Getting started in EJ2 TypeScript File Manager control

11 Apr 202524 minutes to read

This section briefly explains how to create File Manager control and configure its available functionalities in TypeScript, using Essential^® JS 2 quickstart seed repository.

This application is integrated with the webpack.config.js configuration and uses the latest version of the webpack-cli. It requires node v14.15.0 or higher. For more information about webpack and its features, refer to the webpack documentation.

Dependencies

The following are the dependencies required to use the File Manager control in your application:

|-- @syncfusion/ej2-filemanager
    |-- @syncfusion/ej2-base
    |-- @syncfusion/ej2-layouts
    |-- @syncfusion/ej2-popups
    |-- @syncfusion/ej2-data
    |-- @syncfusion/ej2-inputs
    |-- @syncfusion/ej2-lists
    |-- @syncfusion/ej2-buttons
    |-- @syncfusion/ej2-splitbuttons
    |-- @syncfusion/ej2-navigations
    |-- @syncfusion/ej2-grids

Set up development environment

Open the command prompt from the required directory, and run the following command to clone the Syncfusion^® JavaScript (Essential^® JS 2) quickstart project from GitHub.

CMD
git clone https://github.com/SyncfusionExamples/ej2-quickstart-webpack- ej2-quickstart

After cloning the application in the ej2-quickstart folder, run the following command line to navigate to the ej2-quickstart folder.

CMD
cd ej2-quickstart

Add Syncfusion^® JavaScript packages

Syncfusion^® JavaScript (Essential^® JS 2) packages are available on the npmjs.com public registry. You can install all Syncfusion^® JavaScript (Essential^® JS 2) controls in a single @syncfusion/ej2 package or individual packages for each control.

The quickstart application is preconfigured with the dependent @syncfusion/ej2 package in the ~/package.json file. Use the following command to install the dependent npm packages from the command prompt.

npm install

Import the Syncfusion^® CSS styles

Import the File Manager and its dependent control styles as given below in the ~/src/styles/styles.css file, as shown below:

style.css
@import '../../node_modules/@syncfusion/ej2-base/styles/material.css';
@import '../../node_modules/@syncfusion/ej2-icons/styles/material.css';
@import '../../node_modules/@syncfusion/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css';
@import '../../node_modules/@syncfusion/ej2-popups/styles/material.css';
@import '../../node_modules/@syncfusion/ej2-buttons/styles/material.css';
@import '../../node_modules/@syncfusion/ej2-splitbuttons/styles/material.css';
@import '../../node_modules/@syncfusion/ej2-navigations/styles/material.css';
@import '../../node_modules/@syncfusion/ej2-layouts/styles/material.css';
@import '../../node_modules/@syncfusion/ej2-grids/styles/material.css';
@import '../../node_modules/@syncfusion/ej2-filemanager/styles/material.css';

Initialize the File Manager

Now, you can start initializing the Essential^® JS 2 File Manager control in your application. To get started, add a HTML <div> element with id attribute value filemanager to your index.html.

index.html
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">

<head>
    <title>Essential JS 2 File Manager control</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8" />
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0, user-scalable=no" />
    <meta name="description" content="Essential JS 2" />
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion" />
    <link href="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.7/css/bootstrap.min.css" rel="stylesheet" />
</head>

<body>
    <!--element which is going to render the File Manager-->
    <div id="filemanager"></div>
</body>

</html>

Now, import the File Manager control to your app.ts and append to #filemanager as follows.

app.ts
import { FileManager } from '@syncfusion/ej2-filemanager';

let hostUrl: string = 'https://ej2-aspcore-service.azurewebsites.net/';
// initialize File Manager Control
let filemanagerInstance: FileManager = new FileManager({
    ajaxSettings: {
        url: hostUrl + 'api/FileManager/FileOperations'
    }
});

// render initialized File Manager
filemanagerInstance.appendTo('#filemanager');

Note: The ajaxSettings must be defined while initializing the File Manager. File Manager utilizes the URL’s mentioned in ajaxSettings to send file operation request to the server.
The File Manager service link is given in hostUrl.

