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How do I use the File Manager in cPanel?

Finding the File Manger

  1. Login to cPanel.
  2. Click on File Manager under Files.

Upload a file

  1. Navigate to the folder to which you want to upload the file.
  2. Click on Upload in the menu bar at the top of the page.
    Upload

Download a file

  1. Navigate to the file and then select it by clicking on it.
  2. Then click on Download in the menu at the top of the page.
    Download

Download a folder or multiple files

  1. Select all the files and/or folders you wish to download by clicking on them. If you are on Windows you need to hold down CTRL (CMD on Mac) to select multiple files.
  2. Click Compress in the menu at the top of the page.
    Compress
  3. You can now choose which file format you want the archive to use. If you are uncertain of what to use you can choose zip. At the bottom of the box you can see a text field which shows where the compressed file will be saved. If you want to you can change this path.
    Compress Archive
  4. Click on Compress File(s). This can take a while depending on how many files/folders you have selected.
  5. Find the location where you saved the archive and download it in the same way as If you want to download a file.

Rename a file or folder

  1. Select the file or folder you wish to rename and click the Rename button.
  2. In the popup that appears, enter the new name for the file/folder and save with the Rename File button.

View the content of a file

Select the file you want to view, and click the View button.

Avoid using the View feature on empty files.

Edit a file

  1. Select the file you want to edit, and click the Edit button.
    Edit button in the File manager
  2. In the popup that appears, click the Edit buttom by the bottom right. If you used a specific character encoding when creating the file (or when you edited it earlier), change from UTF-8 to the correct one. Don’t change it if you haven’t set any other encoding manually earlier.

    Confirm edit popup
  3. When you’re done editing, don’t forget to click Save changes in the top right. If you don’t wish to save anything, you can click Close.
    Save changes and Close

Delete files/folders

  1. To delete a file or a folder, start by clicking on it to select it. Then click the Delete button in the top menu.
    File manager delete button
  2. In the popup that appears you get to confirm that the file/folder should be deleted. You also get to select if the items should be moved to trash or deleted permanently. Click Confirm to delete the items.
    Confirm delete

Empty the trash

  1. When you delete files from the File Manager, they end up in Trash by default (unless you tick the checkbox indicating that Trash should be skipped). To browse the trashed files, click View Trash in the top menu.
    View trash button
  2. To permanently delete all files and folders in Trash, click the Empty Trash button. Please note that this button only is clickable if you’ve already clicked View Trash.
    Empty trash

Show hidden files

  1. To be able to see hidden files in the File Manager you need to click on Settings in the top right corner.
    Settings
  2. Select the option Show Hidden Files (dotfiles).
    Show Hidden Files
  3. The File Manager should now reload after which you should be able to see all files and folders that starts with a period.

Change permissions

  1. Right click on the file or folder you wish to edit permissions for and then click on Change Permissions.
    Right Click and select Change Permissions
  2. Select the permissions that you want to set for the file or folder. Default for files are 644 and 755 for folders.
    Permissions
  3. Click on Change Permissions when you are done.

Extract files

  1. Click the file you want to extract.
  2. Then click Extract in the top menu.
    Extract
  3. Now you get the possibility to select to which folder to extract the file to. By default the files will be extracted to the same folder where your compressed file resides in.
  4. Click Extract files to start the extraction.

Compress files

  1. Select the files/folder you wish to compress.
  2. Click Compress in the top menu.
    Compress button
  3. Now select whan file format to compress to. If you’re uncertain, use Zip.
  4. You also get to select where the compressed file should be saved.
  5. Finally, click Compress files.
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