Wading through your native WordPress Media Library can be challenging if you have a ton of media on your WordPress website. And, if that’s the case, and you do have a lot of media, it is likely you have tried to find a way to streamline the process of organizing, managing, and finding your site’s media.
In the past, we have discussed how to organize your WordPress media files using the WP Media Folder plugin. And, while this is helpful when you need to know the basics of how to manage your site’s media, there are other features to explore in the WP Media Folder plugin, which is exactly what we are going to do today.
WP Media Folder: An Overview
Before jumping into WP Media Folder’s specific features, let’s review what this exceptional media management WordPress plugin does for website owners with lots of media.
WP Media Folder is a WordPress plugin designed to help you find your site’s existing media files with ease. By allowing you to create folders from the original WordPress Media Library, you can create folder levels just as you would using a desktop file browser.
With this plugin, you can still use the native WordPress media manager, so you never lose any of your existing media. Plus, you can select multiple media at a time, organizing them as you please, with a few simple clicks.
Here is a quick look at some of WP Media Folder’s general features:
- Integration with native WordPress media manager
- Third-party plugin compatibility
- Media placement in multiple folders
- WooCommerce support
- Thumbnail regeneration
- Bulk media rename on upload and bulk removal
Lastly, you can sync the WordPress media manager with your Google Drive, Drobox, or Microsoft OneDrive cloud services with the WP Media Folder Cloud Add-on, so that your media files are saved externally should the unthinkable happen – like the WordPress white screen of death.
WP Media Folder Main Features
The truth is, WP Media Folder has a ton of features to help you manage your extensive Media Library. However, there are some very specific features worth mentioning that set WP Media Folder apart from competing plugins.
1. Built-in Gallery Function
WP Media Folder comes fully compatible with the default WordPress gallery manager. In fact, with this feature, you can do the following:
- Create a gallery folder
- Upload images
- Create a gallery
- Select a theme and options
Clicking on Create a gallery from folder brings up an Edit Gallery screen where you can define a handful of gallery settings. For example:
- Gallery Themes. Choose from default, masonry, portfolio, or slider themes.
- Columns. Display between 3 and 9 columns.
- Gallery Image Size. Select the size of your gallery images.
- Lightbox Size. Enable lightbox functionality.
- Action on Click. Decide whether your image should appear as a lightbox, attachment, or have no action.
- Auto Insert in Folder. Automatically insert images into folders.
- Order By. Define the order of your images – custom, random, title, or date.
- Order. Pick between ascending or descending image orders.
Once you have defined these gallery settings, select Insert Gallery.
It’s important to note that there are several additional gallery settings to define in Settings > WP Media Folder > Gallery.
For example, start by enabling the gallery feature as well as the lightbox feature. Next, determine whether your slider animation will be a slide or fade animation. Lastly, define the gallery image sizes to choose from, as well as the spacing between both the masonry and portfolio galleries.
Default Gallery
The default WP Media Folder gallery function simply enhances the default WordPress gallery by adding a lightbox functionality.
Look at what the lightbox function looks like:
Masonry Gallery
Masonry galleries are responsive galleries with a fixed column size and an adaptable height. After creating a masonry gallery in your WordPress media manager and selecting the number of columns to display, here is what you can expect your gallery to look like:
Portfolio Gallery
The portfolio gallery theme is perfect for those times you need to create a custom page with a gallery that links images to other posts or pages.
Simply add a link to each individual image in your portfolio and update the gallery. Then, after saving your changes, notice on your website that each image is clickable and redirects site visitors to your defined URLs.
Slider Gallery
Create a slider gallery, complete with one or more images. In addition, define whether you want each image to popup into a lightbox, link to a separate post or page, or link to single images.
NextGEN Gallery Integration
WP Media Folder has NextGEN gallery integration so that you can import NextGEN galleries as folders with images into your website.
This feature is great for those that have pre-existing galleries created using NextGEN. In fact, it offers a great way to work with your site’s media within the native WordPress media manager, rather than deal with yet another third-party plugin.
2. Media Filtering and Ordering
Filtering your website’s media by file type and size has never been easier using WP Media Folder’s filtering and ordering feature. In fact, every time you organize your media files, they automatically save.
