Introduction

Every website relies on various files, including HTML documents, scripts, images, stylesheets, and more, that must be appropriately organized and maintained. While you can manage these files using FTP or external tools, Plesk provides a built-in File Manager that allows you to handle all your website files directly from the control panel.

With the File Manager, you can upload, edit, move, copy, or delete files without needing third-party applications. It is a convenient and user-friendly tool that ensures you stay in control of your website’s structure and content.

In this tutorial, we will guide you through the process of managing your website’s files using the File Manager in Plesk.

Accessing the File Manager in Plesk

To access the File Manager in your Plesk control panel, please make sure you have logged in to your Plesk control panel. To do that, please type in your IP address, hostname, or domain name inside your browser search bar and add “:8443” at the end. It should look something like: https://yourdomain.com:8443. By doing so, you will be prompted by a login form that requires your username and password.

Once logged in, Plesk will automatically display the “Websites & Domains” page, which will be the index every time. In the middle, you will see a table section containing a list of all your existing domains. 

Navigating Through Files and Directories

To navigate through the files and directories on your Pleks account, you need to open the File Manager itself. To do that, please point your attention to the left-side menu and select the “Files” option from there.

Performing this action will take you to the File Manager for your Pleks web hosting account. From there, you can:

• Browse through folders by clicking on them

• Open individual files for viewing or editing

• Use the navigation bar at the top to move between different directories

Let’s review the layout of the File Manager so you can get a better idea of what is going on there.

On the left-hand side, you will see the directory structure of the web hosting account. Basically, these are all the folders inside your Plesk’s home directory. Some of these folders are system folders that store sessions, configuration files, and backups, while others represent the root directories of your websites. For example, the “httpdocs” directory is the root folder of your account’s primary domain name. (similar to cPanel’s public_html directory)

In the middle of the screen, you will see a table section containing all the folders/files in the selected directory from the left side (in our example above, it will show the same folders, as we the File Manager defaults to the Home Directory folder), however, if you navigate to the “httpdocs” folder, you will see all the directories and files inside.

Above the table section, you will find various action buttons, allowing you to perform different operations with your files and folders. 

Various Plesk file/folder actions

To display additional folder/file actions, please click on the blue “+” button, located on the top left side of the table section. Performing this will unveil the following actions:

• Upload Files - Please use the “Upload File” option to add files from your computer or device.
• Upload Directory - Please use the “Upload Directory” option to add folders from your computer or device.
• Import File from URL - Please use the “Import File from URL” option to import a file from a URL.
• Create Files - Please click on the “Create Files” option to create a new file in the current directory you are in.
• Create Directory - Please click on the “Create Directory” option to create a new folder in the current directory you are in.

• Edit Files - Please click on a file to use the built-in editor to modify its content. This is particularly useful for quick changes to configuration or script files. Performing this action will open a side menu allowing you to edit the file. At the bottom left side of the menu, you will see a “Save” button. Please press it after you are finished making changes to update the file.

• Copy - Please select a file using the checkbox corresponding to the file and choose a location to copy it to. You can do this via a pop-up window that appears after pressing the “Copy” button at the top of the table section. Once you select the location, please click on the “Ok” button located at the bottom of the pop-up window.

• Move -  Please select a file using the checkbox corresponding to the file and choose a location to move it to. You can do this via a pop-up window that appears after pressing the “Move” button at the top of the table section. Once you select the location, please click on the “Ok” button located at the bottom of the pop-up window.

• Archive - Please select the drop-down menu to expand the archive options available for your files/folders. One option is to extract files/folders from an already uploaded archive, while the other option is to add the selected files to an archive, compressing them to reduce their size. 

• More - Please click on this drop-down menu to expand additional file manipulation options for Plesk. They are as follows:

• Calculate Size - Please use the checkbox to select all the files you want, and then press the “Calculate Size” button. Performing this action will show you the total file size of the marked files. 

• Change Timestamps - Please use the checkbox to select all the files you want, and then press the “Change Timestamps” button. Performing this action will update the timestamps for the mentioned files and display the last update time. 

• View Options - Please select this option to expand additional “View” options for your File Manager:

• Show the navigation pane -  Please use the checkbox to enable the navigation panel in your File Manager (located on the left side of the File Manager).

• Show System Files and Directories - Please use this checkbox to display system files and directories.

• Show permissions - Please enable this option to display file/folder permissions.
• Show users and groups - Please enable this option to show file/folder users and groups.

• Remove - Please use this option to remove unnecessary files. First, select a file using the checkbox corresponding to the file you want to delete, and press the “Remove” button. Doing so will expand a pop-up window where you need to confirm its deletion. By default, this will send the file to the “Trash” folder; however, to delete it permanently, please select the “Skip the Recycle Bin and permanently remove file” checkbox to delete it from the file system completely.

Conclusion

As demonstrated, Plesk’s File Manager is a powerful and user-friendly tool that allows you to handle all of your website’s files directly from the control panel. Whether you want to upload new files, organize your directories, or quickly edit existing code, the File Manager provides everything you need in one place.

We hope this tutorial was helpful, and we kindly encourage you to use the File Manager in Plesk to simplify your website management tasks.