Folder layout Free & Pro

The folder layout presents your library as a set of collapsible folders, one per document category, that visitors click to expand. It gives a familiar file-manager feel and works well when your documents have a clear category structure — departments, years, project phases — that visitors already think in.

How folders are built from categories

Folders are driven entirely by your hierarchical document categories: every category becomes a folder, and the documents assigned to it appear inside. You do not arrange folders in the layout itself — you manage the structure under Documents → Document Categories, and the layout reflects it. See categories and tags for how to set up the hierarchy.

Because document categories are hierarchical, folders nest. A parent category such as "HR" with child categories "Policies" and "Forms" renders as an HR folder containing Policies and Forms subfolders, each with its own documents.

How search behaves in the folder layout

The instant search box works in the folder layout just as it does elsewhere, with one addition: as a visitor types, folders containing matching documents open automatically so results are visible without any clicking, and folders with no matches stay out of the way. Clearing the search returns folders to their normal collapsed state. For everything search matches against, see instant search, sorting, and filters.

Example shortcode

[filedeck layout="folders" columns="title,size,type,link"]

You can scope a folder library to part of your category tree, too:

[filedeck layout="folders" category="hr"]

The same options are available in the FileDeck Library block — pick folders in the layout picker and preview the result live.

FAQ

How do I change what folders appear?

Edit your categories under Documents → Document Categories. Folders mirror your category structure one-to-one: renaming a category renames the folder, and nesting a category nests the folder.

Can folders be nested more than one level deep?

Yes. The layout follows your category hierarchy, so however deep you nest categories is how deep the folders nest. In practice, two or three levels stay the easiest to browse.

What happens to a document that is in two categories?

It appears inside each of its categories’ folders, so visitors find it whichever way they browse.

Do visitors see empty folders?

A category only makes a useful folder when it has documents. If a folder looks empty, check that documents are actually assigned to that category under Documents → All Documents.