Filtering
This feature hides specific media from displaying so that you can find other media more easily. After all, if your website has thousands of images, it can be overwhelming. However, using the easy filtering function, you can sort through your Media Library instantly and find exactly what you need.
You can filter your media using the following parameters:
- Media Type. Images, PDFs, zip & archives, unattached, audio, and video.
- Dimensions. Pre-set image dimensions, as well as custom dimensions.
- Weight. Media weight and custom weight configurations.
Wading through all of your media can be cumbersome. However, by narrowing down your media into specific groupings, you will no longer waste time searching for one specific image.
Ordering
In addition to the filtering function, you have the ability to order your media as you see fit for easier viewing. And, because WP Media Folder saves your ordering using cookies, the next time you access your Media Library, your media ordering will still be there.
Here are the ways you can order you website’s media:
- Name and ID
- Date
- Title
- Size
- File type
3. Folder Import and Syncing
Importing a large number of media files into the native WordPress media manager is difficult, even from an FTP. That’s why WP Media Folder makes importing a folder or subfolder from your FTP client directly into your website a cinch with a few clicks.
Import
Navigate to Settings > WP Media Folder and notice the tabs near the top of the screen. Click on FTP import and choose which folders or subfolders you want to import.
Using this feature, you can import things like all media types and server folder names and structures. In addition, WP media Folder will handle all duplicate images in the case you import the same images across multiple imports.
Syncing
Automatically sync your media folders (those created using WP Media Folder) and physical server folders so that any media you are working with outside of the native Media Library, such as those on another content management system, easily sync with your WordPress website.
Navigate to Settings > WP Media Folder and notice the tabs near the top of the screen. Click on Sync external media, select the physical folder you want to sync with your media manger, choose a final destination with your Media Library, click Add, and then save your changes.
WP media Folder also allows website owners the chance to sync their Media Library with external folders. Essentially, this is a synchronization in the other direction.
To do this, simply enable two way synchronizing by clicking on the tab labeled Activate 2 ways sync.
4. Additional Features
In addition to the main features mentioned above – built-in gallery function, filtering and ordering, and import/synching – there are many other features that can help you maintain an neat and clean Media Library using WP Media Folder.
General WP Media Folder Settings
In the general settings section of the WP Media Folder plugin, you can configure the following settings:
- Activate WP Media Folder on the frontend of your website
- Display the number of media in each folder
- Perform searches through all media folders
- Override or duplicate files
- Enable a hover image
- Allow for filtering and ordering and define default filter sizes and weights
Files and Folders Settings
In addition to determining how each media title will appear in your WP Media Folder folders, you can add a watermark to some, or all, of your website’s media.
To start, enable image watermarks and select the image you want to appear as your media’s watermark. Next, choose the position for your watermark – top right or left, bottom right or left, or center – and decide on which images to apply the watermark.
WP Media Folder: Price, Documentation, and Support
There are currently three separate pricing plans for the WP Media Folder plugin:
Each plan comes multi-domain/Multisite ready, and includes features such as no recurring payments, no date limitations, open source licensing, online documentation (found here), 3rd party plugin integration (i.e. WooCommerce and Beaver Builder), and compatibility with WordPress 4+.
That said, only the premium $59 plan comes with the Cloud Add-on allowing you to drop your site’s media in to an external cloud service such as Google Drive or Dropbox, and the ability to embed PDFs.
Support is limited to the plan you selected and comes with some restrictions. That said, there is a specific support page dedicated to pre-sale questions, as well as a more diverse forum section for asking questions about anything WP Media Folder related. Lastly, live chat is available.
Final Recommendations
In the end, WP Media Folder is an exceptional WordPress plugin that will help you easily navigate your Media Library and find the exact image you are looking for. It offers timesaving features for organizing your media, syncing with outside sources, and displaying your media to your site visitors in a visually appealing way.
If you are looking for a unique way to tap into the native WordPress Media Library and make it better, I recommend trying WP Media Folder. Its ease of use, extensive feature set, and compatibility with third-party plugins makes this media organizing plugin a viable option for website owners of all types.
Have you ever used WP Media Folder for your media needs? How did you feel it help you organize and display your website’s media? I would love to hear all about it in the comments below!
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