Revision as of 13:53, 19 September 2011

The Files Pane lists all files available in the selected folder.

CKFinder Files Pane

Different Views

The Files Pane may present the files with two different display formats, depending on CKFinder settings (see "Settings"). The following is a comparison of the Thumbnails and the List views for the same folder.

When you configure CKFinder to use the Thumbnails view, the files will be presented as thumbnails (miniature previews or icons), with or without additional information like file name, size, or date (depending on your settings).

CKFinder Files Pane with Thumbnails view

When you configure CKFinder to use the List view, the files will be presented in a list, with or without additional information like file name, size, or date (depending on your settings).

CKFinder Files Pane with List view

Basic Operations

Activating (Selecting) a File with a Mouse

In order to activate a file and make it the "current file" in CKFinder, click the file name or its thumbnail. To make it easier to choose the file, when you hover your mouse over a file, its background will become highlighted. Once a file is activated, it will be permanently highlighted with a different background color.

The figure below presents various states of a file as viewed in a folder: unselected, hovered with a mouse, and activated (selected).

In order to deactivate a file, click another one (activating it) or click any empty space inside the Files Pane.

Copying Files

In order to copy a file to a different folder, select it, and drag onto the target folder in the Folders Pane. When you drop it onto a folder name, choose the Copy File Here option from the context menu.

Copying a file in CKFinder

The file will be duplicated and its copy will be placed in the target folder. The source folder will remain untouched.

File copied in CKFinder

Note: If the file with the same name already exists in the target folder, you will be prompted to choose between overwriting it or automatically renaming the copied file (this is the default option).

Error message for a file that already exists in CKFinder

Moving Files

In order to move a file to a different folder, select it, and drag onto the target folder in the Folders Pane. When you drop it onto a folder name, choose the Move File Here option from the context menu.

Moving a file in CKFinder

The file will be removed from the source folder and pasted into the target folder.

File moved in CKFinder

Advanced Operations

Advanced operations can be performed on a file by using its Context Menu. Depending on the circumstances, the following options may be available:

File context menu in CKFinder

• Select – selects the file.
• View – displays the full-sized file in a new browser tab or window.
• Download – downloads the file from the server to your computer.
• Resize – allows you to modify file size and/or create a new thumbnail.
• Rename – changes the name of the file.
• Delete – permanently removes the file.

Note: Some context menu options may be disabled (and thus grayed out), depending on CKFinder settings enforced by your system administrator.

Selecting Files

In order to select a file by using the context menu, choose the Select option. Alternatively, you can also perform a double-click on the file with your mouse.

Depending on the environment where CKFinder is used, the selection operation can, for example, send the file URL to another application or insert an image directly into an article created in your CMS system.

Viewing (Previewing) Files

In order to preview a file in the browser, choose the View option from its context menu. Not all kinds of files can be viewed in browsers, but this feature is quite useful for images, text, and PDF files. In other cases, the browser will ask you to open the file with an appropriate application.

Depending on your browser and operating system settings, the file will be displayed in a new browser tab or a new browser window.

Downloading Files

In order to download a file, choose the Download option from its context menu. The browser will ask you for a location on your computer to save the downloaded file. Depending on your browser and operating system settings, the file might also be opened immediately after it is downloaded by using an appropriate application of your operating system.

Resizing Files (Images)

In order to change the image size or its thumbnail size, choose the Resize option from its context menu. Once you enter new image dimensions or choose a thumbnail size, close the dialog window to apply the changes.

Resizing an image in CKFinder

If the image is too big, you can alter its dimensions by entering new values into the Width and Height fields. By default the image ratio is locked, which you can see thanks to the (Lock) button. This means that when you change one of the size values (width or height), the other one will be adjusted automatically.

If you want to freely modify both dimensions, click the Lock button in order to unlock the ratio. The button will now change to (Unlock) and modification of one dimension will not automatically cause the other one to be adjusted. To lock the image ratio again, click the Unlock button once more.

You can easily return to original image size by pressing the (Reset Size) button. This will reset the image size; the original width and height will now appear in appropriate text boxes.

If you resize the image, you can decide to save it under the same name, overwriting the existing file. Please note that this operation cannot be undone and once you save the file with its modified dimensions, you will not be able to restore the original size. In order to overwrite the original image, leave the Create a new image checkbox unselected.

Overwriting a resized image in CKFinder

You can also decide to save the resized image in a new file and leave the original as is. If you select the Create a new image checkbox, you will be able to give the modified file a new name. By default CKFinder suggests to save the image under the name that is built from the original file name and new file dimensions (for example: Sun1_100x100.jpg when the original file was named Sun1.jpg and the file was resized to 100 pixels wide and 100 pixels high).

Creating a new resized image in CKFinder

When you are ready with your changes, click the OK button to close the dialog window. On successful resizing a confirmation message will be displayed.

File resized in CKFinder

If you saved the resized image in a new file, you will see both files appear inside the folder.

Original and resized file in CKFinder

Note: The size of the original image may limit the options available for the Resize feature. The modified image size cannot exceed the original dimensions.