What an orphaned mapping is
Alva Digital Downloads stores a ProductMapping row for every Shopify product you link to files. Delete that product in Shopify and the mapping is orphaned — Alva can no longer fetch a live title, so it falls back to the cached name or Unknown Product in your Products list.
The mapping is still manageable
Opening an orphaned mapping no longer throws an error. Alva detects that Shopify confirmed the product is gone and loads an orphaned view with the banner Shopify product no longer exists, a summary of what is attached, an Export data (ZIP) action, and a Delete action.
How to clean up an orphaned mapping
1. Open the orphaned mapping
In Alva, open Products and find the row labelled Unknown Product. Click it. The orphaned view loads with a warning banner and a card titled Current configuration (will be permanently deleted) listing file, pack, link, license key, purchase, and download counts.
2. Export the data ZIP first
Click Export data (ZIP). Alva streams a bundle with one CSV per data type — purchases, license keys, downloads, files, packs, links, variants, and email history. Keep this archive: deletion is permanent and the ZIP is everything you need to re-create the mapping later.
3. Type-to-confirm and delete
Click Delete to open the modal. Type the product name shown in the Type "…" to confirm label — or the literal word DELETE if no name is cached — then click Delete permanently. The mapping, its variants, file/pack/link maps, and ZIP cache are removed in one transaction.
Alva admin orphaned mapping view: warning banner "Shopify product no longer exists", the configuration summary card, and the type-to-confirm delete modal open with the "Type … to confirm" field and a "Delete permanently" button. No real customer data.
Before you delete, check this list
The summary card and delete modal flag the consequences. Work through them so nothing surprises a customer:
- Existing customer download links from past orders will return a 404 after delete — export first.
- Pending license key assignments complete silently with no customer email once the mapping is gone.
- Files, packs, and links stay in your library — only the mapping rows are removed.
- No order history is removed from Shopify; this only clears Alva's records for the product.
Frequently asked questions
The underlying Shopify product was deleted, so Alva can no longer fetch its current title and falls back to the cached name or "Unknown Product". The mapping row still exists in Alva and is fully manageable from its detail page.
No. Deleting the mapping removes Alva's purchase, download, and configuration rows for that product. It does not touch Shopify — no order history is removed from your store. Export the data ZIP first if you want a record.
Existing download tokens cascade with the mapping, so customers who hold links from past orders get a 404 after the delete. This trade-off is called out in the delete modal. Export the data ZIP first to keep a record.
Yes. An orphaned mapping is harmless to leave in place — it simply shows as "Unknown Product". If you re-create the product later you can map a new product fresh. Reattaching the old mapping to a different product is not supported.
See also
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Last updated 2026-06-01