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.

Navigating Inside Your ownCloud¶

Navigating through folders in ownCloud is as simple as clicking on a folder to open it and using the back button on your browser to move to a previous level. ownCloud also provides a navigation bar at the top of the Files field for quick navigation.

Navigation bar

The navigation bar functions as a “breadcrumb” locator. It displays your current directory and enables you to migrate back to one of the upper directories or, using the home icon, to navigate back into your root folder.

Overlay Icons Show Sharing Status¶

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 edition, you may also have access to Sharepoint and Windows Network Drive file shares. These also have special overlay icons, and a red plugin means you have to enter a login to get access to the share.

Creating or Uploading Files and Directories¶

ownCloud enables you to create new files or folders directly in an ownCloud folder by clicking on the New button in the Files app.

New button options

The New button provides the following three options from which to choose:

Text file

Creates a simple text file and adds the file to your current folder.

Folder

Creates a new folder in the current folder.

From link

Downloads a file from a URL that you type or copy into the form field, and places it into the current folder.

Up arrow

The upward-point arrow is for uploading files from your computer into ownCloud.

You can also upload files by dragging and dropping them from your file manager.

Selecting Files or Folders¶

You can select one or more files or folders by clicking on the small thumbnails or icons that represent them. When you select a file or folder, a small checkbox is populated with a check to indicate that it is selected. To select all files in the current directory, you can click on the checkbox located at the top of the Files app field, above the first file or folder on the list.

If you select multiple files, you can delete all of the selected files or download them as a ZIP file by using the Delete or Download buttons at the top right side of the Files app field.

Filtering the File Application View¶

ownCloud enables you to view files in the File Application View using filter options located in the Apps Information Field. This feature enables you to quickly and easily view and manage files based on their share status.

You can click on any of the filter options to view the files as follows:

All files

The default view; displays all files that you have access to.

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¶

Using the ownCloud web interface, you can move files and folders by dragging and dropping them into any directory.

Sharing Files Locally¶

When enabled by your administrator, you can share files or folders on ownCloud with a local user, group, or any person online with a public link. Shared files and folders are labeled with the triangular share icon, and the status Shared in the file or folder row.

To create a local share with other users or groups on your ownCloud server:

1. Hover your cursor over an item on the Files page
2. Click the Share icon

The Share dialog box opens to show the following options:

Share dialog box

Type the name of the user or group that you want to share with. If you want to share with more than one, you have to create each share separately. Check the permissions you want the user or group to have, and optionally send them an email notification.

Your new share appears on user’s Files pages marked with a Share icon, and the name of the file owner.

Shared file

When you want to revoke a share, simply click the Trashcan icon next to the name of the appropriate user or group in the Shared dialog.

Creating a Public Share¶

You can share files outside of your organization with people who are not users on your ownCloud server by creating a public share link. Open the Share dialog and check Share Link.

Public share box

This creates a public URL that anyone can use to access the share; just send them the link and all they have to do is click and it opens in their Web browser. You have the options to send an email notification, protect it with a password, and put an expiration date on it. Your ownCloud administrator has the option to require passwords and expiration dates.

For security reasons, some files shared via public link do not open in the recipient’s Web browser. Image files such as PNG and JPG are rendered as previews, and users must click the Download button to fetch the original files. The following screenshot shows how a JPG appears; it’s not really the full file, but a reduced-size preview.

PDF files will appear as previews if the PDF Viewer app in ownCloud is enabled, and if the recipient’s Web browser is configured to display PDFs.

Text documents, such as ODT, DOC, and other text formats may be downloaded and are not previewed.

Video files will play in the recipient’s browser if the Video Viewer app is enabled on the ownCloud server, and the recipient has the appropriate browser configuration and codecs.

Change in Share Expiration Date¶

In older versions of ownCloud, you could set an expiration date on both local and public shares. Now you can set an expiration date only on public shares, and local shares do not expire when public shares expire. The only way to “expire” a local share is to click the trash can icon to un-share your files.