Title: link download shortcode
Last modified: December 6, 2016
---
# link download shortcode
* Resolved [zkar](https://wordpress.org/support/users/zkar/)
* (@zkar)
* [9 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/link-download-shortcode/)
* Hello,
I have a question regarding the “link” shortcode.
* I want to use the link=download shortcode. My problem is that I want the caption/
title to be the downlaod link. But the default seems to be that the thumbnail
becomes the download link.
* Is there a way to change this? Or do I have to manually create a download link
around the caption shortcode?
* Thanks in advance!
Viewing 7 replies - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)
* Plugin Author [David Lingren](https://wordpress.org/support/users/dglingren/)
* (@dglingren)
* [9 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/link-download-shortcode/#post-8521429)
* Thanks for your question. If I understand you correctly, you are using `[mla_gallery
link=file]` and you want to make the caption a link to the file in addition to
the link provided behind the thumbnail image; is that right? If so, this earlier
topic outlines a solution you can use:
* [Attachment title as link](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/attachment-title-as-link/#post-6483725)
* For your application I suggest something like this:
* ```
[mla_gallery]
post_parent=all link=file size=thumbnail
mla_caption='{+caption+}'
[/mla_gallery]
```
* The “enclosing shortcode” notation is now preferred to the old trick of using
code tags around the shortcode. You can also try `{+post_excerpt+}` in place
of `{+caption+}` and see which works better for your application.
* I am marking this topic resolved, but please update it if you have any problems
or further questions regarding the above suggestions. Thanks for your interest
in the plugin.
- This reply was modified 9 years, 5 months ago by [David Lingren](https://wordpress.org/support/users/dglingren/).
* Thread Starter [zkar](https://wordpress.org/support/users/zkar/)
* (@zkar)
* [9 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/link-download-shortcode/#post-8523445)
* Thank you for your fast answer!
* Yes I try to make an additional link. The thing is I want the link “Download”
under my thumbnails not to be a normal link to the file url, but to force the
link to open the download window/save file window directly. (like it does with
the thumbnail when I click on it).
* My code looks like this now: `[mla_gallery attachment_category='vorstand' link
=download size='thumbnail' mla_caption='{+description+}{+post_excerpt+}']`
* As you can see I tried to built a gallery with thumbnails + a description and
a download link with the {+post_excerpt+} (the input of my post excerpts are “
Download” in the Media Gallery).
* The look is how I wanted it: [See Screenshot](https://screencloud.net/v/r4l7)
but the link opens the file url and not the save file window.
* Is there a way to change this or am I trying the impossible?
* I hope this time I could describe my problem better… Again thanks for your help
and time!
* Plugin Author [David Lingren](https://wordpress.org/support/users/dglingren/)
* (@dglingren)
* [9 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/link-download-shortcode/#post-8526464)
* Thanks for your response and the clarification of your goal. I regret the haste
of my first reply. To be honest, I had forgotten about the `link=download` option.
* The solution is similar but the details are different. You must change the `{
+file_url+}` portion of your `mla_caption` parameter to something like:
* ```
mla_caption='{+post_excerpt+}'
```
* This is the link that works on my test system; you must change the upload directory
path to conform to your own system, i.e., replace this portion:
* ```
C:/Users/dlingren/Documents/My Data/Data Files/Web Design/VirtualHosts/mladev/wp-content/uploads/
```
* You can find the right value for your system by copying the link from one of
your thumbnail images and finding the part that follows the `mla_download_file
=` query argument name. If you have trouble with that post a link to the page
on your site or one of the links behind a thumbnail image in your gallery.
* The above solution will work but I think it is inconvenient and painful. I plan
to add two new substitution parameter values in my next version to make things
easier:
1. `download_url` – the complete `href=` value you need to create a download link
for an item.
2. `upload_dir` – the complete path to the uploads directory, as returned by the`
wp_upload_dir()` function.
* Thanks for your patience and for inspiring an improvement in the plugin. Let
me know if you have any problems or further questions regarding the above suggestions.
* Plugin Author [David Lingren](https://wordpress.org/support/users/dglingren/)
* (@dglingren)
* [9 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/link-download-shortcode/#post-8526890)
* I have done some further testing and have an improved solution:
* ```
[mla_gallery]
post_parent=all link=download size=thumbnail posts_per_page=6
mla_caption='{+post_title+}'
[/mla_gallery]
```
* It turns out I already have `{+base_dir+}` which eliminates the worst part of
my first solution. I also discovered that you need to specify the `,url` option
so special characters and spaces in the value are encoded properly. Finally,
you need to specify the MIME type of the image for the download to be processed.
* I regret any inconvenience caused by my first solution. Thanks for your understanding
and your patience.
* Thread Starter [zkar](https://wordpress.org/support/users/zkar/)
* (@zkar)
* [9 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/link-download-shortcode/#post-8528302)
* Your last solution worked perfect for what I was looking for.
* And again thank you really much for your help and time! 😀
* Plugin Author [David Lingren](https://wordpress.org/support/users/dglingren/)
* (@dglingren)
* [9 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/link-download-shortcode/#post-8536492)
* Thanks for your update with the good news. I am humbled once again to discover
that the current MLA version already contains an even better solution for your
application, the `{+downloadlink_url+}` substitution parameter. You can write
the shortcode this way:
* ```
[mla_gallery]
post_parent=all link=download size=thumbnail posts_per_page=6
mla_caption='{+post_title+}'/mla_gallery]
[/mla_gallery]
```
* I regret any inconvenience caused by my confusion. I really should spend more
time reading the Settings/Media Library Assistant Documentation tab, which contains
a description of the `downloadlink` and `downloadlink_url` substitution parameters.
* Thread Starter [zkar](https://wordpress.org/support/users/zkar/)
* (@zkar)
* [9 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/link-download-shortcode/#post-8542141)
* This is a really nice solution! I also was a bit overwhelmed by the Documentation
since I am using your Plugin the first time. I didn’t see the documantion section
for the substitution parameters. Thank you very much for all your help!
Viewing 7 replies - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)
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## Tags
* [caption](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/caption/)
* [download](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/download/)
* [link](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/link/)
* [shortcode](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/shortcode/)
* 7 replies
* 2 participants
* Last reply from: [zkar](https://wordpress.org/support/users/zkar/)
* Last activity: [9 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/link-download-shortcode/#post-8542141)
* Status: resolved