Find files fast

Plathix does not replace WordPress search. It gives search a smaller place to look. Find the folder by part of its name, open it, then use WordPress search and filters inside it. The same folders appear in the media picker of the block editor and page builders.

When you need this

• A news blog with thousands of images. The editor knows the photo is in Editorial › Featured Images. She opens that folder and searches there, not in the whole library.
• An agency with a folder per client. You type part of the client’s name, the tree narrows to that client’s folder, and you click it to work inside it.
• A designer placing a logo. In the Image block picker you click Brand › Logos and pick from a handful of files.

How to filter the library by folder

1. Click a folder in the panel. Grid view, list view and the media picker show only the files directly in that folder. Files in its subfolders are not included.
2. Use WordPress Search media, the file type filter and the date filter. They work inside the open folder.
3. Click Media to see the whole library again.

WordPress search looks at the title, caption, description and file name.

Plathix remembers your last open folder per user. The library and the block-editor picker open there next time.

The number next to a folder counts the files directly in it. It counts all file types and is the same for every role. Subfolders are not included, and empty folders show no number. The count ignores the type filter and search.

How to search folders by name

1. Type part of a folder name in the Search folders field above the tree.
2. Wait a moment (500 ms). The tree shows only matching folders and their parents. Subfolders of a match are hidden unless their own names match. Collapsed parents open by themselves.
3. If nothing matches, you see “No folders found.” and a Clear search button. When there are matches, there is no clear button. Delete the text yourself.

Search matches any part of a name and ignores letter case, also in Cyrillic. It searches folder names only, not files. Accents are not normalized: “e” does not find “é”. Folders in Trash are not found.

While you search, the system rows Media, Uncategorized and Trash are hidden unless their names match. The query stays while you switch folders and is cleared when you reload the page.

How to sort the folder tree

1. Click Sort, the icon at the right end of the Search folders field.
2. Choose an option in the SORT menu:
   • By default: the manual drag order, then the name.
   • A → Z or Z → A.
   • Newest first or Oldest first: by creation order.
   • By size: by the number of files directly in the folder, not by megabytes.

The sort applies to every level of the tree. It is stored in your browser, so it stays after a reload. Media, Uncategorized and Trash stay on top. Files inside a folder keep the WordPress order.

How to use the Folder column in list view

1. Switch the Media Library to list view.
2. Find the Folder column right after the file column. It shows the folder name as a link. A file without a folder shows a dash.
3. Click a folder name to open that folder. This clears the current search.

The column cannot be sorted. The full path of a file is in Attachment details, in the Folder field with its Change button.

How to pick files by folder in the media picker

1. Open a WordPress media window, for example from an Image, Gallery or Cover block, the featured image, Elementor, Divi or a WooCommerce product image.
2. Click a folder in the tree on the left. The grid shows that folder’s files.
3. Search or filter inside the folder if you need to.
4. Pick the file and confirm.

In the picker you see the folder counts and favorite stars. You can upload into the open folder and drag files onto folders. Administrators can create a folder there.

The picker has no Search folders field, no Sort button and no Favorites block. The sort you chose in the library applies there. Switching folders in the picker clears the selection, so you pick a gallery from one folder at a time. See Folders in page builders.

Example

Suppose you need the hero image for a new post. Your library has 12 files, and Editorial › Featured Images holds three of them, among them homepage-hero.png.

1. Type feat in Search folders. The tree would show only Editorial › Featured Images, with Editorial opened.
2. Click Featured Images. The grid would show its 3 files.
3. Type hero in Search media. The grid would show homepage-hero.png and no file from other folders.
4. Delete the text in Search folders. The full tree would come back, and Featured Images would stay open.

Result: you would find the file by searching 3 files, not 12. On a library with thousands of files the difference is larger.

What we tested

Limits

• Matches are not highlighted, and there is no result count.
• Above 200 folders the tree loads in parts. System rows, top-level folders and the path to the open folder come first. Children load when you expand them. The first folder search loads the whole tree before it matches.
• From 500 folders the tree can switch to a search-only mode with the hint “Type to browse folders”. With default settings this happens only once the whole tree has loaded, for example after a first search or Expand/collapse all.
• Recorded runs covered 3,148 files in 168 folders, and loading in parts above 200 folders.
• The Image block picker shows only images. A folder that also holds a PDF shows a higher count than the tiles you see.
• In the Elementor media window, click the folder you want before you upload. Uploads go into the folder highlighted in the tree.
• There is no folder dropdown in the filter bar. The tree is the filter.

In short

Click a folder and the library, list view and media picker show only the files directly in it. Type part of a folder name in Search folders to find the folder, then use WordPress search inside it. Sort orders the tree by name, date or number of files and remembers your choice in the browser. In list view the Folder column shows each file’s folder. The picker has the tree and counts, but no folder search, sort or Favorites block.