Getting Started with Blazor FileManager Component in Web App

10 Sep 202418 minutes to read

This section briefly explains about how to include Blazor FileManager component in your Blazor Web App using Visual Studio.

Prerequisites

Create a new Blazor Web App

You can create a Blazor Web App using Visual Studio 2022 via Microsoft Templates or the Syncfusion Blazor Extension.

You need to configure the corresponding Interactive render mode and Interactivity location while creating a Blazor Web Application.

Install Syncfusion Blazor FileManager and Themes NuGet in the Blazor Web App

To add Blazor FileManager component in the app, open the NuGet package manager in Visual Studio (Tools → NuGet Package Manager → Manage NuGet Packages for Solution), search and install Syncfusion.Blazor.FileManager and Syncfusion.Blazor.Themes.

If you utilize WebAssembly or Auto render modes in the Blazor Web App need to be install Syncfusion Blazor components NuGet packages within the client project.

Alternatively, you can utilize the following package manager command to achieve the same.

Install-Package Syncfusion.Blazor.FileManager -Version 27.2.2
Install-Package Syncfusion.Blazor.Themes -Version 27.2.2

NOTE

Syncfusion Blazor components are available in nuget.org. Refer to NuGet packages topic for available NuGet packages list with component details.

Register Syncfusion Blazor Service

Open ~/_Imports.razor file and import the Syncfusion.Blazor and Syncfusion.Blazor.FileManager namespace.

@using Syncfusion.Blazor
@using Syncfusion.Blazor.FileManager

Now, register the Syncfusion Blazor Service in the ~/Program.cs file of your Blazor Web App. For a app with WebAssembly or Auto (Server and WebAssembly) interactive render mode, register the Syncfusion Blazor service in both ~/Program.cs files of your web app.

....
using Syncfusion.Blazor;
....
builder.Services.AddSyncfusionBlazor();
....

Add stylesheet and script resources

The theme stylesheet and script can be accessed from NuGet through Static Web Assets. Include the stylesheet reference in the <head> section and the script reference at the end of the <body> in the ~/Components/App.razor file as shown below:

<head>
    ....
    <link href="_content/Syncfusion.Blazor.Themes/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet" />
</head>
....
<body>
    ....
    <script src="_content/Syncfusion.Blazor.Core/scripts/syncfusion-blazor.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</body>

NOTE

Check out the Blazor Themes topic to discover various methods (Static Web Assets, CDN, and CRG) for referencing themes in your Blazor application. Also, check out the Adding Script Reference topic to learn different approaches for adding script references in your Blazor application.

Add Syncfusion Blazor FileManager component

Add the Syncfusion Blazor FileManager component in .razor file inside the Pages folder. If an interactivity location as Per page/component in the web app, define a render mode at top of the component, as follows:

@* desired render mode define here *@
@rendermode InteractiveAuto
<SfFileManager TValue="FileManagerDirectoryContent">
    <FileManagerAjaxSettings Url="https://ej2-aspcore-service.azurewebsites.net/api/FileManager/FileOperations"
                             UploadUrl="https://ej2-aspcore-service.azurewebsites.net/api/FileManager/Upload"
                             DownloadUrl="https://ej2-aspcore-service.azurewebsites.net/api/FileManager/Download"
                             GetImageUrl="https://ej2-aspcore-service.azurewebsites.net/api/FileManager/GetImage">
    </FileManagerAjaxSettings>
</SfFileManager>

Create Models

Create a new folder named Models in the server project. Add the necessary model files to this folder for handling file operations. Download the PhysicalFileProvider.cs and Base folder from this repository and place them in the Models folder.

Create a new folder controller

To initialize a local service, create a new folder name with Controllers inside the server part of the project. Then, create a new file FileManagerController with extension .cs inside the Controllers folder.

