[TundraSoul]

I think a custom message template is always better than vBulletins default error template. Users may see the default error, and often still don't understand why they cannot download the file/link. Further, if they register, as the vB error template suggests, and then still cannot download the file/link, they don't understand why they don't have permission.

Originally Posted by AndrewD

Thanks - this behaviour was introduced in response to another request. It depends on the value of *protected_link* on the admin/settings page:

0: no hyperlink shown
1: normal link, generates a 'no permission' + login template if no access available
2: link jumps to registration dialogue

The default value is 0.

I can add another option to offer a custom template (message + login + register?) if you think this is necessary.