Migrate from Download Attachments Pro

FileDeck Pro imports a Download Attachments library directly — no CSV export, no column mapping. Go to Documents → Import & Export → Migrate, and if its data is present on your site FileDeck shows how many files it found and an Import button. One click copies them across as FileDeck documents. Everything runs on your own server; nothing is sent anywhere.

FileDeck Pro — this feature is included in all Pro plans. See pricing

Download Attachments works differently from most document plugins: it doesn’t create documents of its own. It takes charge of files already in your Media Library and attaches them to posts and pages. The import respects that — read the next section, because it explains what does and doesn’t get picked up.

What comes across

From Download Attachments	Becomes in FileDeck
Each file it manages	One FileDeck document
The file’s title	Document title
The file’s caption (or its description)	Document description
Download count	The document’s download count
The posts and pages the file was attached to	A category named after each of those posts

Only the files Download Attachments actually manages are imported — not your whole Media Library. The plugin marks a file the moment you first attach it, and FileDeck looks for exactly that mark. Photos, logos and every other media item it never touched are left alone.

That includes files nobody has downloaded yet: a brand-new attachment with a count of zero is still one of your downloads, and it comes across.

Where your documents end up

The only way Download Attachments organises files is by which post or page they’re attached to, so that’s what FileDeck turns into categories. A file attached to your Annual Reports page lands in an Annual Reports category; a file attached to three pages joins all three.

These categories are created as a flat list rather than mirroring your page hierarchy. A page’s nesting describes your site’s navigation, not how its downloads relate to one another, so copying it would invent structure your library never had. If you want nesting, set it up in Documents → Categories after the import — you can drag categories under one another there.

Files that weren’t attached to anything arrive uncategorised.

How to import

1. Keep Download Attachments active for now, so FileDeck can read its data.
2. Go to Documents → Import & Export → Migrate.
3. On the Download Attachments card, choose whether to Publish the imported documents or bring them in as drafts to review first, then click Import.
4. The import runs in the background — you can leave the page.
5. When it finishes, open Documents → All Documents and spot-check a few: titles, categories, files, and counts.
6. Rebuild the search index at Documents → Settings → Search Index so full-text search picks up the new documents.
7. Once you’re happy, deactivate Download Attachments.

Is it safe to run more than once?

Yes. FileDeck records which file each imported document came from, so re-running the import skips anything already imported and never creates duplicates. If an import is interrupted, just start it again — it picks up where it left off.

FAQ

Are my files copied or moved?

Neither. Each document points at the same Media Library file it always did. Nothing is duplicated on disk, and deactivating Download Attachments afterwards doesn’t touch your files.

Will my download counts be preserved?

Yes — each file’s count is carried over, so your numbers don’t reset to zero.

What about files I’d excluded from a post’s list?

Download Attachments lets you hide a file from an individual post’s list without detaching it. That’s a display setting for that post, not a permission, so it isn’t carried across — the file is still imported as a document. Once in FileDeck you control what appears where by choosing which categories each library shows.

Does anything become restricted?

No. Download Attachments has no access control of its own, so there’s nothing to carry across and every document arrives with your default visibility. If some of these files should be private, set that up afterwards with FileDeck’s access rules — restricting downloads to logged-in users is usually the quickest place to start.

Do I have to keep Download Attachments installed afterwards?

No. Keep it active during the import so FileDeck can read its data, then deactivate (or delete) it once you’ve confirmed everything came across.

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Download Attachments is a trademark of its respective owner. FileDeck is an independent product, not affiliated with or endorsed by it; the name is used only to identify the plugin whose data is being imported.