Web Download Links

Projector Classic can download slideshows and other media attachments stored in your Planning Center Services cloud.  Beginning with Projector Classic 2022.1.1, you can now add general-purpose web download links to any plan item and Projector Classic will download the associated content from the web link.

In order for this Projector Classic feature to work, you must make sure that the web link is a “anonymous, direct” download link, and the name that you give the link in your PCO Services attachment should end with a valid file type that is supported by Projector Classic:

1. Anonymous: No authentication to the cloud provider is needed, and
2. Direct: The link does not redirect to the cloud provider web page, but causes immediate download of the file
3. FileType: The Name field the link that you add to the plan item needs to end with a file type that is supported by Projector Classic (like .png, .jpg, .jpeg, .mp3, .mp4, .mov, .zip, .pdf).  The Projector Classic FAQ lists all valid file types.

To assist in using this feature, I’ll illustrate with a sample file that I have saved on 3 popular cloud storage providers: Google Drive, Dropbox, and Microsoft OneDrive.  You can also “make your own” anonymous, direct web URL on any private cloud storage that you have access to.  The techniques are similar to those shown below.

Google Drive Example

1. Obtain an unrestricted, view only share link to file located on your Google Drive.  This is my share URL: https://drive.google.com/file/d/EXAMPLE_FILE_ID/view?usp=sharing
2. Manipulate the URL to create a direct link. You can search how to do this on the web - here’s one that I found: https://www.howtogeek.com/747810/how-to-make-a-direct-download-link-for-google-drive-files/
3. If you don’t mind having your share link being seen by a 3rd party (meaning: it’s not confidential or sensitive material), you can try this handy site on Google.  This is my direct download URL: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=EXAMPLE_FILE_ID
4. Create a link in PCO Services with the direct download URL and a descriptive name with FileType.  This is the name I used: Google Drive God Made All The Animals.mov

Dropbox Example

1. Obtain a share link to the file located on your Dropbox (default is view only).  This is my share URL: https://www.dropbox.com/s/EXAMPLE_ID/GodMadeAllTheAnimals.MOV?dl=0
2. Manipulate the URL to create a direct link.  Dropbox has a nice article on how to do this: https://help.dropbox.com/files-folders/share/force-download .  This is my direct download URL: https://www.dropbox.com/s/EXAMPLE_ID/GodMadeAllTheAnimals.MOV?dl=1
3. Create a link in PCO Services with the direct download URL and a descriptive name with FileType.  This is the name I used: Dropbox God Made All The Animals.mov

Microsoft OneDrive Example

1. This workflow is a bit different than Google Drive and Dropbox.  In order to get a direct download link for a OneDrive file, you need to get an Embed HTML snippet from OneDrive, and manipulate that.  I’ve not found a reliable way to convert a OneDrive share link to a direct download URL.  Here’s a nice ‘how to’ that I found on the web: https://bydik.com/onedrive-direct-link/
2. Like the article above states, manipulate the Embed HTML snippet to create a direct link.  This is my resulting direct download URL: https://onedrive.live.com/download?cid=EXAMPLE_CID&resid=EXAMPLE_RESID&authkey=EXAMPLE_AUTHKEY
3. Create a link in PCO Services with the direct download URL and a descriptive name with FileType.  This is the name I used: OneDrive God Made All The Animals.mov

Microsoft OneDrive for Business

I don’t have a OneDrive for Business account to provide an example, but thanks to Projector Classic user Chris, you can take a look at the following Microsoft Tech Community thread to get those direct links:

OneDrive for Business direct link

Final Suggestions

Once you have created your direct link to the cloud file and given it a name ending with the proper FileType, you can test out the link right in your PCO Services item my clicking on it.  Your browser should immediately download the file to your computer.  If the link causes another browser tab to open up, then you probably did it wrong (some redirection happened with the link).

I hope that these instructions help you nerdy folks (like me) make the best of this advanced Projector Classic feature!