Media consists of the images, video, recordings and files that you upload and use on your site. Media is typically uploaded and inserted into the content when writing a post or a page.
The Uploading Setting in the Settings > Media screen describes the location and structure of the upload directory (where your media files are stored).
Since ClassicPress version 2.1 media categories and tags are included, to improve the organizing of uploaded files. These can be used just like categories and tags for posts. Currently it’s an admin feature only, so you cannot use it to organize files on the public facing site.
Media library screenLink to this section
The media library screen allows you to add, edit, view and delete media files previously uploaded to your site. Search and filtering ability is also provided to allow you to find the desired media files.
The media library provides two type of views. One is a simple visual grid view and the other is a conventional list view. You can switch between these views using the icons to the left above the screen. This document describes the grid view.
Uploading mediaLink to this section
Uploading media files from your local computer into the media library is quite simple. For grid view a multi-file uploader is provided. The multi-file uploader is the primary method for adding media files to the media library. But if this doesn’t work, then switch to list view and click the browser uploader link to use that method instead. You will also see a message displayed at the bottom of your view that indicates maximum upload size for media files, as set by your hosting provider.
To upload media files navigate to the Media > Add New screen. If you want to include a media file in your post or page content, you could use the Add Media button in the editor as well.
If you choose to upload your media files according to media category, you need to set a default media category. You can do so on the main Media Library page. You can also select a media category each time you are uploading media files to the Media Library. Media files that are uploaded via the Add Media button in the post or page editor and featured images will be placed in the default media category.
Grid viewLink to this section
In the grid view of the media library, thumbnails of image, audio icons and movie icons are arranged in a grid.
Page navigationLink to this section
If more than one page of media files is available, two double-arrow boxes are provided to move to the first and last page respectively. Also two single-arrow boxes are displayed to move one page backward or forward. Finally, a box showing the current page number can be used to enter a page to directly display. The number of media files displayed per page is set under the Screen Options (see below).
Screen optionsLink to this section
The Screen Options allow you to set the number of Media items to display in the table of media. Click the Screen Options tab again to close the Screen Options.
SearchLink to this section
To the right, is a search box where you can enter a word, or series of words to search and display all the media meeting your search words. The search results will be updated as you type.
Filtering optionsLink to this section
At the top of grid view, you can filter the media by media type, media category and date:
- Media type – This select box allows you to select, by media type such as images, audio, video or unattached to any posts nor pages, which media are displayed. By default, All media items is selected and all of your media are displayed.
- Date – This select box allows you to select, by date, which media are displayed in the table. By default, All dates is selected and all of media are displayed.
- Media category – This select box allows you to select by media category (if available). By default, All Media Categories is selected.
- Bulk select – Clicking this button makes it possible to select one or multiple files to be deleted.
Delete mediaLink to this section
To delete media items, click the Bulk select button at the top of the screen. Select any items you wish to delete, then click the Delete permanently button. Clicking the Cancel button takes you back to viewing your media.
Attachment detailsLink to this section
In the grid view of the media library, clicking an image thumbnail or a file icon will display an attachment details dialog, which allows you to preview media and make quick edits. Any changes you make to the attachment details will be automatically saved.
You can also delete individual items and access the extended edit screen from the details dialog.
Use the arrow buttons at the top of the dialog, or the left and right arrow keys on your keyboard, to navigate between media items quickly.
The attachment details screen will change its appearance and information according to media type.
The left side of this dialog shows the image, audio player or video player. The right side lists the following media file attributes and optional data. Some of them are editable from this dialog.
- Uploaded on – The date when the media file was uploaded.
- Uploaded by – author who uploaded the media.
- File name – The name of the media file.
- File type – The MIME Type of media file.
- File size – The file size of the media file.
- Dimensions – (Image files only) The dimensions of image media.
- Alternative Text – (Image files only) The alt text for the image, e.g. “The Mona Lisa” to describe the media. Used for accessibility.
- Title – The name of the media. A title is often shown on attachment pages and galleries if themes or plugins are designed to display it.
- Caption – A brief explanation of the media.
- Description – An explanation of this particular media.
- File URL – Read-only display of a direct link to the media file.
- Copy URL to clipboard – Click to copy the URL of the file into the clipboard.
- Media Categories – The media categories assigned to the media file.
- Media Tags – The media tags assigned to the media file.
At the bottom there are four links:
- View attachment page – Shows the media in a simulated view of how the image would look when displayed in your theme.
- Edit more details – Displays the Edit Media screen. See the Attachment details section for details on editing media information.
- Download file – Downloads the media.
- Delete permanently – Deletes the media.
Below images, there is a button to edit the image. This allows you to make edits such as rotate, scale and crop.