Accessing your Files Using the ownCloud Web Interface¶
You can access your ownCloud files with the ownCloud web interface and create, preview, edit, delete, share, and re-share files. Your ownCloud administrator has the option to disable these features, so if any of them are missing on your system ask your server administrator.
ownCloud can display thumbnail previews for image files, MP3 covers, and text files, if this enabled by your server administrator. Hover your cursor over a file or folder to expose the controls for the following operations:
- Favorites
- Click the star to the left of the file icon to mark it as a favorite, and quickly find all of your favorites with the Favorites filter on the left sidebar.
- Share
- Share the file or folder with a group or other users, and create public shares with hyperlinks. You can also see who you have shared with already, and revoke shares by clicking the trash can icon. If username auto-completion is enabled, when you start typing the user or group name ownCloud will automatically complete it for you. If your administrator has enabled email notifications, you can send an email notification of the new share from the sharing screen.
- Overflow Menu
- The Overflow menu (three dots) displays file details, and allows you to rename, download, or delete files.
The Details view shows Activities, Sharing, and Versions information.
Previewing Files¶
You can display uncompressed text files, OpenDocument files, videos, and image files in the ownCloud embedded viewers by clicking on the file name. There may be other file types you can preview if your ownCloud administrator has enabled them. If ownCloud cannot display a file, it starts a download process and downloads the file to your computer.
Video streaming by the native ownCloud video player depends on your Web browser and the video format. If your ownCloud administrator has enabled video streaming, and it doesn’t work in your Web browser, it may be a browser issue.
Sharing Status Icons¶
Any folder that has been shared is marked with the Shared overlay icon. Public link shares are marked with a chain link. Un-shared folders are blank.
If your ownCloud server is the Enterprise Subscription, you may also have access to Sharepoint and Windows Network Drive file shares. These have special status icons. An icon with a red plugin and background means you have to enter a login to get access to the share.
Creating or Uploading Files and Directories¶
Upload or create new files or folders directly in an ownCloud folder by clicking on the New button in the Files app.
The New button provides the following options:
- Up arrow
- Upload files from your computer into ownCloud. You can also upload files by dragging and dropping them from your file manager.
- Text file
- Creates a new text file and adds the file to your current folder.
- Folder
- Creates a new folder in the current folder.
Selecting Files or Folders¶
You can select one or more files or folders by clicking on their checkboxes. To select all files in the current directory, click on the checkbox located at the top of the files listing.
When you select multiple files, you can delete all of them, or download them as a ZIP file by using the Delete or Download buttons that appear at the top.
Note
If the Download button is not visible, the administrator has disabled this feature.
Filtering the Files View¶
The right sidebar on the Files page contains several filters for quickly sorting and managing your files.
- All files
- The default view; displays all files that you have access to.
- Favorites
- Files or folders marked with the yellow star.
- Shared with you
- Displays all files shared with you by another user or group.
- Shared with others
- Displays all files that you have shared with other users or groups.
- Shared by link
- Displays all files that are shared by you via public link.
- External Storage
- Files that you have access to on external storage devices and services such as Dropbox, Google, and Amazon S3.
Moving Files¶
You can move files and folders by dragging and dropping them into any directory.
Creating or Connecting to a Federated Cloud Sharing Link¶
Federated Cloud Sharing allows you to mount file shares from remote ownCloud servers, and manage them just like a local share. In ownCloud 8 the process for creating a new sharing link is easier and more streamlined. See Using Federated Cloud Sharing to learn to how to create and connect to new Federated Cloud shares.