CDN Workaround

This add-on for Broadcast works by overriding the file path of attachments that don’t exist on disk, with their URL.

The add-on needs to be used for those CDN plugins that don’t change the image’s filename to a URL.

Signs you need the add-on:

  • The debug dump complains of files not existing
  • The attachment files do not exist on disk
  • The attachments are reachable if you visit their URL

Enabling the add-on will, when it is time to broadcast, check if the attachment that is about to be copied exists on disk. If the file can not be found, the file path is replaced with the URL and Broadcast can then assume that the file exists on a CDN.

Users report the following CDNs require this workaround:

  • Cloudinary v1.1.5
  • WordPress VIP (enable the Copy remote files setting)
  • WP Offload Media / WP Offload S3

Screenshots

Notes

The plugin will override the file path only during broadcasting and only for those files that do not exist on disk. Files that exist on disk are left untouched.

This plugin is not normally needed if you have a CDN. The plugin exists due to at least one web host offering a CDN service without simultaneously modifying the file paths of the attachments that have been moved to the CDN servers.

If you use the WP Offload S3 Lite plugin it is enough to enable the setting that deletes uploaded files from disk – you don’t need this add-on. Deleting the file from disk will make broadcast directly copy all attachment data, including the S3 offload custom field, which is enough for the plugin to redirect to the CDN. This will result in the image on the child post pointing to the same URL as the image on the parent post. See below for different URLs.

Different URLs

If you wish for the image URLs to point to each child blog, then the images will have to be “uploaded” to each child blog, and since the images no longer exist locally, they will have to be inserted from the CDN. This can be achieved by the following:

  • Check your Broadcast settings: keep attachments should be checked
  • Check your Broadcast settings: Existing attachments should be use existing
  • Enable the CDN Workaround add-on
  • Enable the CDN Workaround add-on setting: copy remote files
  • Delete the child image from the child blog
  • Rebroadcast the post

This will download the image from the CDN the first time, insert it into the child blog (and therefore uploading it to the correct CDN), and the next time the post is broadcasted the image already exists on the child blog.

Where to buy

This add-on is a part of the following packs:

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