Docs

How can we help?

Get help straight from our team...

realsmart

smartsites

Smart Policy Manager Plugin

smartsites

Smart Policy Manager Plugin

The Smart Policy Manager Plugin is our WordPress tool designed to organise, group, and display policy documents (PDFs, DOCX, etc.). It renders lists on the frontend using a clean, searchable interface similar to the "Smart OneDrive Selector."

Last updated on 14 May, 2026

Key features

  • Manage a list of policy files in one place (CPT: Policy Manager)

  • Friendly display names independent from file names

  • Copy‑paste shortcode for embedding on any page

  • Optional cross‑site sharing: publish a Policy Group from Site A and display it on Site B using a per‑group key (great for MATs)

  • Remote rename capability for consumer sites (display name only)

  • Per‑file Advanced settings:

    • Note (free text stored with the file)

    • Reminder month and day, with frequency: None, Annually, Every 6 months, Quarterly, Monthly

    • Recipient emails (comma‑separated) for reminder notifications

    • Send Test Email button per file

  • Automatic reminder emails on the chosen date(s) with Policy Group name, Document name, file link, and any notes

  • Audit trail records add/remove/rename/replace, Advanced updates, and Test Email sends

  • Sorting options

    • Frontend shortcode: order by Display name (default), File name, Reminder date, or Date added

    • Admin metabox: instant client‑side sorting with the same criteria

1. Overview

The Smart Policies Plugin lets you organise, group, and display policy documents with searchable, easy‑to‑embed lists.

New: You can set per‑file reminders and recipients, add notes, send test emails, and track all changes in an Audit Trail. Sorting is available on both the frontend and in the admin editor.

2. Creating a Policy Group

  1. Ensure the plugin "Smart Policies Plugin" is enabled in Plugins.

  2. Go to Policy Manager in the left‑hand WordPress admin menu.

  3. Click Add New Policy Group.

  4. Enter a Title (e.g., "HR Policies 2024" or "Health & Safety").

  5. Visibility: New groups default to Private and are typically embedded with a shortcode.

image.png

3. Managing Files

Open any Policy Group and locate the Policy Group Files box.

Adding files

  • Click the Add Files button

  • Choose from the Media Library or upload new files, then click Select

  • Files are referenced by URL (no re‑upload, keeping storage efficient)

Display names

  • "Display Name" defaults to the file name

  • Change it in the text box and click Save Name

Advanced settings per file

Click Advanced on a file row to open the editor:

  • Note: Optional free text (e.g., context for reviewers)

  • Reminder:

    • Month (1–12)

    • Day (1–31; automatically normalised for short months)

    • Frequency: None, Annually, Every 6 months, Quarterly, or Monthly

  • Recipients: Comma‑separated email addresses that will receive reminders

  • Actions:

    • Save Advanced to persist these fields

    • Send Test Email to immediately send a preview to the typed recipients

    • Cancel to close the editor

What goes in the reminder email

  • Policy Group name

  • Document display name (or file name)

  • Notes (if provided)

  • Direct link to the document

Audit Trail

  • Any Advanced save is logged as adv_update with a summary of changes

  • Test emails are logged as test_email with the recipient list

Replace or remove a file

  • Replace swaps the binary (keeps the entry and its Display Name/Advanced fields)

  • Remove deletes the entry from this group only (does not delete from the Media Library)

Admin‑side ordering controls

Screenshot 2026-05-14 at 15.18.22.png

Above the files table, choose:

  • Order by: Display name (default), File name, Reminder date (Month/Day), or Date added

  • Direction: Ascending/Descending

Notes

  • Sorting is instantaneous and persists per post in your browser (localStorage)

  • Reminder sort key is month*100 + day (e.g., Mar 15 → 315)

  • Items without a reminder appear at the end in ascending order, at the start in descending; ties fall back to Display name, then File name

  • Sorting reapplies automatically after uploads, replace, Advanced save, and Save Name

4. Displaying the Policies (Shortcode)

Copy the shortcode from the metabox and paste it into a page or post:

JavaScript[smart_policies id="123"]

Shortcode attributes

  • id (required for local groups)

  • show_title (true|false, default false): show the Policy Group title

  • orderby (name|file|reminder|added, default name)

  • order (asc|desc, default asc)

  • class (string): custom CSS classes on the wrapper

Examples

JavaScript[smart_policies id="45" show_title="true"]
[smart_policies id="45" orderby="file" order="asc"]
[smart_policies id="45" orderby="reminder" order="asc"]
[smart_policies id="45" orderby="added" order="desc"]

Notes on ordering

  • name: by Display name (fallback to file name)

  • file: by actual file name

  • reminder: by reminder Month/Day; items without reminders sorted last (asc) or first (desc)

  • added: by upload date

5. Sharing a Policy Group to Other Sites

Use this when your site owns the list of policies and other sites should consume it.

