File Manager in cPanel

About File Manager

The File Manager in cPanel provides a structured way to organise and handle the files in your account. This tool enables you to efficiently manage, edit, and navigate your files directly from the interface.

Tips:

• If a toolbar action is unavailable, the icon will appear greyed out.
• Certain actions in File Manager, like renaming or editing, can only be applied to a single file at a time. Ensure you select the specific file before performing these actions.
• If multiple files are selected, only the first file in the list will be affected by operations such as renaming, editing, or viewing.

Modifying Settings

The Settings button appears in the upper-right corner of the File Manager interface. It allows you to customise which folders and files are displayed and accessible. These preferences will be set as the default.

• Home Directory – This is the primary folder for your account.
• Web Root (public_html or www) – The direct path to your web files.
• Public FTP Root (public_ftp) – This folder stores your FTP files.
• Document Root for – The folder of the domain selected from the menu. Always choose the domain name without any suffixes here.

To view hidden files in the interface, enable the Show Hidden Files (dotfiles) option.

To stop character encoding messages from appearing, select Disable Character Encoding Verification Dialogs.

Finally, click Save to apply your settings.

Character Encoding Confirmation Dialogs

When editing a file through the Edit or HTML Editor tools, a dialog box appears, prompting you to confirm the file’s character encoding. Choose the correct encoding from the dropdown menu and click Edit to proceed.

• For additional guidance on choosing the proper character encoding, click the Toggle Help button.
• To prevent these prompts from appearing in the future, use the Disable Encoding Check option.

Important: Selecting an incorrect character encoding can corrupt your file. If the file displays unusual or unreadable symbols, cancel the operation immediately and reselect the appropriate encoding. Avoid saving the file until the correct encoding is chosen.

Creating or Copying Files or Folders

If you want to create a new file or folder, follow these steps:

1. On the toolbar, click the + File or + Folder button. This will open a new interface.

2. Enter the name of the file or folder you want to create in the input box labelled File Name or Folder Name.

Tip: To rename an existing file or folder, click on its current name, type the new name into the field, and confirm the change by pressing Enter. 

3. Choose the location where the new file or folder should be created. You can specify this in the box labelled New file will be created in: or New folder will be created in:

4. Once everything is set, click the Create New File or Create New Folder button to finalise your action.

If you need to copy a file or folder, use the Copy button at the top of the page. In the pop-up window, specify the target destination for the copied item and confirm your choice.

Relocating Files or Folders

If you need to move files or folders to a different location, follow these steps:

1. Select the file or folder you want to relocate. You can select multiple items if needed.
2. Click the Move button in the toolbar at the top of the interface. A new dialog box labelled Move will open.
3. In the dialog box, enter the destination path.
4. Click Move File(s) to complete the move.

 

Updating File or Folder Permissions

To change the permissions for a file or folder, follow these steps:

1. Select the file or folder whose permissions you need to update.
2. Click the Permissions button located in the toolbar. This will open the Change Permissions interface.
3. Adjust the permissions using the available checkboxes or by entering the desired values in the text boxes. By default, permissions are set to 0644.
4. Click Change Permissions to apply and save the new settings.

 

Deleting or Restoring Files and Folders

When you delete a file or folder, it isn’t permanently removed. The system moves it to the Trash folder, where it can be viewed and restored if needed.

To delete all items in the Trash permanently, click Empty Trash in the toolbar. To delete a single item, select the file and click Delete from the menu bar.

To restore files, select the items you wish to restore, then click Restore in the menu bar.

 

Additional Actions for Items

1. Password Protect: This option typically appears when you right-click on a folder. It restricts access to the folder.

2. Leech Protect: This feature prevents users from sharing or publicly posting their passwords for restricted sections of your website. It redirects compromised accounts to a specified URL and can suspend them if needed. Clicking this button will take you to a new interface to configure this protection.

3. Manage Indices: This option lets you customise how users view a folder’s contents when accessed through the web.

• Inherit: Select this option to use the settings of the main directory. If index settings are not customised in the main directory, the system will apply the default settings.
• No Indexing: Files in this directory will not be displayed if a default file is missing.
• Show Filename Only: This option displays a simple list of current files if the default file is missing.
• Show Filename and Description: This option displays a list of files along with their attributes, such as file size and file type.

 

Finding an Item

The Search bar, located in the top-right corner of the interface, lets you locate specific files. By default, it searches through all files in the home directory. To search for a file, follow these steps:

1. Open the Search dropdown menu to select the location for your search. The available options are:

• All Your Files
• only public_html
• Current Directory

2. Enter the name of the file you’re looking for into the Search text box.

3. Click Go to start the search.

A new interface will display a list of files that match your query.

• To navigate to a specific folder or access the folder containing your file, double-click the desired item in the results.

• If no matches are found, the system will display the message No records found.