Symbiostock Anytype is an optional addon to Symbiostock that permits you to upload a file that you can associate to any product within Symbiostock to be served to customers upon purchase instead of the original uploaded media file.
IMPORTANT: Before proceeding with the steps described in this guide, you must first create a license by following the steps in the License Quick Guide.
Once you have created a regular licence, proceed with the steps below to set your desired Symbiostock Anytype licence.
At the bottom of your license editing page, you will see the Symbiostock Anytype addon. If you set the arbitrary download postfix field, when a customer makes a purchase of a product with that license, rather than using the original file for delivery, it will instead look for a file with this postfix within the ss_media folder and deliver this to the customer.
The syntax is as follows – if your file has a product ID of 2563 (you can find this by hovering over the product name in your Symbiostock > Media list or just edit it and look at the URL), and an arbitrary download postfix of ‘pack.zip’, the file to upload would be ‘ss_2563_arb_pack.zip’.
So, let’s examine a few ways in which this could be used.
Providing a RAW file for the customer
You set the arbitrary postix in your license edit page to ‘rawfile.arw’. You upload all your JPEG images and Symbiostock processes them. You then manually get the IDs from within Symbiostock for each file and rename the RAW image on your computer to ss_38372_arb_rawfile.arw, where 38372 is the ID of the file. You then upload this file directly into the ss_media folder in your Symbiostock install.
Now, you can offer both JPEG licenses and RAW licenses for that image, and charge differently based on the license. When a customer buys the JPEG version, Symbiostock will resize accordingly. When they purchase the arbitrary download license, Symbiostock will deliver your uploaded file.
Providing a packaged ZIP file for a vector
You set the arbitrary postix in your license edit page to ‘zippack.zip’. You upload all your vetors and Symbiostock processes them. You then manually get the IDs from within Symbiostock for each file. You then create a ZIP file on your computer for each vector and add both the JPEG and vector into that zip file and rename the file to ss_38372_arb_zippack.zip, where 38372 is the ID of the file. You then upload this file directly into the ss_media folder in your Symbiostock install.
Now, you can offer a packaged file to customers that includes both the vector and a JPEG file, and charge differently based on the license. When a customer buys the JPEG version, Symbiostock will resize accordingly. When they purchase the arbitrary download license, Symbiostock will deliver your uploaded file.
Image packs
Along with having individual images for sale, you can include 10, 20, or even a thousand in a ZIP file. Then, as exampled above, upload the ZIP file with the correct syntax and offer it for sale as a special image bundle and create a JPEG file for the parent product that is just a placeholder for the bundle. Don’t offer any other licenses for that product and you now have a Symbiostock product that has no single image that will ever be provided to the customer. When they make a purchase, the only license they can choose is your arbitrary one, in which case they will receive the ZIP file.
Tips
- You can have as many arbitrary download licenses as you want, even more than one per image
- You can use this with any media type, be it videos, images, or vectors.
- You can even include non-media files using this system – have a book, or music, or other digital products alone or packaged in a zip file.
- When viewing the product as a customer, if the Anytype file does not exist for that license, it will be disabled and Symbiostock will prevent it from being purchased.
- After purchase, if the file does not exist, Symbiostock will not be able to complete the order, and an error will be posted in your Symbiostock dashboard.