File operations in Angular File manager component

27 Sep 202324 minutes to read

The file manager component is used to browse, manage, and organize the files and folders in a file system through a web application. All basic file operations like creating a new folder, uploading and downloading of files in the file system, and deleting and renaming of existing files and folders are available in the file manager component. Additionally, previewing of image files is also provided in the file manager component.

The following table represents the basic operations available in the file manager and their corresponding functions.

Operation Name Function
read Read the details of files or folders available in the given path from the file system, to display the files for the user to browse the content.
create Creates a new folder in the current path of the file system.
delete Removes the file or folder from the file server.
rename Rename the selected file or folder in the file system.
search Searches for items matching the search string in the current and child directories.
details Gets the detail of the selected item(s) from the file server.
copy Copy the selected file or folder in the file system.
move Cut the selected file or folder in the file server.
upload Upload files to the current path or directory in the file system.
download Downloads the file from the server and the multiple files can be downloaded as ZIP files.

The CreateFolder, Remove, and Rename actions will be reflected in the file manager only after the successful response from the server.

Folder Upload support

To perform the directory(folder) upload in File Manager, set directoryUpload as true within the uploadSettings property. The directory upload feature is supported for the following file service providers:

  • Physical file service provider.
  • Azure file service provider.
  • NodeJS file service provider.
  • Amazon file service provider.

In the following example, directory upload is enabled/disabled on DropDownButton selection.

import { Component, ViewEncapsulation, ViewChild  } from '@angular/core';
import { FileManagerComponent, NavigationPaneService, ToolbarService, DetailsViewService } from '@syncfusion/ej2-angular-filemanager';
import { DropDownButton, ItemModel } from '@syncfusion/ej2-splitbuttons';
/**
 * File Manager directory upload feature sample
 */

@Component({
    selector: 'app-root',
    styleUrls: ['./app.component.css'],
    template: `<ejs-filemanager id='file' #fileObj [ajaxSettings]='ajaxSettings' (created)="onCreated($event)">
    </ejs-filemanager>`
})

export class AppComponent{
    @ViewChild('fileObj')
    public fileObj?: FileManagerComponent;
    public ajaxSettings?: object;
    public hostUrl: string = 'https://ej2-aspcore-service.azurewebsites.net/';
    public ngOnInit(): void {
        this.ajaxSettings = {
            url: this.hostUrl + 'api/FileManager/FileOperations',
            getImageUrl: this.hostUrl + 'api/FileManager/GetImage',
            uploadUrl: this.hostUrl + 'api/FileManager/Upload',
            downloadUrl: this.hostUrl + 'api/FileManager/Download'
        };
    }
    //DropDownButton items definition
    public items: ItemModel[] = [{ text: 'Folder' }, { text: 'Files' }];

  onCreated(args: any) {
    let customBtn: HTMLElement = document.getElementById('file_tb_upload') as HTMLElement;
    customBtn.onclick = (e) => {
      e.stopPropagation();
    };
    let drpDownBtn: DropDownButton = new DropDownButton(
      {
        items: this.items,
        select: (args) => {
          if (args.item.text === 'Folder') {
            (this.fileObj as FileManagerComponent).uploadSettings.directoryUpload = true;
          } else {
            (this.fileObj as FileManagerComponent).uploadSettings.directoryUpload = false;
          }
          setTimeout(function () {
            let uploadBtn: HTMLElement = document.querySelector(
              '.e-file-select-wrap button'
            ) as HTMLElement;
            uploadBtn.click();
          }, 100);
        },
      },
      '#file_tb_upload'
    );
  }
}
import { AppComponent } from './app.component';
import { BrowserModule } from '@angular/platform-browser';
import { NgModule } from '@angular/core';

import { FileManagerModule,NavigationPaneService, ToolbarService, DetailsViewService  } from '@syncfusion/ej2-angular-filemanager';

@NgModule({
    imports: [FileManagerModule, BrowserModule],
    declarations: [AppComponent],
    providers:[NavigationPaneService, ToolbarService, DetailsViewService],
    bootstrap: [AppComponent]
})
export class AppModule { }
import { platformBrowserDynamic } from '@angular/platform-browser-dynamic';
import { enableProdMode } from '@angular/core';
import { AppModule } from './app.module';

import 'zone.js';
enableProdMode();
platformBrowserDynamic().bootstrapModule(AppModule);

Physical file service provider

To achieve the directory upload in the physical file service provider, use the below code snippet in IActionResult Upload method in the Controllers/FileManagerController.cs file.