Make sure your controller FileManagerController.cs uses the model classes you’ve created. Import the model namespace at the top of your controller file

File Manager’s base functions are available in the below namespace.

using Syncfusion.EJ2.FileManager.Base;

File Manager’s operations are available in the below namespace.

using Syncfusion.EJ2.FileManager.PhysicalFileProvider;

Initialize the service in controller

File Manager supports the basic file actions like Read, Delete, Copy, Move, Get Details, Search, Rename, and Create New Folder.
To perform the action add the following code in that FileManagerController.cs file.

using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc;
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Hosting;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Http;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Http.Features;
//File Manager's base functions are available in the below namespace.
using Syncfusion.EJ2.FileManager.Base;
//File Manager's operations are available in the below namespace.
using Syncfusion.EJ2.FileManager.PhysicalFileProvider;
using System.IO;
using System.Linq;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

namespace filemanager.Server.Controllers
{
    [Route("api/[controller]")]
    public class FileManagerController : Controller
    {
        public PhysicalFileProvider operation;
        public string basePath;
        string root = "wwwroot\\Files";
        [Obsolete]
        public FileManagerController(IHostingEnvironment hostingEnvironment)
        {
            this.basePath = hostingEnvironment.ContentRootPath;
            this.operation = new PhysicalFileProvider();
            this.operation.RootFolder(this.basePath + "\\" + this.root); // It denotes in which files and folders are available.
        }

        // Processing the File Manager operations.
        [Route("FileOperations")]
        public object FileOperations([FromBody] FileManagerDirectoryContent args)
        {
            switch (args.Action)
            {
                // Add your custom action here.
                case "read":
                    // Path - Current path; ShowHiddenItems - Boolean value to show/hide hidden items.
                    return this.operation.ToCamelCase(this.operation.GetFiles(args.Path, args.ShowHiddenItems));
                case "delete":
                    // Path - Current path where the folder to be deleted; Names - Name of the files to be deleted
                    return this.operation.ToCamelCase(this.operation.Delete(args.Path, args.Names));
                case "copy":
                    //  Path - Path from where the file was copied; TargetPath - Path where the file/folder is to be copied; RenameFiles - Files with same name in the copied location that is confirmed for renaming; TargetData - Data of the copied file
                    return this.operation.ToCamelCase(this.operation.Copy(args.Path, args.TargetPath, args.Names, args.RenameFiles, args.TargetData));
                case "move":
                    // Path - Path from where the file was cut; TargetPath - Path where the file/folder is to be moved; RenameFiles - Files with same name in the moved location that is confirmed for renaming; TargetData - Data of the moved file
                    return this.operation.ToCamelCase(this.operation.Move(args.Path, args.TargetPath, args.Names, args.RenameFiles, args.TargetData));
                case "details":
                    // Path - Current path where details of file/folder is requested; Name - Names of the requested folders
                    return this.operation.ToCamelCase(this.operation.Details(args.Path, args.Names));
                case "create":
                    // Path - Current path where the folder is to be created; Name - Name of the new folder
                    return this.operation.ToCamelCase(this.operation.Create(args.Path, args.Name));
                case "search":
                    // Path - Current path where the search is performed; SearchString - String typed in the searchbox; CaseSensitive - Boolean value which specifies whether the search must be casesensitive
                    return this.operation.ToCamelCase(this.operation.Search(args.Path, args.SearchString, args.ShowHiddenItems, args.CaseSensitive));
                case "rename":
                    // Path - Current path of the renamed file; Name - Old file name; NewName - New file name
                    return this.operation.ToCamelCase(this.operation.Rename(args.Path, args.Name, args.NewName));
            }
            return null;
        }
    }
}

To configure and map the controller, open the ~/Program.cs file of the server part of the application. Add the following code to configure the service for the controller and map the controller after app.UseRouting(). The app.UseRouting() middleware should be placed after app.UseHttpsRedirection(). The correct ordering is essential to ensure proper request handling and middleware functionality:

builder.Services.AddControllers();

...

app.UseRouting();
app.MapControllers();.

This will configure and map the controller in your Blazor App.

Create Web App

Add the Syncfusion Blazor FileManager component in .razor file inside the Pages folder.

<SfFileManager TValue="FileManagerDirectoryContent">
    <FileManagerAjaxSettings Url="/api/FileManager/FileOperations"
                             UploadUrl="/api/FileManager/Upload"
                             DownloadUrl="/api/FileManager/Download"
                             GetImageUrl="/api/FileManager/GetImage">
    </FileManagerAjaxSettings>
</SfFileManager>

Interactive Modes to be Chosen

Blazor supports different interactive modes for server-side rendering:

  • Interactive Server Render Mode: This mode allows Blazor components to be rendered on the server, sending the HTML to the client while maintaining interactive capabilities. It provides a balance between server-side processing and client-side responsiveness.

