Exploring the cPanel File Manager: A User’s Guide

cPanel File Manager is a web-based file management tool within the cPanel Control Panel, allowing users to manage files and directories on their web hosting account directly from their web browser without requiring a separate FTP client or SSH access.

cPanel File Manager features guideline

1. Log into cPanel and navigate to the Files section to select File Manager tool or search for the File Manager tool in the search bar.

2. Then, the tool opens a new window with navigation and management options, showing your website’s folders and file directories. It displays the folder tree on the left and its contents on the right, allowing easy navigation.

3. To search and access a specific folder, enter its full name path and click “Go” in the folder tree search function.

4. To display the Home folder and its contents, click on the Home button.

5. To go up one level from your current place, click on the Up One Level button.

6. To navigate back and forth in your web browser, click the Back/Forward button.

7. To refresh the page to show the changes, click the Reload button.

8. To select or deselect files or folders, click the Select/Unselect All button.

9. To display the “Trash” folder where all the deleted files are located, click the View Trash button.

10. To clear your trash folder, click the Empty Trash button. You can use this feature only in the trash folder.

11. To create a new file in the selected folder, click the “File” button.

12. To create a new folder, click the “Folder” button.

13. To copy the selected files to a specific destination, click the “Copy” button.

14. To move the file from the original location to the new location, click the “Move” button.

15. Upload files to your hosting account by clicking the “Upload” button, but not folders. Use an FTP client like FileZilla if you want to upload larger files. Then click “Return to (directory link)”.

16. To download the selected file to your computer device, click the “Download” button.

17. To move the selected files to the trash folder, click the “Delete” button, but this is an option to move. If you want to delete files permanently, check the “Skip Trash and delete files permanently” box.

18. To restore the deleted files to their original folder location, click the “Restore” button, but only if you are in the “Trash” folder.

19. To edit the file, click the Rename/Edit/HTML Editor button. It works very similar to any text editor software.

20. To assign permissions to specific files or folders, click the “Permissions” button, but be sure to understand the process to avoid potential site issues.

21. To view your file, click the “View” button.

22. To compress the file into Zip, Gzip, or Bzip2 format and extract the file, click the Extract/Compress button.

23. To set your preferences, click the Settings button.