  1. Open the group and find the "Sharing (Cross‑site)" metabox

  2. Tick Enable sharing this Policy Group to other sites

  3. Leave Shared key blank to auto‑generate, or enter your own and Save/Update

  4. Copy the example consumer shortcode shown in the metabox:

JavaScript[smart_policies source_url="https://owner-school.example" remote_id="10095" key="YOUR_GENERATED_KEY" show_title="true"]

Security notes

  • The per‑group key is required for both reading and limited remote renaming (display name only); keep it private

  • You can rotate the key at any time (consumer sites must update their shortcode)

image.png

6. Consuming the Policy Group on Another Site

Two methods:

Paste the shortcode directly on a page

JavaScript[smart_policies source_url="https://owner-school.example" remote_id="10095" key="SHARED_KEY" cache_ttl="900" show_title="true"]

Or save a Cross‑site Preview

  • Go to Policy Manager → Cross‑site Preview → Add Cross‑site Policy Group

  • Enter Label (optional), Source URL, Remote Group ID, and Key → Save

  • From the list: preview latest files, copy a ready‑made shortcode, or delete the saved entry

Caching & performance

  • cache_ttl (seconds) caches remote fetches (e.g., 900 = 15 minutes)

  • timeout (seconds) avoids slow pages if the owner site is unreachable

  • Editors can bypass the preview cache using the "Refresh" button

7. Frontend Features

  • Live Search: instant filter by file name

  • Preview: click the Eye icon to open in a new tab

  • Ordering: the list respects your shortcode orderby and order parameters

image.png

8. S3 and Storage Notes

  • Each site usually points to its own S3 bucket via environment variables

  • Consuming a remote group does not copy files between buckets; it references the original URLs (commonly via CDN)

  • File uploads happen on the owner site using its Media Library

9. Reminders and Troubleshooting

How reminders work (summary)

  • A daily WP‑Cron event (spp_daily_cron) runs once per day

  • On your chosen Month/Day, according to Frequency, the plugin emails the per‑file recipient list

  • No duplicate emails are sent within the same period (month/quarter/half‑year/year)

If reminders don’t arrive

  • Check that the file has Month, Day, Frequency (not None), and at least one valid recipient email

  • Use Send Test Email in the Advanced editor to verify deliverability

  • WP‑Cron runs on page hits; for reliability, configure a server cron to load wp-cron.php regularly

    • With WP‑CLI: wp cron event run spp_daily_cron to trigger immediately

  • Review the Audit Trail: look for adv_update and test_email entries

Other tips

  • “No files yet” after adding: click Update/Publish on the Policy Group

  • Remote errors: verify source_url, remote_id, key; ensure sharing is enabled and the owner site is reachable over HTTPS

  • Changes not appearing: wait for cache_ttl to expire or set cache_ttl="0"; in Cross‑site Preview use “Refresh (bypass cache)”

  • Consumer sites cannot add/remove files by design; they can rename display names when remote‑managed

10. Shortcode Reference

Local group (same site)

JavaScript[smart_policies id="123" show_title="true" orderby="name" order="asc"]

Remote group (owner site is another domain)

JavaScript[smart_policies 
  source_url="https://owner-school.example"
  remote_id="10095"
  key="SHARED_KEY"
  cache_ttl="900"
  timeout="10"
  show_title="true"
  orderby="name"
  order="asc"
]

Attributes

  • id (number): Local Policy Group post ID

  • source_url (string): Base URL of the owner site

  • remote_id (number): Policy Group ID on the owner site

  • key (string): Shared key from the owner site’s Sharing box

  • cache_ttl (seconds, default 900): Remote cache duration; 0 disables cache

  • timeout (seconds, default 10): Remote fetch timeout

  • show_title (true|false): Show the group title above the list

  • orderby (name|file|reminder|added, default name): Sort criteria

  • order (asc|desc, default asc): Sort direction

  • class (string): Additional CSS classes on the wrapper

If you’d like HTML email templates, fixed send time for reminders, or server‑side persistence of admin sorting (user meta), let us know and we can extend this further.

Was this page helpful?
Previous

How to Set a Post Reminder

Next