Description
Makuruwan Manual Beacon helps WordPress site owners publish and manage searchable product manuals, guides, specifications, spreadsheets, text files, and ZIP resources.
Create documents in the WordPress dashboard, assign Brands and Categories, attach files from the Media Library, and publish the library anywhere with:
[makuruwanmanualbeacon]
The public library includes search, filters, sorting, pagination, responsive document cards, dedicated document landing pages, related documents, and tracked downloads.
Main features
- Searchable document library shortcode.
- Brand and Category taxonomies.
- PDF, DOC, DOCX, XLS, XLSX, TXT, and ZIP support, configurable in Settings.
- Single-document upload and batch upload workflows.
- Dedicated public document landing pages.
- Dynamic AJAX filtering with a no-JavaScript fallback.
- Pagination and bounded public search queries.
- Related document recommendations.
- Optional aggregate download counting.
- SEO titles, descriptions, canonical URLs, Open Graph, Twitter metadata, and schema markup.
- Native sitemap support and compatibility behavior for Yoast SEO and Rank Math.
- Configurable document URL base, colors, cards, file-size display, descriptions, and related documents.
- Optional title-based uploaded filename cleanup.
- CSV import and export with duplicate handling.
- Manual Beacon Manager and Manual Beacon Editor roles.
- Accessibility features for keyboard users, screen readers, reduced motion, and high-contrast modes.
- WordPress Site Health and compatibility diagnostics.
- Data-preserving uninstall by default.
Privacy
Manual Beacon does not create visitor accounts, cookies, IP-address logs, or per-user download histories. When download tracking is enabled, the plugin stores an aggregate integer download count on each document.
CSV remote import only makes a network request when an authorized administrator or Manual Beacon Manager explicitly imports a document from a supplied public HTTP or HTTPS URL.
Installation
- Upload the
makuruwan-manual-beaconfolder to/wp-content/plugins/, or install the plugin ZIP through Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin. - Activate Makuruwan Manual Beacon.
- Open Manual Beacon > Settings and review the defaults.
- Add documents individually or use Manual Beacon > Batch Upload / Import & Export.
- Create or edit a page and add
[makuruwanmanualbeacon]. - Publish the page.
FAQ
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Which shortcode displays the library?
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Use
[makuruwanmanualbeacon]. -
Which file types are supported?
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PDF, DOC, DOCX, XLS, XLSX, TXT, and ZIP are supported by default. An administrator or Manual Beacon Manager can enable or disable types in Manual Beacon > Settings.
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Does the plugin delete uploaded files when it is uninstalled?
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No. Media Library attachments and physical uploaded files are deliberately preserved. Plugin data is also preserved by default unless the administrator explicitly enables destructive uninstall first.
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Does download tracking identify visitors?
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No. The built-in tracker stores only an aggregate count per document and does not store visitor IP addresses, cookies, or individual download history.
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Can I change the document URL base?
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Yes. Change it in Manual Beacon > Settings. The plugin refreshes its rewrite rules when the base changes.
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Can staff manage documents without becoming WordPress Administrators?
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Yes. The plugin creates Manual Beacon Manager and Manual Beacon Editor roles with different capability levels.
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Does it work with SEO plugins?
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Manual Beacon includes compatibility behavior for Yoast SEO and Rank Math and avoids duplicate metadata where those plugins take control.
Reviews
There are no reviews for this plugin.
Contributors & Developers
“Makuruwan Manual Beacon” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.
Contributors
Translate “Makuruwan Manual Beacon” into your language.
Interested in development?
Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.
Changelog
1.0.2
- Fixed custom primary and secondary colours so they are honored on the public manuals library and individual manual pages, including when theme colour mode is enabled.
- Theme colour mode now keeps theme surfaces and typography while using configured Manual Beacon colours for accents, buttons, icons and highlights.
- Removed the “Makuruwan Manual Beacon” eyebrow above “Product Manuals & Downloads” on the manuals library.
1.0.1
- Added a searchable and filterable default
/manuals/archive. - Added search, Brand, Category, and sorting controls to the main manuals archive.
- Public Manual Beacon interfaces now inherit the active theme/site colour scheme by default.
- Added an optional setting to use custom Manual Beacon colours instead.
- Shortcode
primary_colorandsecondary_colorattributes continue to override theme colours for that shortcode instance.
1.0.0
- Initial WordPress.org release.
- Searchable document library with Brands, Categories, downloads, SEO, CSV import/export, permissions, accessibility, and compatibility tools.