File Manager

Overview

Web hosting management service providers and web hosts that go to the challenge of designing a user-friendly file manager are few. Once again, PlanetHoster breaks new ground by providing its customers with an ergonomic, easy-to-learn file browser, that is, the File Manager, that allows them to manage hosting files and massive file storage, respectively, from the Local and N0C Storage Web interface.

Please note: This article describes the particulars of the new design of the file manager,, which has not been deployed in production for all clients. The new file manager has a home page with two icons: N0C Storage and Local. Our customers who still have the old file manager will have direct access to the same functionalities as the new interface called Local; however, they will not be able to manage massive files as N0C Storage allows.

Note: In this article, the term file is used to refer to “a structured set of data of the same kind or concerning the same subject that constitutes a unit for a computer” (technically speaking, a file is digital information made up of a sequence of bytes allowing various uses). However, in the context of the inteface “My files“, we mean “My directory“.

In the following, we will explain how to use the file manager , limiting ourselves to information for beginners. We will not deal with the management aspects.

Note:The PlanetHoster Glossary contains explanations on multiple topics and can be consulted to clarify certain terms.

Prerequisite

Access to https://mg.n0c.com/en/.

Main Page

The file manager now contains two separate interfaces:

• Local (which already existed) is used for local storage of hosting files;
• N0C Storage provides access to the new massive storage platform.

The Local hosting file storage interface is mainly used to store anything that needs to react quickly on your website and needs a high performance SSD, such as your website’s html code and emails.

N0C Storage is a storage platform designed to store massive files such as backups, archives, items that do not require a high performance SSD. It is also designed for files containing an image or video from an external CDM site. Therefore, it offers more cost-effective data storage than the premium SSDs offered at PlanetHoster.

Warning: Databases are under PhpMyAdmin, not FileManager. Advanced users can access databases by using command lines.

Accessing the File Manager User Interface

1. Click Files -> File manager :

2. This opens the main file management interface, with each of the Local and N0C Storage icons providing access to its respective interface:

3. The interfaces are also accessible by clicking on Local or N0C Storage on the left.
4. Note too that the file manager is always accessible by clicking on My files, at the top left of the screen.

Distinction between the Public and Private folders

By default, N0C Storage platform contains two folders: the Public folder and the Private folder.

• The public folder contains all the files to be shared, such as the elements of a website. It is accessible through, for example, https://your_domain.com/n0c-storage/.
• The private folder contains files that you do not necessarily want to share. Authentication to access them is handled automatically by the file manager.

Description of the Storage Interfaces

After having clicked on the Local or N0C Storage icons, the interfaces are similar and essentially consists of four areas.

Warning: The commands differ, depending on the chosen interface.

Profile Settings and Theme

Some settings must be adjusted to operate the file manager to your liking.

Directory

When you choose a folder or a file, the icons and context menu give access to various commands. This is an example of a context menu for a file that has not been archived:

The function of the commands is described in this table :

	Function	Icon or Symbol
Rename	Give another name to a previously selected file or folder.
Copy File	Copy a previously selected file or folder.
Move File	Move a file or folder from one folder to another.
Permissions	Open a window that allows you to manage access permissions to files and folders (see the Permissions Management section).
Create Archive	Compress and archive a previously selected file or folder (see the Archiving section).
Delete	Delete a previously selected file or folder.
Toggle Shell	Open the terminal , which gives access to the command line server.
Switch View	Allows you to select up to three display options: – List items one after the other, with their Name, Size and Last Modified date. – Group files and folders together with large icons. – Group files and folders together with very large icons.
Download	Download files from the hosting to the local computer (see Downloading section).
Upload	Upload files from the local computer to the hosting.
Info.	Display various information about the selected file or folder such as Display Name, date of Last Modified, number of Permissions, etc.
Select Multiple	Select multiple files and folders at once.
Extract Archive	Uncompress a previously selected archived file.
Edit File	Edit a selected text file. The code is then displayed on the screen and can be easily modified.

Permissions Management (Local Storage Only)

Attention : The concept of Permissions does not exist in N0C Storage.

The management of file access permissions, as well as writing to and executing files, is done in the Change file/folder permissions interface. The Linux CHMOD (change mode) command is used for this purpose.

1. Click on the file or folder whose permissions you want to change.
2. Choose Permissions from the context menu or click on the icon with the same name.
3. When you do so, the Change file/folder permissions interface opens:

4. There are two ways to set permissions:

4.1 Check or uncheck the items under Owner, Group or World. 

4.2 Under Permissions, manually set the CHMOD number that corresponds to the desired command. See the Notes on Manual Control section.

5. Save by clicking on OK.

Notes on Manual Control

As we have seen, rather than checking or unchecking the options, more advanced users can manually specify the permissions by using the Linux command directly in the Permissions box, as in this example where we have written 754 :

For instance, if you write 754:

• The numbers 7, 5 and 4 represent individually and in order the permissions for the user, the group and the world, in that same order. 
• Each number is an addition of the numbers 4, 2, 1 and 0, which define the permissions associated with the user, the group or the public. Thus,
  • 4 means « read »;
  • 2 means « write »;
  • 1 means « execute »; and
  • 0 means « no permission ».

Therefore, in our example with the 754 command, 7 is 4+2+1 (read, write, and execute) for the user, 5 is 4+0+1 (read and execute, but do not write) for the group and 4 is 4+0+0 (read, do not write or execute) for the public.

Archiving

Attention: The notion of archiving does not exist in N0C Storage.

An archive is created with the Create Archive command, which opens an interface with the same name.

1. Choose the folder where to archive the file or the folder:

2. Make sure that the current folder matches the location where you want to save the file or folder:

3. If not, click on the right folder.
4. Name your archive.
5. Choose the extension to give it.
6. Click on CREATE ARCHIVE HERE.

Downloading

Attention: In N0C Storage it is only possible to download a file. The download option is not available for a multiple selection or a folder.

The download is done in the following way:

1. Click on the file or folder to download.
2. Click on the Download command.
3. If requested, choose the format you want to download by clicking on the corresponding button:

4. At the command prompt, specify the directory where to download the file or folder.

Creating Files and Folders

The approach is similar in both cases.

1. Click on Local and N0C Storage and then click where you want to create the folder or file (in the root or in a folder, such as private or public for N0C Storage).

2. Click on New folder or New file, as appropriate.
3. In the dialog box, Write the name of the new folder or Write the name of the new file, and click on CREATE.

4. If it is a file, you can then enter the information and click on the Save icon:

Informations about N0C Storage

Several useful information to know are centralized in the N0C Storage window:

1. Choose Files -> N0C Storage :

2. The required information is then displayed.

Please refer to the article Creating an SSH Key and Connecting to an Account Remotely if you want to have more explanations about the access key and the secret key.

Plugins for S3 Protocole

Attention : In the context of this paper, “S3” should not be associated with the company Amazon. It is the S3 protocol.

Eventually, a tutorial will be written about the plug-ins that can be integrated into N0C Storage and that support S3. For example, if you have a WordPress website, there are plug-ins that allow you to store your files in N0C Storage by connecting directly to S3.