Moving from WordPress Download Manager
Move your document collection from WPDM to FileDeck.
Import supported packages, categories, files and download totals, then review your new library before launch.
One click, on your own site
Switch in three steps
Install FileDeck alongside
Add FileDeck Pro to the same site, with WordPress Download Manager still active. Installing it doesn’t change your existing download pages.
Click Import
Go to Documents → Import & Export → Migrate. FileDeck shows a WordPress Download Manager card with the number of packages 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 and package checks below, swap in the FileDeck block or shortcode, and deactivate WordPress Download Manager once the new library is ready.
What comes across
What the importer reads from WordPress Download Manager, and what it becomes in FileDeck — with nothing sent off your server.
Packages & files
Every package becomes a FileDeck document with its title and description. A package with several files brings each further file in as a document of its own, named after the package and the file. Files in the plugin’s protected upload folder are copied into the Media Library so FileDeck can serve them, and the originals stay where they are; other files are linked where they sit.
Categories & tags
Your package categories — including sub-categories — are rebuilt with the same nesting, and your tags come too.
Download totals
Each package’s total count becomes the document’s starting count, so the number doesn’t reset to zero.
Restricted packages
Packages limited to roles or protected by a password become documents restricted to logged-in users. That is a broader audience, so recreate the exact rule before you publish.
Check before you switch
Review private-file permissions before publishing. The importer converts a package’s password or role restriction into logged-in-only access. That is not the same audience. A WordPress password on the package itself (Password protected visibility) comes across as the same password; any other restriction on a package 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.
- Packages with several files. FileDeck documents hold one file each, so the package’s document keeps its first file and each further file becomes a document named after the package and the file. Check the titles read well in your library.
- Orders and entitlements. Orders, purchase records and anything customers bought through WordPress Download Manager are not imported. FileDeck Pro can gate documents by supported membership plans, but it doesn’t run its own checkout, so plan any paid downloads separately.
- Drafts and protected files. Packages that aren’t published in WordPress Download Manager come in as drafts. A restricted package whose file is on this site gets its own copy in FileDeck’s protected vault; WordPress Download Manager’s original stays where it was, so its links keep working while you run both plugins. Access you add in FileDeck after the import moves that document’s file into the vault, so the plugin’s link to it stops working from then on.
- Historic links and old copies. Once you deactivate the plugin, FileDeck answers its package pages, category pages, download links and main shortcodes, so links in pages, menus and emails keep working: see what happens to your old links. Files copied out of the plugin’s upload folder, and the originals of restricted packages, stay in place. Once you’ve switched, delete the ones that no page or other document still uses, because until then they’re only as private as the plugin kept them.
Why teams move to FileDeck
A searchable library
Four layouts — table, grid, gallery and folders — with instant search, category and tag filters and sortable columns in the free plugin. Pro can also search the contents of supported files stored on your site.
The right audience
Restrict documents by role or person, create client areas, accept moderated submissions and apply quotas or expiry rules with Pro.
The next revision
Pro’s versions, editing locks, approval gate and review dates connect publication to ongoing maintenance.
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 WordPress Download Manager library directly from your own site, so there’s no file to export and no columns to map. Keep the plugin active while you import. See the full walkthrough.
Will my download counts and files be preserved?
Each package’s download count carries over as the starting count on its FileDeck document. Files already in your Media Library are linked as the same attachment, unless the package is restricted, in which case FileDeck protects its own copy. Files kept in WordPress Download Manager’s own upload folder are copied into the Media Library, with the originals left where they are.
What about password-protected or role-restricted packages?
They come across as documents restricted to logged-in users. That is a broader audience than a password or a specific role, so recreate the precise rule with FileDeck’s access control before you publish, and test it with an authorised and an unauthorised account.
My packages have several files. What happens?
The other files come across too. FileDeck documents hold one file each, so the package’s document keeps its first file and each further file becomes a document of its own, named after the package and the file, with the same categories, tags and access. Imported before this? Run the import again to add the files it left behind.
I sell downloads. Can FileDeck take over the checkout?
FileDeck doesn’t run its own checkout. FileDeck Pro can gate documents by supported membership plans, including MemberPress, Paid Memberships Pro and WooCommerce Memberships: the membership platform handles billing, and FileDeck handles access to the library.
Is it safe to run more than once?
Yes. FileDeck records which package each document came from, so re-running skips packages it has already imported. If an import is interrupted, start it again and it continues with the rest. The import doesn’t edit your packages, but restricted packages’ 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.
WordPress Download Manager 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.