Run the application

Now use the npm run start command to run the application in the browser.

npm run start

The following example shows the basic File Manager control.

index.html
index.ts
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">

<head>
    <title>Essential JS 2 File Manager</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8" />
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
    <meta name="description" content="Essential JS 2 File Manager Control" />
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-base/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-popups/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-buttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-splitbuttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-layouts/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-navigations/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-grids/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-filemanager/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/systemjs/0.19.38/system.js"></script>
    <script src="systemjs.config.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/syncfusion-helper.js" type ="text/javascript"></script>
</head>
<body>
    <div id='loader'>Loading....</div>
    <div id="filemanager"></div>
</body>
</html>
import { FileManager } from '@syncfusion/ej2-filemanager';

let hostUrl: string = 'https://ej2-aspcore-service.azurewebsites.net/';
// initialize File Manager Control
let filemanagerInstance: FileManager = new FileManager({
    ajaxSettings: {
        url: hostUrl + 'api/FileManager/FileOperations'
    },
    height: '380px'
});

// render initialized File Manager
filemanagerInstance.appendTo('#filemanager');

File Download support

To perform the download operation, initialize the downloadUrl property in a ajaxSettings of File Manager control.

app.ts
import { FileManager } from '@syncfusion/ej2-filemanager';

let hostUrl: string = 'https://ej2-aspcore-service.azurewebsites.net/';
// initialize File Manager Control
let filemanagerInstance: FileManager = new FileManager({
    ajaxSettings: {
        url: hostUrl + 'api/FileManager/FileOperations',
        downloadUrl: hostUrl + 'api/FileManager/Download'
    }
});

// render initialized File Manager
filemanagerInstance.appendTo('#filemanager');

File Upload support

To perform the upload operation, initialize the uploadUrl property in a ajaxSettings of File Manager Control.

app.ts
import { FileManager } from '@syncfusion/ej2-filemanager';

let hostUrl: string = 'https://ej2-aspcore-service.azurewebsites.net/';
// initialize File Manager Control
let filemanagerInstance: FileManager = new FileManager({
    ajaxSettings: {
        url: hostUrl + 'api/FileManager/FileOperations',
        uploadUrl: hostUrl + 'api/FileManager/Upload'
    }
});

// render initialized File Manager
filemanagerInstance.appendTo('#filemanager');

Image Preview support

To perform the image preview support in the File Manager control, need to initialize the getImageUrl property in a ajaxSettings of File Manager control.

index.ts
index.html
import { FileManager } from '@syncfusion/ej2-filemanager';

let hostUrl: string = 'https://ej2-aspcore-service.azurewebsites.net/';
// initialize File Manager Control
let filemanagerInstance: FileManager = new FileManager({
    ajaxSettings: {
        url: hostUrl + 'api/FileManager/FileOperations',
        getImageUrl: hostUrl + 'api/FileManager/GetImage'
    },
    height: '380px'
});

// render initialized File Manager
filemanagerInstance.appendTo('#filemanager');
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">

<head>
    <title>Essential JS 2 File Manager</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8" />
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
    <meta name="description" content="Essential JS 2 File Manager Control" />
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-base/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-popups/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-buttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-splitbuttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-layouts/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-navigations/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-grids/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-filemanager/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/systemjs/0.19.38/system.js"></script>
    <script src="systemjs.config.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/syncfusion-helper.js" type ="text/javascript"></script>
</head>
<body>
    <div id='loader'>Loading....</div>
    <div id="filemanager"></div>
</body>
</html>

Injecting feature modules

Basically, the File Manager control contains a context menu for performing file operations, large-icons view for displaying the files and folders, and a breadcrumb for navigation. However, these basic functionalities can be extended by using the additional feature modules like toolbar, navigation pane, and details view to simplify the navigation and file operations within the file system. The above modules can be injected using the FileManager.Inject() method.

