How to Upload and Edit Files Using cPanel

All of our shared hosting accounts come with cPanel. Today we will review, in brief, how to upload and edit files in your account via your cPanel.

Uploading Files Using the cPanel Manager

1. Login to cPanel and click on ‘File Manager’ under Files

2. Click on ‘Web Root’ and select ‘Show Hidden Files’, and then click on ‘Go’

3. Open the folder where you would like to upload the files

4. From the top toolbar, click on “Upload”

5. Click on ‘Browse’ (or ‘Choose File” for some web browsers)

6. Search for the file you want to upload on your computer and select it. You can also drag the file from your machine and drop it on the upload window

7. After selecting the file, it will upload automatically. You can also choose additional files while other uploads are still in progress

The File Manager Editors

When editing a file using the cPanel File Manager, you can make instant changes to your site without needing to upload a new variant of the file. There are three cPanel editors namely the HTML editor, the Code Editor, and the plain text editor.

Using The Plain Text Editor

You can use this editor to edit plain text files i.e. configuration files

1. Go to the ‘File Manager’ and select the file you would like to edit in the main File Manager window then click “Edit”

2. Pick the character set encoding used by the file (the default is Unicode/ utf-8). Ensure you choose the file’s correct character encoding so that the file does not become corrupted

3. Click “Edit” to see the file’s contents ready for editing in a new page

4. Click “Save Changes” to save the changes you have made to the file

5. Click “Close” to exit the editor

Using the Code Editor

1. Choose the file you would like to edit in the main File Manager window

2. Click on edit and select “Code Editor”

3. Select the correct character set encoding used by the file with the default as Unicode/utf-8. If you do not do this you risk the file becoming corrupted

4. Click Edit to see the contents of the file in a new page ready for you to edit

5. Click “Save Changes” after editing

6. Close the editor by clicking “Close”

Using the HTML Editor

1. Go to File Manager and select the file to be edited in the main File Manager window then click Edit

2. Select “HTML Editor” from the drop-down menu that appears

3. Select the correct character set encoding used by the file (the default is utf-8/ Unicode)

4. Click Edit for the file’s contents to appear in a new page ready for you to edit

5. Use the formatting toolbar to modify the file’s formatting

6. Click “Source” on the editor window to view the HTML source code for the web page

7. Click “Preview” on the editor window to preview your web page

8. Click “Save” to save the changes

9. Click “Cancel” to close the editor

That’s it.