WP FileTrace currently requires:

• WordPress 6.4 or newer
• PHP 8.0 or newer

Download the latest WP FileTrace release from GitHub.

In WordPress:

1. Go to Plugins ? Add New Plugin.
2. Select Upload Plugin.
3. Upload the WP FileTrace ZIP file.
4. Click Install Now.
5. Activate WP FileTrace.

After activation, a new WP FileTrace item will appear in the WordPress admin menu.

WP FileTrace also includes its own GitHub-based update system. Once installed, newer releases can appear through the normal WordPress plugin update interface.

Open WP FileTrace in the WordPress admin.

The Tracked Files tab contains the Build a tracked download tool.

There are two ways to choose the file you want to track.

Option 1: Select a WordPress Media Library file

Click Select from Media Library and choose an existing file.

This is the preferred method for files already hosted by WordPress.

Option 2: Enter a direct file URL

Enter the complete URL into the Direct File URL field.

For example:

https://example.com/files/annual-report.pdf

This can be used for files that are not stored in the WordPress Media Library.

Give the tracker a name

Use Internal Title to give the tracked file a recognizable name, such as:

2026 Annual Report

This makes the file easier to identify later in the WP FileTrace reporting table.

Set the button text

The Button Text field controls the text used when WP FileTrace generates a shortcode button.

For example:

Download Annual Report

Click Generate Tracking Link when finished.

The new tracker will appear in the Tracked Files table.

For files that will appear on your website, the easiest method is the WP FileTrace shortcode.

Find the file in Tracked Files and click the Copy Shortcode button.

A shortcode will look similar to:

Paste the shortcode into a WordPress page, post, or other location that supports shortcodes.

WP FileTrace will render it as a download button.

When a visitor clicks the button, WP FileTrace records the download and then begins the file download.

Because the download originated from WordPress content, WP FileTrace also knows which page the visitor came from. After the download begins, the handoff page can provide a Back to previous page link that returns the visitor to that page.

You do not have to use a shortcode.

Each tracker also provides a regular tracked URL using the Copy Link action.

This URL can be used in places such as:

• Email campaigns
• Newsletters
• PDF documents
• Social posts
• Client communications
• External websites
• Custom buttons or page-builder elements

Downloads through this link are counted as External downloads.

If a tracked link is manually placed on a page of the same WordPress website, WP FileTrace can also capture the originating page context. This allows the download page to return the visitor to the page they were viewing.

Links opened from email or another external source do not have an originating WordPress page, so those visitors are instead shown Back to main site.

The Tracked Files table acts as the main reporting and management area for WP FileTrace.

For every tracked file, WP FileTrace displays:

Total

The total number of recorded downloads from all tracked sources.

Shortcode

Downloads made through a WP FileTrace shortcode button.

External

Downloads made through the shareable tracked URL.

Created On

The date and time the tracker was created.

Last Download

The most recent recorded download.

The table can be sorted by file name, download counts, creation date, and last download date.

For larger libraries, WP FileTrace automatically paginates the list at 20 tracked files per page.

Each tracked-file row includes management actions for copying links, editing the tracker, or deleting it.

The Edit control can be used to change information such as:

• Internal title
• Destination URL
• Associated Media Library file
• Download button text

Trackers can also be selected with the checkboxes on the left side of the table and removed with Delete Selected.

Delete All removes all tracked files.

Important

Deleting a tracker permanently removes both the tracker and its associated WP FileTrace download-event history.

Use bulk deletion carefully.

Click Export CSV from the Tracked Files tab to download the tracked-file summary as a CSV file.

This makes it easy to open the results in Excel, Google Sheets, or another reporting tool for further analysis or client reporting.

Every successfully recorded WP FileTrace download passes through a lightweight Download Page before the requested file begins downloading.

The default page is intentionally simple: it confirms that the file is being prepared, begins the download automatically, and provides a manual download option if the browser does not start it.

The manual download fallback does not create another download count. WP FileTrace uses a separate no-track retry route so retrying the same download does not duplicate the counter or analytics event.

The page also provides:

• Back to previous page when the originating WordPress page is known
• Back to main site when the download originated externally

Open the Download Page tab to customize the visitor-facing download experience.

Logo / Icon

Choose an image from the WordPress Media Library to display at the top of the built-in download page.

Site Name

The default site-name label can be hidden if you prefer to use only a logo or your own custom design.

Custom HTML

For greater control, custom HTML can replace the standard WP FileTrace content card.

Custom CSS

Custom CSS can be added to white-label the page and match the website’s existing design.