[Route("Upload")]
        public IActionResult Upload(string path, IList<IFormFile> uploadFiles, string action)
        {
            FileManagerResponse uploadResponse;
            foreach (var file in uploadFiles)
            {
                var folders = (file.FileName).Split('/');
                // checking the folder upload
                if (folders.Length > 1)
                {
                    for (var i = 0; i < folders.Length - 1; i++)
                    {
                        string newDirectoryPath = Path.Combine(this.basePath + path, folders[i]);
                        if (!Directory.Exists(newDirectoryPath))
                        {
                            this.operation.ToCamelCase(this.operation.Create(path, folders[i]));
                        }
                        path += folders[i] + "/";
                    }
                }
            }
            uploadResponse = operation.Upload(path, uploadFiles, action, null);
            if (uploadResponse.Error != null)
            {
               Response.Clear();
               Response.ContentType = "application/json; charset=utf-8";
               Response.StatusCode = Convert.ToInt32(uploadResponse.Error.Code);
               Response.HttpContext.Features.Get<IHttpResponseFeature>().ReasonPhrase = uploadResponse.Error.Message;
            }
            return Content("");
        }

Refer to the GitHub for more details

And also add the below code snippet in FileManagerResponse Upload method in Models/PhysicalFileProvider.cs file.

string[] folders = name.Split('/');
string fileName = folders[folders.Length - 1];
var fullName = Path.Combine((this.contentRootPath + path), fileName);

Refer to the GitHub for more details.

Azure file service provider

For Azure file service provider, no customizations are needed for directory upload with server side and this will work with the below default upload method code.

Refer to the GitHub for more details.

NodeJS file service provider

To perform the directory upload in the NodeJS file service provider, use the below code snippet in app.post method in the filesystem-server.js file.

var folders = (req.body.filename).split('/');
var filepath = req.body.path;
var uploadedFileName = folders[folders.length - 1];
// checking the folder upload
if (folders.length > 1)
   {
     for (var i = 0; i < folders.length - 1; i++)
       {
          var newDirectoryPath = path.join(contentRootPath + filepath, folders[i]);
          if (!fs.existsSync(newDirectoryPath)) {
                fs.mkdirSync(newDirectoryPath);
                (async () => {
                           await FileManagerDirectoryContent(req, res, newDirectoryPath).then(data => {
                                response = { files: data };
                                response = JSON.stringify(response);
                           });
                        })();
                    }
                    filepath += folders[i] + "/";
                }
                fs.rename('./' + uploadedFileName, path.join(contentRootPath, filepath + uploadedFileName), function (err) {
                    if (err) {
                        if (err.code != 'EBUSY') {
                            errorValue.message = err.message;
                            errorValue.code = err.code;
                        }
                    }
                });
            }

Refer to the GitHub for more details.

Amazon file service provider

To perform the directory upload in the Amazon file service provider, use the below code snippet in IActionResult AmazonS3Upload method in the Controllers/AmazonS3ProviderController.cs file.

foreach (var file in uploadFiles)
            {
                var folders = (file.FileName).Split('/');
                // checking the folder upload
                if (folders.Length > 1)
                {
                    for (var i = 0; i < folders.Length - 1; i++)
                    {
                        if (!this.operation.checkFileExist(path, folders[i]))
                        {
                            this.operation.ToCamelCase(this.operation.Create(path, folders[i], dataObject));
                        }
                        path += folders[i] + "/";
                    }
                }
            }

Refer to the GitHub for more details.

And also add the below code snippet in AsyncUpload method in Models/AmazonS3FileProvider.cs file.

string[] folders = file.FileName.Split('/');
string name = folders[folders.Length - 1];

Refer to the GitHub for more details.

