Turn on order processing

Process digital orders decides whether Filemonk does anything when an order comes in. With it off, Filemonk ignores new orders completely: no download emails, no Download button on the Thank you page, nothing in your Orders list. Everything else in Filemonk depends on this one setting.

It is on by default, so most stores never touch it. Check it first whenever Filemonk seems to have stopped working.

Before you begin

• Turning this on affects new orders only. Orders placed while it was off are not picked up retroactively.
• Order processing and sending email are two separate switches. Turning this one on does not, by itself, send anything.

Set it up

1. Click Filemonk in the left menu of your Shopify admin.

2. Click Settings in the app’s menu.

3. Open the Email tab.

4. In the Email settings card, switch on Process digital orders. The badge beside it changes from Off to On.

5. To also email customers their download links, switch on Send email in the card below it.

6. Click Save in the Unsaved changes bar at the top of the page. A Settings updated message confirms it.

   

The badge changes as soon as you flip the switch, but nothing is saved until you click Save. Leave the page without saving and the setting goes back to what it was.

What each switch does

Switch	On	Off
Process digital orders	Filemonk records new orders, prepares downloads, and can show the Thank you page button	Filemonk ignores new orders entirely
Send email	Customers are emailed their download links automatically	Orders are still processed, but you send links yourself

Leaving Send email off is a real setup: orders get processed and customers reach their files through the Thank you page, the customer account page, or an email you send by hand from the order.

Check your setup

Place a test order for one of your digital products, then open Orders in the app’s menu. If the order appears there, processing is working. See Create a test order.

Troubleshooting

I switched it on but it shows Off again

The change was not saved. Switch it on, then click Save in the Unsaved changes bar at the top of the page before leaving.

Processing is on but new orders still don't appear

Something else is filtering the order out. Check each in turn:

1. Ignore old orders is set to a date or order number that excludes it. See Ignore orders before a date or order number.
2. The product carries a tag you told Filemonk to skip. See Skip fulfilment for products with certain tags.
3. The order status does not match what you require. See Send email and show the button based on order status.
4. The product has no files linked, so there is nothing to deliver.

Orders appear but customers get no email

Send email is off on the Email tab, or an order status rule is holding delivery back. See Send email and show the button based on order status.

I turned it on. What about the orders I missed?

They stay untouched. Bring them in deliberately with an import. See Import missing orders, which lets you choose whether to email customers, or Import orders for a full backfill, which never emails automatically.

FAQ

Should I ever turn this off?

Rarely. It is useful while you are still setting up and don’t want live orders processed, or if you are pausing digital sales. For a permanent stop, uninstalling is cleaner.

Does turning it off stop existing customers downloading?

No. It only affects orders arriving from that point on. Customers with links already sent keep their access. To cut off a specific order, see Disable access to downloads for any order.

Does it affect fulfilment in Shopify?

Only indirectly. If Filemonk is not processing an order, it cannot mark its digital items as fulfilled either. See Fulfil digital products automatically.

Where did this setting used to be?

It sits on the Email tab in Settings, alongside Send email, because the two are usually configured together.

Related guides

• Send download links automatically, the email side of the same screen.
• Create a test order, to confirm processing works.
• Import missing orders, for orders Filemonk skipped.