WP FileTrace provides template variables that can be inserted into custom HTML:

{{download_name}} — the WP FileTrace tracker title

{{file_name}} — the actual downloaded filename

{{download_url}} — the safe retry/download URL

{{download_source}} — shortcode or external

{{via_page_id}} — originating WordPress content ID

{{via_page_title}} — originating page/post title

{{via_page_url}} — originating page/post permalink

{{return_url}} — originating page URL when available, otherwise the main website URL

{{site_name}} — WordPress site name

{{site_url}} — website home URL

{{logo_url}} — selected download-page logo URL

The Preview Saved Page button can be used to test the design without creating a download count, triggering a file download, or firing a configured analytics event.

Analytics integration is optional.

WP FileTrace records its own download counters whether Google Analytics is configured or not.

Open the Analytics tab to connect tracked downloads with a Google Analytics / gtag implementation.

Global Site Tag

If Google Analytics is not already being loaded by the website, WP FileTrace can store and output the complete Google site tag.

If Google Analytics is already installed through a theme, Google Tag Manager, another plugin, or another integration, this field should normally be left blank.

Download Event

A custom gtag event can be executed after WP FileTrace successfully records a download.

For example:

gtag('event', 'file_download', {
    'download_name': 'placeholder'
});

WP FileTrace can dynamically populate selected event parameters with information about the actual download.

Optional mappings are available for:

• Download ID — the stable WP FileTrace tracker ID
• File Name — the actual downloaded filename
• Download Source — shortcode or external
• Via Page ID — the WordPress content ID that led to the download
• Via Page Title — the title of the originating WordPress content

[Place image here: Analytics event parameter mappings]

This makes it possible to combine WP FileTrace’s built-in reporting with more detailed download analysis inside Google Analytics.

WP FileTrace can check its public GitHub repository for new releases.

Open WP FileTrace ? Settings to view:

• Installed version
• Latest GitHub release
• Last GitHub check
• GitHub connection status

Click Check for Updates to immediately request the latest release information.

When a newer supported release is available, WP FileTrace integrates with the normal WordPress plugin update system.

WP FileTrace includes an optional Simple Download Monitor Migration utility.

This feature is currently Beta and is disabled by default.

To enable it:

1. Open WP FileTrace ? Settings.
2. Enable Simple Download Monitor Migration.
3. Save the settings.
4. Open the new Migration tab.

Before changing anything, use Scan Site / Dry Run.

The dry run searches the site’s normal WordPress content for supported Simple Download Monitor shortcodes and shows what WP FileTrace proposes to change.

Items that can be safely converted are marked Ready.

More complicated cases—including unsupported shortcode behavior, protected downloads, unpublished items, and some page-builder or post-meta references—are flagged for review rather than being changed automatically.

When the results have been reviewed, Apply Safe Replacements converts only the entries WP FileTrace has determined can be safely migrated.

WP FileTrace also stores rollback copies of affected WordPress content. These can be restored using Roll Back Content Changes while the migration is being verified.

Once everything has been checked, Discard Rollback Backup removes those temporary backups.

Migration note

The current migration utility does not import historical Simple Download Monitor download counts.

We recommend performing migrations on a backed-up or staging copy of a website first.

WP FileTrace stores tracker information and anonymous download-event records in dedicated WordPress database tables.

The current tracking implementation does not intentionally store visitor IP addresses or other personally identifying visitor information.

Analytics configuration, download-page settings, and other plugin options are stored through the normal WordPress options system.

Deleting WP FileTrace through the WordPress Plugins screen removes the plugin’s tracker/event tables and associated configuration data.

WP FileTrace provides hooks for extending the tracking workflow.

After a tracked request is successfully recorded, WP FileTrace fires:

do_action( 'wft_download_tracked', $download_id, $file_url, $source, $tracker );

Analytics handoff data can also be modified using the wft_analytics_event_context filter.

This provides a foundation for connecting WP FileTrace to custom reporting systems or other analytics platforms beyond the built-in Google Analytics / gtag options.

WP FileTrace is designed to answer a simple question that normal WordPress file links cannot:

Are people actually downloading the files we’re publishing?

It provides a lightweight way to create tracked downloads while keeping the files themselves in the WordPress Media Library or at their existing external locations.

Current capabilities include:

• Media Library and external-file tracking
• WordPress download-button shortcodes
• Shareable tracked URLs
• Separate shortcode and external download counts
• Download timestamps
• CSV reporting
• Optional Google Analytics / gtag events
• Originating page analytics
• Customizable download handoff pages
• Contextual return links
• GitHub-based plugin updates
• Simple Download Monitor migration tools
• Developer hooks for custom integrations

WP FileTrace is developed by Asenka Interactive and released under the GPL-3.0 license.