--- title: "Beginner's guide to Fileflare" url: "https://fileflare.io/docs/beginners-guide/" description: "A four-step walkthrough from \"just installed\" to \"selling digital downloads\" — install, mark products digital, upload files, attach to products." published: "2026-03-27T16:32:42+00:00" modified: "2026-09-14T21:43:06+00:00" --- Fileflare turns any Shopify store into a digital-products store. Upload your files, attach them to products, and Fileflare delivers download links automatically — by email, on the thank-you page, in customer accounts, or all three. This guide walks through the four steps to go from “just installed” to “selling digital downloads.” Free plan covers everything in this guide. You’ll need a Shopify store, a few digital files (PDFs, audio, video, software, anything), and ~10 minutes. ## When you’d use this - You’re brand new to Fileflare and want a complete walkthrough. - You’re switching from another digital-downloads app — see [Migration guide](/docs/migration/) for the import path. - You’re setting up a store for a client and need a checklist of every step. ## Step 1: Install Fileflare Install [Fileflare from the Shopify App Store](/app-store/fileflare). The free plan is fine to start. Once installed, the app opens in your Shopify admin under **Apps**. Fileflare’s in-app onboarding checklist walks you through the next few steps too — it’s a four-step guided setup. You can follow it instead of the rest of this page if you prefer the in-app flow. ## Step 2: Mark your products as digital Shopify needs to know which products are digital so it can skip shipping logic and let Fileflare auto-fulfill them. 1. In Shopify, open the product. 2. Scroll to **Shipping**. 3. Disable **This is a physical product**. 4. Save. See [Mark products as digital](/docs/mark-products-digital/) for variants and edge cases. ## Step 3: Upload your files 1. In Fileflare, open **Assets** » **Add assets**. 2. Drag in your files. Upload in batches of 50–100 if you have a lot. 3. Each file becomes an **asset** in your library. The same **Add assets** dialog handles uploaded files and URLs. If your files live somewhere else (Dropbox, Drive, a course platform), choose the URL option — Fileflare delivers a redirect link while your files stay where they are. See [all upload methods](/docs/methods-to-upload-add-files-to-fileflare/) including S3, R2, and bulk CSV, or learn how to [manage your asset library](/docs/asset-library/). ## Step 4: Attach assets to products Three paths: - **From assets:** select one or more assets in your library and use Shopify’s product picker to attach them to up to 50 products per action. See [Bulk-attach assets to products](/docs/bulk-attach-assets-to-products/). - **From a product:** open the product in Fileflare and attach assets from the library. Use this path for product- or variant-specific files. - **By CSV:** map files to products by SKU when you have a larger catalog. See [CSV bulk-attach](/docs/bulk-attach-csv/). ## That’s it — orders deliver automatically From this point forward, every paid order containing a digital product triggers Fileflare to: - Mark the digital line items as fulfilled in Shopify (within ~60 seconds). - Send the customer a download email. - Make download links available on the thank-you page (Basic plan and above) and in customer accounts (Premium plan). Place a [test order](/docs/test-orders/) to confirm everything works end-to-end before going live. ## Recommended: review the setup checklist Before you go live, walk through the [Shopify setup checklist](/docs/setup-checklist/). It catches the most common configuration gotchas — capturing email at checkout (not just phone), automatic payment capture, location settings, and more. ## Common issues - **Test order is “Authorized” but no email arrived** — Fileflare only delivers on Paid orders. Switch Shopify to automatic payment capture: Settings → Payments → Payment capture method → **Automatically at checkout**. If you capture late on purpose, turn on **Allow downloads on pending payments** instead — see [Download limitation settings](/docs/download-limitations/). - **Order has no email address** — Shopify lets customers check out with phone-only by default. Change Settings → Checkout → Customer contact method to **Email**. - **Digital product not auto-fulfilled** — most often: the product isn’t marked as digital in Shopify, or no asset is attached in Fileflare. See [Auto-fulfill digital products](/docs/auto-fulfillment/). - **Customer says they didn’t get the email** — see [Troubleshoot email delivery](/docs/troubleshoot-email-delivery/). ## Keep learning - [Shopify setup checklist (run before launch)](/docs/setup-checklist/) - [Migrating from another digital-downloads app](/docs/migration/) - [Customize the delivery email](/docs/customize-email-templates/) - [Set up customer account downloads](/docs/customer-account-downloads/) - [PDF stamping for sharing protection](/docs/pdf-stamping/) - [Tips and tricks across all features](/docs/tips-tricks-guide/)