File operation request and response Parameters

The default parameters available in file operation request from the file manager and the corresponding response parameters required by the file manager are listed as follows.

Read

The following table represents the request parameters of read operations.

Parameter Type Default Explanation
action String read Name of the file operation.
path String - Relative path from which the data has to be read.
showHiddenItems Boolean - Defines show or hide the hidden items.
data FileManagerDirectoryContent - Details about the current path (directory).

Refer File request and response contents for the contents of data.

Example:

{
    action: "read",
    path: "/",
    showHiddenItems: false,
    data: []
}

The following table represents the response parameters of read operations.

Parameter Type Default Explanation
cwd FileManagerDirectoryContent - Path (Current Working Directory) details.
files FileManagerDirectoryContent[] - Details of files and folders present in given path or directory.
error ErrorDetails - Error Details

Refer File request and response contents for the contents of cwd, files, and error.

Example:

{
    cwd:
    {
        name:"Download",
        size:0,
        dateModified:"2019-02-28T03:48:19.8319708+00:00",
        dateCreated:"2019-02-27T17:36:15.812193+00:00",
        hasChild:false,
        isFile:false,
        type:"",
        filterPath:"\\Download\\"
    },
    files:[
        {
            name:"Sample Work Sheet.xlsx",
            size:6172,
            dateModified:"2019-02-27T17:23:50.9651206+00:00",
            dateCreated:"2019-02-27T17:36:15.8151955+00:00",
            hasChild:false,
            isFile:true,
            type:".xlsx",
            filterPath:"\\Download\\"
        }
    ],
    error:null,
    details:null
}

Create

The following table represents the request parameters of create operations.

Parameter Type Default Explanation
action String create Name of the file operation.
path String - Relative path in which the folder has to be created.
name String - Name of the folder to be created.
data FileManagerDirectoryContent - Details about the current path (directory).

Refer File request and response contents for the contents of data

Example:

{
    action: "create",
    data: [
        {
            dateCreated: "2019-02-27T17:36:15.6571949+00:00",
            dateModified: "2019-03-12T10:17:31.8505975+00:00",
            filterPath: "\",
            hasChild: true,
            isFile: false,
            name: files,
            nodeId: "fe_tree",
            size: 0,
            type: ""
        }
    ],
    name: "Hello",
    path: "/"
}

The following table represents the response parameters of create operations.

Parameter Type Default Explanation
files FileManagerDirectoryContent[] - Details of the created folder
error ErrorDetails - Error Details

Refer File request and response contents for the contents of files and error.

Example:

{
    cwd: null,
    files: [
        {
            dateCreated: "2019-03-15T10:25:05.3596171+00:00",
            dateModified: "2019-03-15T10:25:05.3596171+00:00",
            filterPath: null,
            hasChild: false,
            isFile: false,
            name: "New",
            size: 0,
            type: ""
        }
    ],
    details: null,
    error: null
}

Rename

The following table represents the request parameters of rename operations.

Parameter Type Default Explanation
action String rename Name of the file operation.
path String - Relative path in which the item is located.
name String - Current name of the item to be renamed.
newname String - New name for the item.
data FileManagerDirectoryContent - Details of the item to be renamed.

Refer File request and response contents for the contents of data.

Example:

{
    action: "rename",
    data: [
        {
            dateCreated: "2019-03-20T05:22:34.621Z",
            dateModified: "2019-03-20T08:45:56.000Z",
            filterPath: "\Pictures\Nature\",
            hasChild: false,
            iconClass: "e-fe-image",
            isFile: true,
            name: "seaviews.jpg",
            size: 95866,
            type: ".jpg"
        }
    ],
    newname: "seaview.jpg",
    name: "seaviews.jpg",
    path: "/Pictures/Nature/"
}

The following table represents the response parameters of rename operations.

Parameter Type Default Explanation
files FileManagerDirectoryContent[] - Details of the renamed item.
error ErrorDetails - Error Details

Refer File request and response contents for the contents of files and error.

