Getting started in EJ2 TypeScript File manager control

3 Nov 202324 minutes to read

This section briefly explains how to create File Manager component 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 component 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.

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.

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 component 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 component 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 component</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 component 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 component
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 component.

index.html
<!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 Component" />
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion" />
    <link href="index.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-base/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-popups/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-buttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-splitbuttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-layouts/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-navigations/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-grids/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/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>

File Download support

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

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

let hostUrl: string = 'https://ej2-aspcore-service.azurewebsites.net/';
// initialize File Manager component
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 Component.

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

let hostUrl: string = 'https://ej2-aspcore-service.azurewebsites.net/';
// initialize File Manager component
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 component, need to initialize the getImageUrl property in a ajaxSettings of File Manager component.

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

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

// 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 Component" />
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion" />
    <link href="index.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-base/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-popups/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-buttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-splitbuttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-layouts/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-navigations/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-grids/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/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 component 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 component
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 FileManager
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 component
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 FileManager
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 Component" />
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion" />
    <link href="index.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-base/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-popups/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-buttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-splitbuttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-layouts/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-navigations/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-grids/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/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 largeicons view with the help of view property. By default, the File Manager will be rendered in large icons view.
When the File Manager is initially rendered, created will be triggered. This event can be utilized for performing operations once the File Manager has been successfully created.

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 component
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",
    // File Manager's created event
    created: onCreate
});

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

// File Manager's created event function
function onCreate(args: Object){
    console.log("File Manager has been created successfully");
}
<!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 Component" />
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion" />
    <link href="index.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-base/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-popups/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-buttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-splitbuttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-layouts/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-navigations/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-grids/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/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 component state on page reload

The File Manager supports maintaining the component 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

For every operation in File Manager, ajax request will be sent to the server which then processes the request and sends back the response. When the ajax request is success, success event will be triggered and failure event will be triggered if the request gets failed.

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 component
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,
    // File Manager's success event
    success: onAjaxSuccess,
    // File Manager's failure event
    failure: onAjaxFailure
});

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

// File Manager's file success function
function onAjaxSuccess(args: SuccessEventArgs){
    console.log("Ajax request successful");
}

// File Manager's file failure function
function onAjaxFailure(args: FailureEventArgs){
    console.log("Ajax request has failed");
}
<!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 Component" />
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion" />
    <link href="index.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-base/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-popups/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-buttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-splitbuttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-layouts/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-navigations/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-grids/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/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 programatically by calling refreshFiles method.

Rendering component 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 component
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
});

// render initialized FileManager
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 Component" />
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion" />
    <link href="index.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-base/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-popups/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-buttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-splitbuttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-layouts/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-navigations/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-grids/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/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.

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 component
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');