Block PDF downloads and allow view-only access for a specific access level

[fgoza]

Hello,

We are using Joomla 6.1.1 with JDownloads 1.4.5.

We have created three Joomla access levels (Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3), and users are assigned accordingly.

Our goal is to allow users in Access Level 3 to view PDF documents only, without being able to download the original PDF file.

In other words:

Access Levels 1 and 2 should continue to work normally (view and download PDFs).
Access Level 3 should only be able to open/read the PDF in the browser, but the download option should not be available.

Is this possible using JDownloads' built-in permissions or configuration, or would this require a custom solution?

Any guidance or recommended approach would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

[Arno]

Hi,
thank you for your detailed question.

Short answer: with standard jDownloads permissions, a strict "view-only PDF with zero download possibility" for one access level is not fully enforceable.
If a PDF is rendered in a browser, users can usually still save it somehow.

What you can do:
1. Keep normal download entries for Levels 1 and 2.
2. For Level 3, provide only a preview/read path (no direct file download link in jDownloads).
3. If needed, use a custom template/override to hide download actions for that level.
4. For stronger protection, use watermarking or a dedicated document viewer workflow.

So this is only possible as a custom setup, not as a complete built-in "hard block".

I suspect that your jDownloads version number is simply a typo and that you meant version 4.1.5. If this is correct, please update to version 4.1.6 immediately.