rather not maintain the sections by hand, a single library in the folders layout renders every category as its own expandable section automatically — new categories appear on the page as soon as a document is filed in them:

[filedeck layout="folders"]

Hand-built sections give you full control of order, headings and per-section layout; folders give you zero upkeep. Both read the same categories, so you can switch between them at any time.

FAQ

Every section is showing all my documents.

The library widgets have no category scope set, so each renders the whole library. Open each widget and pick that section’s category in the Categories control (in shortcodes: the category attribute).

Can each section use a different layout?

Yes — layout, columns, sorting and page size are all per-library. See multiple libraries on one site.

Does each section get its own search box?

Yes, and each searches only its own slice. If you want one search across everything instead, put a single library on the page — or add the standalone search box above your sections and let it land on a full library page.