  • To enable this mode, configure the Program.cs file in your Blazor project using the AddInteractiveServerRenderMode method.

    builder.Services.AddRazorComponents()
  .AddInteractiveServerComponents();

    Define a render mode at top of the component, as follows:

@* desired render mode define here *@
@rendermode InteractiveServer

Add your required files and folders under the wwwroot\Files directory.

  • In your project, the wwwroot directory is where static files are served from. It is typically found at the root level of your server project.
  • Inside the wwwroot directory, create a new folder named Files. This will be used to store static files like images, documents, or other resources that you want to serve directly.
  • Press Ctrl+F5 (Windows) or ⌘+F5 (macOS) to launch the application. This will render the Syncfusion Blazor FileManager component in your default web browser.

Blazor FileManager Component

NOTE

View Sample in GitHub.

File download support

To perform the download operation, initialize the DownloadUrl property in a FileManagerAjaxSettings.

<SfFileManager TValue="FileManagerDirectoryContent">
    <FileManagerAjaxSettings Url="/api/FileManager/FileOperations"
                                DownloadUrl="/api/FileManager/Download">
    </FileManagerAjaxSettings>
</SfFileManager>

Initialize the Download FileOperation in Controller part with the following code snippet.

namespace filemanager.Server.Controllers
{
    [Route("api/[controller]")]
    public class FileManagerController : Controller
    {
        // Processing the Download operation.
        [Route("Download")]
        public IActionResult Download(string downloadInput)
        {
            //Invoking download operation with the required parameters.
            // path - Current path where the file is downloaded; Names - Files to be downloaded;
            FileManagerDirectoryContent args = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<FileManagerDirectoryContent>(downloadInput);
            return operation.Download(args.Path, args.Names);
        }
    }
}

File upload support

To perform the upload operation, initialize the UploadUrl property in a FileManagerAjaxSettings.

<SfFileManager TValue="FileManagerDirectoryContent">
    <FileManagerAjaxSettings Url="/api/FileManager/FileOperations"
                                UploadUrl="/api/FileManager/Upload">
    </FileManagerAjaxSettings>
</SfFileManager>

Initialize the Upload File Operation in Controller part with the following code snippet.

namespace filemanager.Server.Controllers
{
    [Route("api/[controller]")]
    public class FileManagerController : Controller
    {
        // Processing the Upload operation.
        [Route("Upload")]
        public IActionResult Upload(string path, IList<IFormFile> uploadFiles, string action)
        {
            //Invoking upload operation with the required parameters.
            // path - Current path where the file is to uploaded; uploadFiles - Files to be uploaded; action - name of the operation(upload)
            FileManagerResponse uploadResponse;
            uploadResponse = operation.Upload(path, uploadFiles, action, null);
            if (uploadResponse.Error != null)
            {
                Response.Clear();
                Response.ContentType = "application/json; charset=utf-8";
                Response.StatusCode = Convert.ToInt32(uploadResponse.Error.Code);
                Response.HttpContext.Features.Get<IHttpResponseFeature>().ReasonPhrase = uploadResponse.Error.Message;
            }
            return Content("");
        }
    }
}

Image preview support

To perform image preview support in the File Manager component, initialize the GetImageUrl property in a FileManagerAjaxSettings.

<SfFileManager TValue="FileManagerDirectoryContent">
    <FileManagerAjaxSettings Url="/api/FileManager/FileOperations"
                                GetImageUrl="/api/FileManager/GetImage">
    </FileManagerAjaxSettings>
</SfFileManager>

Initialize the GetImage File Operation in Controller part with the following code snippet.

namespace filemanager.Server.Controllers
{
    [Route("api/[controller]")]
    public class FileManagerController : Controller
    {
        // Processing the GetImage operation.
        [Route("GetImage")]
        public IActionResult GetImage(FileManagerDirectoryContent args)
        {
            //Invoking GetImage operation with the required parameters.
            // path - Current path of the image file; Id - Image file id;
            return this.operation.GetImage(args.Path, args.Id, false, null, null);
        }
    }
}

Blazor FileManager with Image Preview

Refer the sample link.

See also

  1. Getting Started with Syncfusion Blazor for client-side in .NET Core CLI
  2. Getting Started with Syncfusion Blazor for client-side in Visual Studio
  3. Getting Started with Syncfusion Blazor for server-side in .NET Core CLI