Migrate from Simple Download Monitor Pro

FileDeck Pro imports a Simple Download Monitor library directly — no CSV export, no column mapping. Go to Documents → Import & Export → Migrate, and if Simple Download Monitor’s data is present on your site FileDeck shows how many downloads it found and an Import button. One click copies your downloads 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

Not the same plugin as Download Monitor. Simple Download Monitor (by Tips and Tricks HQ) and Download Monitor are two different plugins that store their data differently. FileDeck detects each one separately — if you have both, you’ll see two cards and can import each.

What comes across

From Simple Download Monitor	Becomes in FileDeck
Download title	Document title
The download’s description field	Document description
Download categories (including sub-categories)	Document categories, with the same nesting
Download tags	Document tags
The download’s file URL	The document’s file — kept as a Media Library attachment where possible, otherwise linked by URL
Total downloads (logged downloads plus your count offset)	The document’s download count
Downloads gated by "Only Allow Logged-in Users to Download"	Documents set to logged-in users only visibility

Each download becomes one FileDeck document.

How to import

1. Keep Simple Download Monitor active for now, so FileDeck can read its files, categories and download log.
2. Go to Documents → Import & Export → Migrate.
3. On the Simple Download Monitor 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. Progress shows how many downloads have been processed.
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 Simple Download Monitor.

Is it safe to run more than once?

Yes. FileDeck records which Simple Download Monitor download 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. Your original Simple Download Monitor content is never modified.

FAQ

Will my download counts be preserved?

Yes. Simple Download Monitor works out a download’s total by counting the rows it logged for that download and adding the count offset you can set on each item. FileDeck adds up the same two numbers, so the figure you see after importing matches the figure you saw before.

Two things are worth knowing. If a download had logging switched off (Do not log downloads for this item), there are no rows to count — its total comes from the offset alone, exactly as it did in Simple Download Monitor. And if the plugin’s log table has already been removed from your database, only the offset survives; FileDeck uses it rather than importing a zero.

What about downloads that only logged-in users could get?

Simple Download Monitor gates downloads with a single site-wide setting, Only Allow Logged-in Users to Download, plus a per-item checkbox that lets an individual download ignore it.

FileDeck reads both. If the site-wide setting was on, imported documents become logged-in users only — and their files are moved into FileDeck’s protected vault so the old direct URL stops working. Any download that opted out of the global setting stays public. You can refine access further with FileDeck’s category-level access rules afterwards.

Do my files get copied or moved?

Almost never. Files already in your Media Library are linked as attachments; files stored elsewhere are linked by their URL. The one exception is Simple Download Monitor’s own protected folder (uploads/sdm-uploads), which is closed to direct web access — a file there would be unreachable if FileDeck merely linked to it, so it’s copied into your Media Library where FileDeck can serve and protect it. Your originals are left in place either way.

What happens to the file size I typed in?

Simple Download Monitor lets you type a file size for display, like "2.15 MB". FileDeck ignores that text and measures the real file instead, so the size shown is always accurate.

Is anything not imported?

Two fields have no FileDeck equivalent and are skipped: the per-item version string, and the thumbnail image URL. FileDeck generates PDF thumbnails from the file itself, so most libraries end up with thumbnails anyway.

Do I have to keep Simple Download Monitor 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.

Can I import only some downloads?

The one-click import brings the whole library across. Import as drafts if you’d rather review everything before it goes live, then publish or trash documents individually.

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Simple Download Monitor 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.