How do I find a document on my site?
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I saw in my stats summary that someone downloaded a pdf file from my site – that I did not know existed! How can I find the location of this document (to remove it)?
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Hi Darnel,
Thanks. I happened to come across the document in my media library, and deleted it (and then checked the rest of my media library for outdated documents).But my question is deeper – how did a visitor to my site get to the document? I assume there has to be a link to it on one of my pages, as visitors to the site can’t access my media library (like you, a member of staff can). How do I search my wordpress pages to find the link to this document? Although I deleted the document, the now broken link to it should still be on my site somewhere.
Regards,
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If you search for the file name in your Posts and Pages sections, it should bring up where it was linked to from.
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Hi macmanx,
Thanks. Exactly what I was looking for.
Only issue is that I searched, and didn’t get any results with that old file.
Any other suggestions? Is there someplace else a link could be, or some other way for someone to access my media? Is there a way to check the site for broken links (since I deleted the media)? -
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The stats page says the downloaded file was: https://martialartsacademyisrael.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/tkd_class_schedule_5776-and-fall-calendar-v20150913.pdf
I tried searching on “5776” and “schedule”, but didn’t find it in the posts and pages.
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It’s definitely not referenced anywhere on your site.
It’s possible that someone else is linking to your file someplace else, but since the file no longer exists, they wouldn’t be able to download anything, they’d only be able to attempt (and fail) to access the file.
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Hi,
Thanks for sticking with this.
So, in my stats for 2-Aug it shows two downloads of this file. But there are no links in my website. So, if I understand correctly what you are saying, four years ago someone right-clicked/copied that link to this file, and a few days ago used the link to get to my media?
–M
&:-)& -
I had a similar problem: if the PDF was at one time available on your site for downloading, or even just in the media library, you can remove it, keep on deleting it everywhere, but someone can still download it if it has been picked up at some time, even if only by a search engine, without visiting the site. The staff reply to my query was that a download can be from a number of causes, they gave me a list (see below). Also a possibility was a bug in the download list on the sites page which they were working on, but it is a long time ago and I assume they have fixed that by now.
I have just found Supernovia’s answer:Our stats team is saying all of these would count as a download without a site view:
– if you view the file to check it after uploading
– if you view the file in the media library
– if a follower gets an email notification, and clicks the file from that
– if someone clicks a file link on an RSS
Even if a search engine sees the file link on a site map and views it, that would count as a download without a site view.All this seems to me a bit weird but has to be accepted.
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Let me just add to what @halilac mentioned, if your WordPress.com website is Public, your site’s Media Library is crawled and indexed by search engines. There’s no way to prevent this happening on a public site so if keeping that PDF private is important for you, don’t upload it to a public site.
Also, deleting it from your site will not immediately remove it from a search engine’s cache of your site. It can take 4-6 weeks before they recrawl and reindex your site and remove it from their cache. If you need that taken down sooner, you’ll need to follow the procedure for removal at each of the search engines’ support. WPcom has no control over that.
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To summarise, what all this amounts to is that the ‘downloads’ on the stats page is virtually meaningless if you want to know if readers make use of your PDF. However, though useless it does no harm as long as you do not take it seriously.
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Hi,
Interesting and weird. I see that the no-longer-existing class schedule from four years ago, that I deleted from my media library last week, was shown as downloaded several times during the last few days. I was also able to trigger just now an increase in the count by going to the current schedule – that is a link to my Google drive, where I update the schedule about every three months – nothing related at all to a PDF in my media library!
Over the past few years I’ve removed everything downloadable from my media library, and now only have links on the website to my Google Drive. Not to start a new thread, but does the stats for the “Clicks” work better than the stats for the downloads? :-).
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Yes and no.
To simplify the points above, just because a file has been removed doesn’t mean people won’t continue to _try_ to access it.
Clicks and Downloads essentially operate in the same way considering that.
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staff-blorbo,
Fastyr mie
What you say amazes me! We have already found out that files can be downloaded even after they have been removed from the media library, all links to them have been removed, and they no longer exist on the site.
You appear to be saying that even clicks can appear on the stats page when all links (for a particular file) have been removed and there is nothing to click on!
This means that not only the download stats but also even the click stats are meaningless, can be without visitors to the site, can be merely a search engine going over the file that has been removed! Even more weird!
Is this what you are saying? -
files can be downloaded even after they have been removed from the media library
Only for a short period of time. Files are cached in our system, and once deleted they are purged in 24 hours.
What is the URL of the file you are referring to?
You appear to be saying that even clicks can appear on the stats page when all links (for a particular file) have been removed and there is nothing to click on!
No, that is not at all what I said. I didn’t include the qualifier of “when all links (for a particular file) have been removed.”
If links exist, a click will be recorded, even if the file has been removed.
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You have misread what I wrote.
Files can be shown on the stats page as downloaded after being removed from the media library (and all links removed) for over a year, as has happened to me, in any of the examples explained by supernovia, e.g. if someone has cashed them, and while I consider this weird I at least accept it as fact.
Your remarkClicks and Downloads essentially operate in the same way
seems to imply that clicks too can appear on the stats page when there is nothing to click, if I have not misunderstood you. Or if I have, please clarify.
.If links exist, a click will be recorded, even if the file has been removed.
Of course, if the link exists!!!!! I am asking if a click can be recorded when the link no longer exists, like the download when the file no longer exists.
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@martsacademy I would focus on where the link was distributed at the time. Was it sent out as a direct link in an email? Did someone put it there just as an easy storage place for the moment? (I’ve done that personally on my site.) I have to think someone clicked on an old link.
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@halilac if you delete a file on our site, it’s usually cleared from our servers within a day or two.
If another entity like Google or Wayback caches a file, then you delete it, and then someone downloads that file from that entity, it would still not show in your stats because it’s being downloaded from that entity rather than your site.
If I’ve said something to make you think otherwise, let me know where, and I’ll take a look at that and clarify.
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