File Store

What it does

The File Store is a place for your members' files. Everyone who may use it keeps their own files, in folders of their own, within a quota you set. A file can be shared with a person, a role or every signed-in member, and a file marked public can be offered on any page with a shortcode. Files are never served from the media library: every download is checked against who may have it.

Getting started

Open Tools > File Store. Drop files anywhere on the list, or use Upload in the banner. New folder (the folder icon) makes a folder where you are; click a folder to open it and the crumbs at the top to go back.

To upload a whole folder, drop it on the list or use Upload a folder (the open-folder icon) in the banner. Its folders come with it: a folder that is already there with the same name is added to, and the rest are made. Hidden files such as .DS_Store, Thumbs.db and desktop.ini are left out, and folders still only go twelve deep.

Every file has a menu - right-click it, click its ⋮, or press Shift+F10 on it:

• Download, and Open for images, PDFs, video, audio and plain text. Downloads go to your browser's own downloads list, so large files show their progress and a dropped download can be resumed there.
• Share… - who may open it.
• Share publicly or Stop sharing publicly - turn anonymous downloads on or off directly.
• Rename (or F2), Move to…, Delete (or the Delete key).
• Copy shortcode and Copy link once it is public.

Previews

Images show as small pictures in the list. Click an image, a PDF, a video, a sound or a text file to see it in a panel; ← and → step through the others in the folder. Other kinds download when clicked.

Choosing several

Tick the box at the start of a row (it shows when you point at one), Ctrl-click (⌘ on a Mac), or Shift-click to take everything between. Space ticks the row you are on and Ctrl+A ticks them all; Escape clears. A bar at the top offers Download as zip, Move to… and Delete for the lot, and so does a right-click on any ticked row.

When only files are selected, Share publicly and Stop sharing publicly switch public access for the selection. A mixed public/private selection offers both actions. Sharing publicly needs the Public links permission; stopping public sharing needs permission to update the files. Folders are excluded from these actions. If every selected file is public, Copy public links and Copy shortcodes copy one per line. Stopping public sharing revokes the public links; sharing again creates fresh links.

Moving by dragging

Drag a file or folder (or a ticked lot) onto a folder in the list, or onto a name in the path at the top.

Trash

Delete moves things to Trash, where they wait for 30 days before they go for good. Trash still counts towards your space, and a file in Trash is closed to everyone it was shared with and to pages, until it is restored. In Trash, right-click for Restore or Delete forever; right-click the empty space for Empty Trash. An admin can change the 30 days, or set 0 to make deleting final at once.

Right-click the empty space around the files (not on one) for Upload files, Upload a folder, New folder, Up one level, Refresh and, for managers, Quotas and limits.

Places

Right-click a place in the left rail, or focus it and press Shift+F10, for Open, Open in new tab and the actions available there. Upload files, New folder and Refresh work at that place's top level, even if you are looking in another folder. Trash offers Empty Trash if you may delete files; it asks before deleting anything for good.

• My files - your own files and folders.
• Shared with me - what others have shared with you, by name, by role or with every member. You cannot upload here; uploads go to your own files.
• Everyone's files - for whoever manages the File Store: every member's files and folders, with the owner on each row. A manager working in a member's folder leaves the files as that member's.

Sharing

Share… opens the panel. Tick people (search by name), roles, or Every signed-in member. A person you share with by name gets a notification. Sharing never lets anyone change or delete your file - only you (and a manager) can.

A public link - for anyone, no sign-in. Right-click a file and choose Get public link: the file is made public and a short link (/_f/…) is copied, ready to paste anywhere. Anyone who has it can download the file without an account. Share… shows the link again (and the shortcode to put it on a page), and unticking Anyone with the link stops it at once - ticking it again makes a new link, so the old one stays dead. Public links need the Public links permission, which every member has to start with. For links that expire, need a password or count their downloads, see File Store Pro.

Copying to Media

With Media Pro on the site, right-click a file or one of your folders (or select several) and choose Copy to Media, then pick a Media folder. A folder arrives as a new folder holding everything in it. A copy goes into Media, where it can be used on pages and anyone with its address can see it; your file here keeps its own sharing. Media Pro can also copy Media files into your File Store. You need permission to add to Media.

Shortcodes

[download file="e76b2f2f0cc85778cc3cf2f1" label="The minutes" /]
[download folder="2fd0b4e9c1a3e7b2f91c0d55" /]

file offers one public file as a link with its size (label replaces the name). folder lists every public file in that folder. A file that is not public renders as nothing, so a page can never leak a private file. Style the links with .dm-file-download in your site's CSS.

Quotas and limits

The cog in the banner (for managers) opens File Store quotas. Sizes are in megabytes; an empty box means no limit.

• Each member - the usual quota.
• By role - a quota for a role; a member with several roles gets the most generous.
• Use by member - every member's use. Click one to give them a quota of their own, which wins over their roles; clear it to go back.
• The whole site - everyone's files together. On a hosted site the plan sets a ceiling the site quota cannot exceed.
• Largest upload - one file may be at most this big. An upload over any limit is stopped as it arrives, not after.
• Days in Trash - how long deleted things wait before they go for good (0 = straight away).
• Kinds not accepted - file extensions nobody may upload. Executables and scripts are blocked by default; you may clear the list. Whatever the list, HTML and SVG files are offered as downloads, never shown in the page.

The sidebar badge shows how many files you keep and how much of your space is used; it turns red when your space is nearly gone or the site is full.

Permissions and roles

• File Store (files): View, Upload, Edit, Delete - granted to admin and user, so every member may keep and share files. Take an action away from a role at System > Roles.
• File Store public links (files-public): Public links - making a file public, for anyone with the link and for pages - granted to admin and user.
• File Store admin (files-admin): Manage (everyone's files, the quotas) - granted to admin.

Limitations

• Share links for people without an account and upload requests come with File Store Pro. File versions and virus scanning are not part of the File Store yet.
• A zip download is at most 2 GB.
• Folders are not shared as a whole; share the files in them.
• Files live on the site's own disk, under the plugin's data folder; they are not part of the site's git repository.