WordPress contains multiple files that you need to access frequently for adding parameters and functions. You can access theme and plugin files using theme and plugin editor respectively right from the admin dashboard. However, you need to use File Transfer Protocol (FTP) or File Manager app within hosting panel to manage core WordPress and server configuration files like wp-config.php and .htaccess. In addition, managing multiple files with theme/plugin editor is a difficult task. In this article, we will explain how to use File Manager in WordPress admin panel to manage all your files like a pro.
WordPress File Manager
File Manager is an app in hosting panel that helps to browser and modify files on your WordPress installation. You have to login to your hosting account and open cPanel or custom admin pane to locate this app.
The File Manager interface will look like below in Bluehost or HostGator cPanel.
Accessing this File Manager is a hassle as you need to login to hosting panel. Alternate option is to use a plugin within WordPress admin panel and use similar web-based interface. It allows or helps in browsing and managing files when you don’t have access to the FTP or hosting panel of your website.
Now, with the help of the file manager plugin in WordPress, you can edit, delete, download, upload, zip, copy, and paste files or folders from your site admin panel. So, from your dashboard, you would have access to WordPress configuration, themes, plugins, and other files directly. Let dive into how to add and use WordPress file manager easily.
File Manager Plugin for WordPress
The WordPress “File Manager” plugin is of the essence here to achieve this. Head over to install and activate it from the “Plugins” sidebar menu in your site dashboard. If activation is complete and successful, the “WP File Manager” would appear as a new label menu at the sidebar of your admin dashboard.
Click on that menu, fill in the verification form with your correct details and tap the “VERIFY” button or ignore the verification by selecting the “NO THANKS” button. All your WordPress files and folders are now available for use on the launch of the WP File Manager. Above your folders or files section is the toolbar where various setting tabs lies & allow for preview, edit, upload, download and delete functions.
To perform any action first, select the file or folder in question and choose an option in the toolbar that resonates with what you want to do. As in FTP, you can open any folder or file and view its contents with a single click here. Also, editing or making changes to any file and saving it is obtainable. There are more things to achieve with the toolbar menu options, and this call for mastering what each tool means and can serve, as shown below.
Toolbar Menu Options in WP File Manager
The various actions that you can perform on any file or folder lie on knowing the functions of the following tools available in this plugin.
- Back: clicking this arrow takes you to the previous folder or files you had to access.
- Forward: takes you to the next from the current file or folder you are accessing.
- Go to parent folder: move you from the subfolder to the main folder containing that folder.
- New folder: enables you to create a new folder that would house the files on your website.
- New file: create a container to hold codes of a page or post on your site.
- Upload files: bring in your files as a zip folder into the file manager.
- Open: to view the contents of a folder but, once its use is on a file, it makes an automatic download of the file.
- Download: proper way to have a copy of a file or folder on your local computer.
- Undo: to remove the earlier changes made in the file manager.
- Redo: to return what you did beforehand in the file manager.
- Copy: to have a duplicate of a file or folder in the clipboard.
- Cut: to entirely move file or folder to the clipboard.
- Paste: to place the content action of the cut or copy into the appropriate position in the file manager.
- Delete: to move a file or folder into the bin/trash or remove it from the file manager entirely from the bin.
- Empty the folder: to remove or delete all the files and the contents of a folder.
- Duplicate: to have an exact copy of a file or folder appear below the main one.
- Rename: to give a new name to a folder or file.
- Edit file: to open a file in a pop-up, so you can make changes to its code and save it.
- Resize & Rotate: deals with the window display of your file manager to change its rotary position or viewport size.
- Select all: to highlight all the files and folders in a current content display.
- Select none: to un-highlight the already selection of contents.
- Invert selection: to create a selection pattern as an even or odd distribution.
- Preview: see or view the code of any file without making any changes and edit on it.
- Get info & Share: to know the properties of a folder or file and make it available for transfer.
- Extract files from archive: unleash the contents of the zip folder or archive files upload into the file manager.
- Create archive: select some contents of the file manager and put them into a zip folder.
- Icons/List view: change the display of the file manager contents from the list to graphical block, and vice-versa.
- Sort: to arrange files or folders in an alphabetical, numerical or otherwise ascending or descending order.
- Full screen: set the content display to cover the entire screen ratio of your device.
- Incremental search: easily find files or folders with the name but is only from your current view.
Pros of using File Manager in WordPress Admin Panel
The key benefits of using the file manager in your WordPress dashboard are;
- It is more user-friendly than the FTP or File Manager app in hosting control panel.
- Support for multi-file uploading at an instance.
- Provision of a single location to perform all tasks like access to media and files of your site. for example, you can view and delete image thumbnails that you can’t do within Media Library section of the admin panel.
- Availability of all file actions like copy, paste, delete, rename, duplicate, drag & drop, etc. will be super useful to manage them,
- Quick access to WordPress core and server files.
Cons of Using File Manager in WordPress Dashboard
- Prone to security flaws or risk as when a malicious user has access to the admin area.
- There can be alterations or misuse of cores files due to the lack of technical knowledge of using file manager.
Final Thoughts
Presumably, this is the best option for attaining organization and maintenance of various files in a WordPress website. The WP File Manager plugin help in managing site contents in different languages, while the pro version of the plugin would add more additional features with regards to settings, preferences, system properties, shortcode, logs, backup/restore. However, the free version is sufficient for normal file editing purposes.
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