app.ts
import { FileManager, Toolbar, NavigationPane, DetailsView } from '@syncfusion/ej2-filemanager';

FileManager.Inject(Toolbar, NavigationPane, DetailsView)

let hostUrl: string = 'https://ej2-aspcore-service.azurewebsites.net/';
// initialize File Manager Control
let filemanagerInstance: FileManager = new FileManager({
    ajaxSettings: {
        url: hostUrl + 'api/FileManager/FileOperations',
        getImageUrl: hostUrl + 'api/FileManager/GetImage',
        uploadUrl: hostUrl + 'api/FileManager/Upload',
        downloadUrl: hostUrl + 'api/FileManager/Download'
    }
});
// render initialized File Manager
filemanagerInstance.appendTo('#filemanager');

The following example shows you the File Manager with all feature modules.

index.ts
index.html
import { FileManager, Toolbar, NavigationPane, DetailsView } from '@syncfusion/ej2-filemanager';

FileManager.Inject(Toolbar, NavigationPane, DetailsView)

let hostUrl: string = 'https://ej2-aspcore-service.azurewebsites.net/';
// initialize File Manager Control
let filemanagerInstance: FileManager = new FileManager({
    ajaxSettings: {
        url: hostUrl + 'api/FileManager/FileOperations',
        getImageUrl: hostUrl + 'api/FileManager/GetImage',
        uploadUrl: hostUrl + 'api/FileManager/Upload',
        downloadUrl: hostUrl + 'api/FileManager/Download'
    },
    height: '380px'
});

// render initialized File Manager
filemanagerInstance.appendTo('#filemanager');
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">

<head>
    <title>Essential JS 2 File Manager</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8" />
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
    <meta name="description" content="Essential JS 2 File Manager Control" />
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-base/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-popups/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-buttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-splitbuttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-layouts/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-navigations/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-grids/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-filemanager/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/systemjs/0.19.38/system.js"></script>
    <script src="systemjs.config.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/syncfusion-helper.js" type ="text/javascript"></script>
</head>
<body>
    <div id='loader'>Loading....</div>
    <div id="filemanager"></div>
</body>
</html>

Note: The appearance of the File Manager can be customized by using cssClass property. This adds a css class to the root of the File Manager which can be used to add new styles or override existing styles to the File Manager.

Switching initial view of the File Manager

The initial view of the File Manager can be changed to details or large icons view with the help of view property. By default, the File Manager will be rendered in large icons view.

index.ts
index.html
import { FileManager, Toolbar, NavigationPane, DetailsView } from '@syncfusion/ej2-filemanager';

FileManager.Inject(Toolbar, NavigationPane, DetailsView)

let hostUrl: string = 'https://ej2-aspcore-service.azurewebsites.net/';
// initialize File Manager Control
let filemanagerInstance: FileManager = new FileManager({
    ajaxSettings: {
        url: hostUrl + 'api/FileManager/FileOperations',
        getImageUrl: hostUrl + 'api/FileManager/GetImage',
        uploadUrl: hostUrl + 'api/FileManager/Upload',
        downloadUrl: hostUrl + 'api/FileManager/Download'
    },
    // Initial view of File Manager is set to details view
    view: "Details",
    height: '380px'
});

// render initialized File Manager
filemanagerInstance.appendTo('#filemanager');
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">

<head>
    <title>Essential JS 2 File Manager</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8" />
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
    <meta name="description" content="Essential JS 2 File Manager Control" />
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-base/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-popups/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-buttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-splitbuttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-layouts/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-navigations/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-grids/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-filemanager/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/systemjs/0.19.38/system.js"></script>
    <script src="systemjs.config.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/syncfusion-helper.js" type ="text/javascript"></script>
</head>
<body>
    <div id='loader'>Loading....</div>
    <div id="filemanager"></div>
</body>
</html>

Maintaining control state on page reload

The File Manager supports maintaining the control state on page reload. This can be achieved by enabling enablePersistence property which maintains the following,

