We are pleased to introduce the new SourceForge.net Platform Download Pages.
We understand that your project may have a lot of packages, releases, and files. Perhaps you support multiple platforms, or you release early and often. Should your downloaders be penalized for that? We certainly don't think so, and we're hoping to help.
We have recently launched a feature that allows you to define download pages for each of your project's supported platforms. These pages can be used to highlight the files your users are most likely to be looking for, based on the platform they're using, and provide additional information relevant to their situation.
You can define a primary file for each platform, along with optional additional files, introductory text, download instructions, and a screenshot. Each file is displayed with links to your release notes and change log, and all downloads will use our new automatic mirror detection.
If you create download pages for Windows, Mac OS, or Linux, users downloading on those platforms will be redirected automatically. If there is no download page for their platform, they'll be sent to your "default" download page, if you've defined one. If no appropriate download page is available, they will see the old file list they have come to know and love.
Your users will always be given the ability to select a different platform, or go to the complete file list.
Creating a download page is easy.
Take advantage of this new feature! It can be found by clicking on the "Create / Edit Download Page" link at the top of your FRS admin page at Admin -> File Releases.
You can create a new download page by selecting a platform from the dropdown box. The initial value for this box is 'Default', which will be shown to users if there is no other defined platform that is appropriate for them. Only Windows, Mac OS, and Linux can be automatically detected for users upon download, but you can create custom platforms if you wish.
You can use the introduction field for information about your project or notices about its unique behavior on the user's platform. This text contains the project description by default, but you can change it to whatever you like.
If there is a particular version of the user's platform that is required, you can indicate that using the version text box. For example, if your project requires MacOS Tiger, you might enter "10.4 (Intel)".
Each download page has a single primary file and any number of optional secondary files. The primary file will be prominently displayed in the green box at the top of the page, and the secondary files will be listed below. Inside the file selector, you can alter how the filename is displayed to the user. For example, you might rename stellarium-0.8.2.tar.gz to "Stellarium 0.82 (Linux Source)".
If there are special instructions for your users, such as build instructions or installation instructions, they can be entered into the Download Instructions box. They will be displayed at the bottom of the download page.
That's it! You can use the Preview button to see what your download page will look like before you submit it.
Try it, and let us know!
If you have any questions or issues arising from the use of this feature, please refer to the FRS site documentation. If your questions still persist, submit a support request. If you have a new feature you would like to request, or you have any comments you would like to share with us, please provide your feedback to our feature request tracker.
Thanks!