Virtual and Downloadable Products

Virtual Product Overview

Virtual products are non-physical items without shipping:

Examples:
  - Insurance
  - Warranty
  - Service contract
  - Membership
  - Gift card

Virtual Product Structure

-- Virtual product
SELECT entity_id, sku, type_id
FROM catalog_product_entity
WHERE entity_id = 400;
+-----------+----------+--------+
| entity_id | sku      | type_id|
+-----------+----------+--------+
|       400 | WARRANTY | virtual|
+-----------+----------+--------+

Creating Virtual Product

// Create virtual product
$virtualProduct = $objectManager->get(
    \Magento\Catalog\Model\ProductFactory::class
)->create();

$virtualProduct->setName('Extended Warranty')
    ->setSku('WARRANTY')
    ->setPrice(49.99)
    ->setStatus(1)
    ->setVisibility(4)
    ->setAttributeSetId(4)
    ->setTypeId('virtual')
    ->setStockData([
        'qty' => 999999,
        'is_in_stock' => 1,
        'manage_stock' => 0,
        'use_config_manage_stock' => 0,
    ])
    ->save();

Virtual vs Simple

Downloadable Product Overview

Downloadable products provide files or links for download:

Examples:
  - eBooks
  - Software
  - Music
  - Video
  - Templates
  - Stock photos

Downloadable Product Structure

-- Downloadable product
SELECT entity_id, sku, type_id
FROM catalog_product_entity
WHERE entity_id = 500;
+-----------+----------+-------------+
| entity_id | sku      | type_id     |
+-----------+----------+-------------+
|       500 | EBOOK    | downloadable |
+-----------+----------+-------------+

-- Links table
SELECT * FROM downloadable_link WHERE product_id = 500;
+----------+------------+-----------+--------+--------+
| link_id  | product_id | title     | price  | sort_order|
+----------+------------+-----------+--------+--------+
|       1  |        500 | PDF       |  0.0000|        1|
|       2  |        500 | EPUB      |  0.0000|        2|
|       3  |        500 | MOBI      |  0.0000|        3|
+----------+------------+-----------+--------+--------+

-- Samples table
SELECT * FROM downloadable_sample WHERE product_id = 500;
+----------+------------+-----------+--------+
| sample_id| product_id | title     | sort_order|
+----------+------------+-----------+--------+
|       1  |        500 | Chapter 1 |        1|
+----------+------------+-----------+--------+

Creating Downloadable Product

// Create downloadable product
$downloadableProduct = $objectManager->get(
    \Magento\Catalog\Model\ProductFactory::class
)->create();

$downloadableProduct->setName('Complete Guide to PHP')
    ->setSku('EBOOK-PHP')
    ->setPrice(29.99)
    ->setStatus(1)
    ->setVisibility(4)
    ->setAttributeSetId(4)
    ->setTypeId('downloadable')
    ->setLinksPurchasedSeparately(0) // 0=bundle, 1=separate
    ->setStockData([
        'qty' => 999999,
        'is_in_stock' => 1,
        'manage_stock' => 0,
    ])
    ->save();

// Add downloadable links
$links = [
    [
        'title' => 'PDF Version',
        'price' => 0,
        'file' => '/path/to/file.pdf',
        'sample' => '/path/to/sample.pdf',
        'sort_order' => 1,
        'is_shareable' => 1, // 1=shareable, 0=not
        'max_downloads' => 0, // 0=unlimited
    ],
    [
        'title' => 'EPUB Version',
        'price' => 0,
        'file' => '/path/to/file.epub',
        'sample' => '/path/to/sample.epub',
        'sort_order' => 2,
        'is_shareable' => 0,
        'max_downloads' => 5,
    ],
];

$downloadableProduct->setLinks($links);

// Add samples
$samples = [
    [
        'title' => 'Chapter 1 Preview',
        'file' => '/path/to/chapter1.pdf',
        'sort_order' => 1,
    ],
];

$downloadableProduct->setSamples($samples);
$downloadableProduct->save();

Link Properties

$linkData = [
    'title' => 'Link Title',
    'price' => 0,           // Price (0 if included)
    'file' => '/path/file', // File path
    'sample' => '/path/sample', // Sample file
    'sort_order' => 1,
    'is_shareable' => 1,    // 1=can share, 0=per customer
    'max_downloads' => 0,    // 0=unlimited
    'link_url' => '',        // External URL (alternative)
    'sample_url' => '',      // Sample URL
];

Link Types

Download Tracking

-- Track downloads
SELECT * FROM downloadable_link_price_configuration WHERE product_id = 500;

-- Download links per customer
SELECT * FROM downloadable_link purchased WHERE product_id = 500;
+----------+------------+-----------+--------+--------+
| link_id  | product_id | order_id  | customer_id | downloads|
+----------+------------+-----------+--------+--------+
|       1  |        500 |     10001 |      123 |       3 |
|       2  |        500 |     10001 |      123 |       1 |
+----------+------------+-----------+--------+--------+

Download Limits

// Check download count
$downloadInfo = $objectManager->get(
    \Magento\Downloadable\Model\Link\Purchased\Factory::class
)->create();

// Limit reached? If max_downloads=5 and downloads=5, no more allowed
// Unlimited? If max_downloads=0, always allowed

Inventory for Digital Products

// Virtual product inventory
$virtualProduct->setStockData([
    'qty' => 999999,
    'is_in_stock' => 1,
    'manage_stock' => 0,  // Don't track
    'use_config_manage_stock' => 0,
    'use_config_notify_stock_qty' => 0,
    'notify_stock_qty' => 0,
    'is_decimal_divided' => 0,
]);

// Downloadable product inventory
$downloadableProduct->setStockData([
    'qty' => 999999,
    'is_in_stock' => 1,
    'manage_stock' => 0,
    'use_config_manage_stock' => 0,
]);

Pricing

// Base price
$downloadableProduct->setPrice(29.99);

// Link price (additional)
$links = [
    ['title' => 'Basic', 'price' => 0],     // Included
    ['title' => 'Premium', 'price' => 10.00], // +$10
];

// Links purchased separately
$downloadableProduct->setLinksPurchasedSeparately(1);
// Customer can buy links individually

// Links not purchased separately
$downloadableProduct->setLinksPurchasedSeparately(0);
// All links included in base price

Tax Configuration

// Digital products may have different tax rules
$downloadableProduct->setTaxClassId(2); // Taxable goods

// Some regions tax digital goods differently
// Configure in Stores > Tax Rules

Best Practices

Virtual Products:
  - Use for services, warranties, memberships
  - Set high stock qty (unlimited)
  - Don't track stock
  - No weight needed

Downloadable Products:
  - Use for digital goods
  - Provide samples for preview
  - Set appropriate download limits
  - Consider shareability settings
  - Use CDN for large files
  - Monitor download logs
  - Set reasonable prices per link