Previous view of the File Manager - View
Previous path of the File Manager - Path
Previous selected items of the File Manager - SelectedItems

index.ts
index.html
import { FileManager, Toolbar, NavigationPane, DetailsView, SuccessEventArgs, FailureEventArgs } from '@syncfusion/ej2-filemanager';

FileManager.Inject(Toolbar, NavigationPane, DetailsView)

let hostUrl: string = 'https://ej2-aspcore-service.azurewebsites.net/';
// initialize File Manager Control
let filemanagerInstance: FileManager = new FileManager({
    ajaxSettings: {
        url: hostUrl + 'api/FileManager/FileOperations',
        getImageUrl: hostUrl + 'api/FileManager/GetImage',
        uploadUrl: hostUrl + 'api/FileManager/Upload',
        downloadUrl: hostUrl + 'api/FileManager/Download'
    },
    enablePersistence: true,
    height: '380px'
});

// render initialized File Manager
filemanagerInstance.appendTo('#filemanager');
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">

<head>
    <title>Essential JS 2 File Manager</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8" />
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
    <meta name="description" content="Essential JS 2 File Manager Control" />
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-base/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-popups/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-buttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-splitbuttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-layouts/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-navigations/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-grids/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-filemanager/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/systemjs/0.19.38/system.js"></script>
    <script src="systemjs.config.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/syncfusion-helper.js" type ="text/javascript"></script>
</head>
<body>
    <div id='loader'>Loading....</div>
    <div id="filemanager"></div>
</body>
</html>

Note: The files of the current folder opened in the File Manager can be refreshed programmatically by calling refreshFiles method.

Rendering control in right-to-left direction

It is possible to render the File Manager in right-to-left direction by setting the enableRtl API to true.

index.ts
index.html
import { FileManager, Toolbar, NavigationPane, DetailsView } from '@syncfusion/ej2-filemanager';

FileManager.Inject(Toolbar, NavigationPane, DetailsView)

let hostUrl: string = 'https://ej2-aspcore-service.azurewebsites.net/';
// initialize File Manager Control
let filemanagerInstance: FileManager = new FileManager({
    ajaxSettings: {
        url: hostUrl + 'api/FileManager/FileOperations',
        getImageUrl: hostUrl + 'api/FileManager/GetImage',
        uploadUrl: hostUrl + 'api/FileManager/Upload',
        downloadUrl: hostUrl + 'api/FileManager/Download'
    },
    enableRtl: true,
    height: '380px'
});

// render initialized File Manager
filemanagerInstance.appendTo('#filemanager');
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">

<head>
    <title>Essential JS 2 File Manager</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8" />
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
    <meta name="description" content="Essential JS 2 File Manager Control" />
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-base/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-popups/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-buttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-splitbuttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-layouts/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-navigations/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-grids/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.2.4/ej2-filemanager/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/systemjs/0.19.38/system.js"></script>
    <script src="systemjs.config.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/syncfusion-helper.js" type ="text/javascript"></script>
</head>
<body>
    <div id='loader'>Loading....</div>
    <div id="filemanager"></div>
</body>
</html>

Specifying the current path of the File Manager

The current path of the File Manager can be specified initially or dynamically using the path property.

The following code snippet demonstrates specifying the current path in File Manager on rendering.

index.ts
import { FileManager, Toolbar, NavigationPane, DetailsView } from '@syncfusion/ej2-filemanager';

FileManager.Inject(Toolbar, NavigationPane, DetailsView)

let hostUrl: string = 'https://ej2-aspcore-service.azurewebsites.net/';
// initialize File Manager Control
let filemanagerInstance: FileManager = new FileManager({
    ajaxSettings: {
        url: hostUrl + 'api/FileManager/FileOperations',
        getImageUrl: hostUrl + 'api/FileManager/GetImage',
        uploadUrl: hostUrl + 'api/FileManager/Upload',
        downloadUrl: hostUrl + 'api/FileManager/Download'
    },
    // Specify the required current path
    path: '/Food'
});

// render initialized File Manager
filemanagerInstance.appendTo('#filemanager');