Multiple selection in EJ2 TypeScript File Manager control

24 Mar 202511 minutes to read

The File Manager control allows you to select multiple files by enabling the allowMultiSelection property (enabled by default). Multiple selections can be done by pressing the Ctrl key or Shift key while selecting the files. Checkboxes can also be used for multiple selections. Ctrl + A can be used to select all files in the current directory. The fileSelect event will be triggered when items of the File Manager control are selected or unselected.

index.ts
index.html
index.css
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'
    },
    allowMultiSelection: true, // allowMultiSelection is true by default.
    // File Manager's file select event
    fileSelect: onFileSelect,
    height: '380px'
});

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

// File Manager's file select event function
function onFileSelect(args: any) {
    console.log(args.fileDetails.name + " has been " + args.action + "ed");
}
<!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="index.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.1.33/ej2-base/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.1.33/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.1.33/ej2-popups/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.1.33/ej2-buttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.1.33/ej2-splitbuttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.1.33/ej2-layouts/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.1.33/ej2-navigations/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.1.33/ej2-grids/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.1.33/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>
#container {
    visibility: hidden;
}

#loader {
    color: #008cff;
    height: 40px;
    width: 30%;
    position: absolute;
    top: 45%;
    left: 45%;
}

Note: The File Manager control supports selecting files and folders initially or dynamically by specifying their names in the selectedItems property.

Range Selection

The File Manager control supports selecting files and folders in specific ranges through mouse drag, similar to File Explorer. This is especially useful in scenarios where users need to select a large group of files quickly without manually clicking each one.

To enable range selection, you need to set the enableRangeSelection property to true and ensure that multi-selection is allowed using the allowMultiSelection property.

index.ts
index.html
index.css
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'
    },
    allowMultiSelection: true, // allowMultiSelection is true by default.
    enableRangeSelection: true,
    // File Manager's file select event
    fileSelect: onFileSelect,
    height: '380px'
});

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

// File Manager's file select event function
function onFileSelect(args: any) {
    console.log(args.fileDetails.name + " has been " + args.action + "ed");
}
<!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="index.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.1.33/ej2-base/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.1.33/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.1.33/ej2-popups/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.1.33/ej2-buttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.1.33/ej2-splitbuttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.1.33/ej2-layouts/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.1.33/ej2-navigations/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.1.33/ej2-grids/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.1.33/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>
#container {
    visibility: hidden;
}

#loader {
    color: #008cff;
    height: 40px;
    width: 30%;
    position: absolute;
    top: 45%;
    left: 45%;
}

Disable Multi selection

Setting the allowMultiSelection property to false will prevent you from selecting multiple files or folders with standard selection methods. However, you can still select multiple items if checkboxes are visible. To fully disable all multi-selection capabilities, you must also set the showItemCheckBoxes property to false. This ensures that you cannot use checkboxes for multiple selections.

index.ts
index.html
index.css
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'
    },
    allowMultiSelection: false,
    showItemCheckBoxes: false,
    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="index.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.1.33/ej2-base/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.1.33/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.1.33/ej2-popups/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.1.33/ej2-buttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.1.33/ej2-splitbuttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.1.33/ej2-layouts/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.1.33/ej2-navigations/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.1.33/ej2-grids/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/29.1.33/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>
#container {
    visibility: hidden;
}

#loader {
    color: #008cff;
    height: 40px;
    width: 30%;
    position: absolute;
    top: 45%;
    left: 45%;
}