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Documentation: Filedrop

Action Log

The Filedrop package includes an action log plugin (Filedrop - Action Log) that records transfer activity in Joomla's own User Actions Log. It gives you an audit trail of what was sent through your site and what happened to it, right next to the actions Joomla already logs (logins, content edits, and so on).

The plugin is installed and enabled automatically with the package - there's nothing to configure in Filedrop itself.

What is logged

  • A logged-in user sends a transfer - User jeroen created transfer report.pdf
  • A guest sends a transfer - A guest (Jan Jansen (jan@example.com)) created transfer report.pdf
  • A transfer is deleted by a user (from the admin Transfers list, or their own via My transfers) - User jeroen deleted transfer report.pdf
  • A transfer is deleted automatically (expired and cleaned up by the scheduled task, or its download limit was reached) - Transfer report.pdf was deleted automatically (expired or download limit reached)

Transfers are identified by their original filenames. For guest transfers, the sender's name and e-mail address appear when the upload form collected them; if those fields are hidden or were left empty, the entry just says "A guest".

Downloads are not logged here. Per-transfer download counts are already tracked and visible under Components > Filedrop.

Where to find the log

Go to Users > User Actions Log in the administrator. Filedrop entries appear under the extension name com_filedrop, mixed chronologically with all other logged actions. You can also add Joomla's "Latest Actions" module to the admin dashboard to see recent entries at a glance.

Requirements and options

  • The log only works while Joomla's own System - User Actions Log plugin is enabled. It is enabled by default on every Joomla installation; if a site deliberately switched action logging off, Filedrop respects that and logs nothing.
  • Everything is stored in your own database - nothing leaves the site.
  • The core options under Users > User Actions Log > Options apply to Filedrop entries like any others: logging IP addresses alongside each entry, and automatically deleting log entries older than a set number of days. Individual administrators can also enable e-mail notifications for logged actions in their user profile.

No entries appearing?

  1. Check that System - User Actions Log is enabled under System > Plugins - without it, no action log plugin on the site receives anything.
  2. Check that Filedrop - Action Log is enabled there too. It's enabled automatically on install, but a deliberate disable is respected and survives updates.
  3. The log only records activity from the moment the plugin was active - transfers sent before that don't appear retroactively.