Example:

{
    cwd:null,
    files:[
        {
            name:"seaview.jpg",
            size:95866,
            dateModified:"2019-03-20T08:45:56+00:00",
            dateCreated:"2019-03-20T05:22:34.6214847+00:00",
            hasChild:false,
            isFile:true,
            type:".jpg",
            filterPath:"\\Pictures\\Nature\\seaview.jpg"
        }
    ],
    error:null,
    details:null
}

Delete

The following table represents the request parameters of delete operations.

Parameter Type Default Explanation
action String delete Name of the file operation.
path String - Relative path where the items to be deleted are located.
names String[] - List of the items to be deleted.
data FileManagerDirectoryContent - Details of the item to be deleted.

Refer File request and response contents for the contents of data.

Example:

{
    action: "delete",
    path: "/Hello/",
    names: ["New"],
    data: []
}

The following table represents the response parameters of delete operations.

Parameter Type Default Explanation
files FileManagerDirectoryContent[] - Details about the deleted item(s).
error ErrorDetails - Error Details

Refer File request and response contents for the contents of files and error.

Example:

{
    cwd: null,
    details: null,
    error: null,
    files: [
        {
            dateCreated: "2019-03-15T10:13:30.346309+00:00",
            dateModified: "2019-03-15T10:13:30.346309+00:00",
            filterPath: "\Hello\folder",
            hasChild: true,
            isFile: false,
            name: "folder",
            size: 0,
            type: ""
        }
    ]
}

Details

The following table represents the request parameters of details operations.

Parameter Type Default Explanation
action String details Name of the file operation.
path String - Relative path where the items are located.
names String[] - List of the items to get details.
data FileManagerDirectoryContent - Details of the selected item.

Refer File request and response contents for the contents of data.

Example:

{
    action: "details",
    path: "/FileContents/",
    names: ["All Files"],
    data: []
}

The following table represents the response parameters of details operations.

Parameter Type Default Explanation
details FileManagerDirectoryContent - Details of the requested item(s).
error ErrorDetails - Error Details

Refer File request and response contents for the contents of details and error.

Example:

{
    cwd:null,
    files:null,
    error:null,
    details:
    {
        name:"All Files",
        location:"\\Files\\FileContents\\All Files",
        isFile:false,
        size:"679.8 KB",
        created:"3/8/2019 10:18:37 AM",
        modified:"3/8/2019 10:18:39 AM",
        multipleFiles:false
    }
}

The following table represents the request parameters of search operations.

Parameter Type Default Explanation
action String search Name of the file operation.
path String - Relative path to the directory where the files should be searched.
showHiddenItems Boolean - Defines show or hide the hidden items.
caseSensitive Boolean - Defines search is case sensitive or not.
searchString String - String to be searched in the directory.
data FileManagerDirectoryContent - Details of the searched item.

Example:

{
    action: "search",
    path: "/",
    searchString: "*nature*",
    showHiddenItems: false,
    caseSensitive: false,
    data: []
}

The following table represents the response parameters of search operations.

Parameter Type Default Explanation
cwd FileManagerDirectoryContent - Path (Current Working Directory) details.
files FileManagerDirectoryContent[] - Files and folders in the searched directory that matches the search input.
error ErrorDetails - Error Details

Refer File request and response contents for the contents of cwd, files and error.

Example:

{
    cwd:
    {
        name:files,
        size:0,
        dateModified:"2019-03-15T10:07:00.8658158+00:00",
        dateCreated:"2019-02-27T17:36:15.6571949+00:00",
        hasChild:true,
        isFile:false,
        type:"",
        filterPath:"\\"
    },
    files:[
        {
            name:"Nature",
            size:0,
            dateModified:"2019-03-08T10:18:42.9937708+00:00",
            dateCreated:"2019-03-08T10:18:42.5907729+00:00",
            hasChild:true,
            isFile:false,
            type:"",
            filterPath:"\\FileContents\\Nature"
        }
    ],
    error:null,
    details:null
}

Copy

The following table represents the request parameters of copy operations.

Parameter Type Default Explanation
action String copy Name of the file operation.
path String - Relative path to the directory where the files should be copied.
names String[] - List of files to be copied.
targetPath String - Relative path where the items to be pasted are located.
data FileManagerDirectoryContent - Details of the copied item.
renameFiles String[] - Details of the renamed item.

