Hosted Document Library Pro lets you keep some or all of your documents private, so you can publish a library that only the right people can open. This is handy when you want a public site with a private set of files behind it, a library that mixes open and restricted documents, or a download area that stays out of public view. This guide walks through how to set up protection from your hosted dashboard.
Access control is available on the Advanced plan. Hosted libraries support two kinds of protection: password protection and visibility. There is no user or role login, no login form, and no per-file download blocking. The protection gate is applied at the subsite level, so it covers your whole hosted library.
Where to set protection
All protection settings live in your hosted dashboard under Access Control. There is no WordPress admin to log into and no code or shortcodes to add. Everything is managed through the dashboard.
Protection levels
You can restrict access at three levels:
- Lock the whole library.
- Lock specific document categories.
- Lock individual documents.
These levels work together, and the most specific setting always wins. If a document sits in a public category but you protect that single document, the document’s own setting takes priority over the category.
Lock the whole library
Open Access Control in your dashboard and set the library visibility:
- Public: anyone can open the library.
- Protected: visitors must enter a password first. Add one or more passwords using the plus (+) button, and remove any with the minus (-) button. A visitor can unlock the library by typing any of the valid passwords.
Show protected documents
When you protect content, you can choose whether locked documents are still visible to people who have not yet entered a password.
Turn this on to list protected documents in public areas such as the main library view, filters, and search results. Visitors can see that the documents exist, but they still need a valid password before they can preview or download anything. Selecting a locked document sends them to the password prompt.
Turn it off to hide protected documents completely, so only people who have unlocked them can see they are there.
Once a visitor enters the correct password, those documents stay unlocked for them in the browser regardless of this setting.
Lock specific categories
To protect a category rather than the entire library, edit that category in your dashboard and set its visibility:
- Inherited: the category follows whatever protection the overall library (or its parent category) uses.
- Public: the category stays open even if the wider library is protected.
- Protected: add one or more passwords for the category using the plus (+) and minus (-) buttons. Visitors unlock the category by entering any valid password.
Lock individual documents
To protect a single document, open it in your dashboard and set its access control:
- Inherited: the document follows the protection of its category or the overall library.
- Public: the document stays open even if its category or the library is protected.
- Protected: add one or more passwords for that document. Visitors unlock it by entering any valid password.
Hidden from search engines
Protected libraries, categories, and documents are kept out of search results automatically. Hosted Document Library Pro adds a noindex instruction so private content does not get indexed by Google and other search engines.