Example:

{
    action: "copy",
    path: "/",
    names: ["6.png"],
    renameFiles: ["6.png"],
    targetPath: "/Videos/"
}

The following table represents the response parameters of copy operations.

Parameter Type Default Explanation
cwd FileManagerDirectoryContent - Path (Current Working Directory) details.
files FileManagerDirectoryContent[] - Details of copied files or folders
error ErrorDetails - Error Details

Refer File request and response contents for the contents of cwd, files and error.

Example:

{
    cwd:null,
    files:[
        {
            path:null,
            action:null,
            newName:null,
            names:null,
            name:"justin.mp4",
            size:0,
            previousName:"album.mp4",
            dateModified:"2019-06-21T06:58:32+00:00",
            dateCreated:"2019-06-24T04:22:14.6245618+00:00",
            hasChild:false,
            isFile:true,
            type:".mp4",
            id:null,
            filterPath:"\\"
        }
    ],
    error:null,
    details:null
}

Move

The following table represents the request parameters of move operations.

Parameter Type Default Explanation
action String move Name of the file operation.
path String - Relative path to the directory where the files should be copied.
names String[] - List of files to be moved.
targetPath String - Relative path where the items to be pasted are located.
data FileManagerDirectoryContent - Details of the moved item.
renameFiles String[] - Details of the renamed item.

Example:

{
    action: "move",
    path: "/",
    names: ["6.png"],
    renameFiles: ["6.png"],
    targetPath: "/Videos/"
}

The following table represents the response parameters of copy operations.

Parameter Type Default Explanation
cwd FileManagerDirectoryContent - Path (Current Working Directory) details.
files FileManagerDirectoryContent[] - Details of cut files or folders
error ErrorDetails - Error Details

Refer File request and response contents for the contents of cwd, files and error.

Example:

{
    cwd:null,
    files:[
        {
            path:null,
            action:null,
            newName:null,
            names:null,
            name:"justin biber.mp4",
            size:0,
            previousName:"justin biber.mp4",
            dateModified:"2019-06-21T06:58:32+00:00",
            dateCreated:"2019-06-24T04:26:49.2690476+00:00",
            hasChild:false,
            isFile:true,
            type:".mp4",
            id:null,
            filterPath:"\\Videos\\"
        }
    ],
    error:null,
    details:null
}

Upload

The following table represents the request parameters of Upload operations.

Parameter Type Default Explanation
action String Save Name of the file operation.
path String - Relative path to the location where the file has to be uploaded.
uploadFiles IList<IFormFile> - File that are uploaded.

Example:

uploadFiles: (binary),
path: /,
action: Save,
data: {
    path:null,
    action:null,
    newName:null,
    names:null,
    name:"Downloads",
    size:0,
    previousName:null,
    dateModified:"2019-07-22T11:23:46.7153977 00:00",
    dateCreated:"2019-07-22T11:26:13.9047229 00:00",
    hasChild:false,
    isFile:false,
    type:"",
    id:null,
    filterPath:"\\",
    targetPath:null,
    renameFiles:null,
    uploadFiles:null,
    caseSensitive:false,
    searchString:null,
    showHiddenItems:false,
    _fm_iconClass:null,
    _fm_id:"fe_tree_1",
    _fm_pId:null,
    _fm_selected:false,
    _fm_icon:null,
    data:null,
    targetData:null,
    permission:null
}

The upload response is an empty string.

Download

The following table represents the request parameters of download operations.

Parameter Type Default Explanation
action String download Name of the file operation
path String - Relative path to location where the files to download are present.
names String[] - Name list of the items to be downloaded.
data FileManagerDirectoryContent - Details of the download item.

Example:

{
    action:"download",
    path:"/",
    names:["1.png"],
    data:[
        {
            path:null,
            action:null,
            newName:null,
            names:null,
            name:"1.png",
            size:49792,
            previousName:null,
            dateModified:"2019-07-22T12:15:45.0972405+00:00",
            dateCreated:"2019-07-22T12:15:45.0816042+00:00",
            hasChild:false,
            isFile:true,
            type:".png",
            id:null,
            filterPath:"\\",
            targetPath:null,
            renameFiles:null,
            uploadFiles:null,
            caseSensitive:false,
            searchString:null,
            showHiddenItems:false,
            _fm_iconClass:"e-fe-image",
            _fm_id:null,
            _fm_pId:null,
            _fm_selected:false,
            _fm_icon:null,
            data:null,
            targetData:null,
            permission:null,
            _fm_created:"2019-07-22T12:15:45.081Z",
            _fm_modified:"2019-07-22T12:15:45.097Z",
            _fm_imageUrl:"https://ej2-aspcore-service.azurewebsites.net/api/FileManager/GetImage?path=/1.png",
            _fm_imageAttr:
            {
                alt:"1.png"
            },
            _fm_htmlAttr:
            {
                class:"e-large-icon",
                title:"1.png"
            }
        }
    ]
}

Downloads the requested items from the file server in response.

GetImage

The following table represents the request parameters of GetImage operations.

Parameter Type Default Explanation
path String - Relative path to the image file

Return the image as a file stream in response.

The request from the file manager can be customized using the beforeSend event. Additional information can be passed to the file manager in file operation response and can be used in customization.

File request and response contents

The following table represents the contents of data, cwd, and files in the file manager request and response.

Parameter Type Default Explanation
name String - File name
dateCreated String - Date in which file was created (UTC Date string).
dateModified String - Date in which file was last modified (UTC Date string).
filterPath String - Relative path to the file or folder.
hasChild Boolean - Defines this folder has any child folder or not.
isFile Boolean - Say whether the item is file or folder.
size Number - File size
type String - File extension

The following table represents the contents of error in the file manager request and response.

Parameter Type Default Explanation
code String - Error code
message String - Error message
fileExists String[] - List of duplicate file names

The following table represents the contents of details in the file manager request and response.

Parameter Type Default Explanation
name String - File name
dateCreated String - Date in which file was created (UTC Date string).
dateModified String - Date in which file was last modified (UTC Date string).
filterPath String - Relative path to the file or folder.
hasChild Boolean - Defines this folder has any child folder or not.
isFile Boolean - Say whether the item is file or folder.
size Number - File size
type String - File extension
multipleFiles Boolean - Say whether the details are about single file or multiple files.

Action Buttons

The file manager has several menu buttons to access the file operations. The list of menu buttons available in the file manager is given in the following table.

Menu Button Behaviour
SortBy Opens the sub menu to choose the sorting order and sorting parameter.
View Opens the sub menu to choose the View.
Open Navigates to the selected folder. Opens the preview for image files.
Refresh Initiates the read operation for the current directory and displays the updated directory content.
NewFolder Opens the new folder dialog box to receive the name for the new folder.
Rename Opens the rename dialog box to receive the new name for the selected item.
Delete Opens the delete dialog box to confirm the removal of the selected items from the file system.
Upload Opens the upload box to select the items to upload to the file system.
Download Downloads the selected item(s).
Details Get details about the selected items and display them in details dialog box.
SelectAll Selects all the files and folders displayed in the view section.

The action menu buttons are present in the toolbar and context menu. The toolbar contains the buttons based on the selected items count, while the context menu will appear with a list based on the target.

Toolbar

The toolbar can be divided into two sections as right and left. Whenever the toolbar buttons exceed the size, the buttons present in the left section of the toolbar will be moved to the toolbar popup.

The following table provides the toolbar buttons that appear based on the selection.

Selected Items Count Left section Right section
`0` (none of the item ) * SortBy * Refresh * NewFolder * Upload * View * Details
`1` (single item selected) * Delete * Download * Rename * Selected items count * View * Details
`>1` (multiple selection) * Delete * Download * Selected items count * View * Details

Context menu

The following table provides the default context menu item and the corresponding target areas.

Menu Name Menu Items Target
Layout * SortBy * View * Refresh * NewFolder * Upload * Details * Select all * Empty space in the view section (details view and large icon view area). * Empty folder content.
Folders * Open * Delete * Rename * Downloads * Details * Folders in treeview, details view, and large icon view.
Files * Open * Delete * Rename * Downloads * Details * Files in details view and large icon view.