Creating, editing, and deleting virtual folders

Virtual folders are folders that you create in the FTP or SFTP file system that can point to any folder on the server's physical file system. After you create a virtual folder, you can edit the folder to change most of the settings selected when you created the folder.

To create or edit a virtual folder:

  1. From the top menu, select Host > Folders. The Folders page opens.
  2. Click Create Virtual Folder. The Create Virtual Folder page opens.

    - OR -

    Click a hyperinked folder name. The Edit Folder page opens.

  3. Set the appropriate options.
    • Folder name. Enter a name for the virtual folder. This name will identify the folder to users who log in to the server.
    • Full path. Select the physical location on the folder. You may either enter the path manually or select it by clicking Browse.

      Tip: You can use a network share anywhere that you specify a physical folder on the server. To do this, you must enter the UNC path to the shared folder. You must also specify an Impersonation account that allows the WS_FTP Server to access the UNC path. The Impersonation Settings are configured on the same page (Host Details page) as the Top folder.
      If using Microsoft IIS, you must also give permissions to the shared folder to the Windows user account under which your web server's WSFTPSVR folder is running. If that user cannot access the shared folder through the Windows explorer, you cannot access the folder via the WS_FTP Server Manager.

    • Only viewable with 40-bit SSL or higher. Select this option to make this folder viewable via FTP only if the user has logged in using 40-bit SSL or higher.
    • Only viewable with 128-bit SSL or higher. Select this option to make this folder viewable via FTP only if the user has logged in using 128-bit SSL or higher.
    • Virtual display location.  Select where you want this virtual folder to display.
      • Not displayed. Select this option to exclude this virtual folder from folder listings. Users who know virtual folder name can still access it by providing the folder name manually.
      • Display at root. Select this option to display this virtual folder as a subfolder of the server root folder.
      • Display in user. Select this option to display this virtual folder as a subfolder of each user's home folder.

        Important: If you change the virtual display location of a virtual folder for which folder action rules are configured, you must update the folder action rules to use the new file path. If you do not do this, the folder action rules will not work.

  4. Under Permissions, modify user permissions to the folder as needed.
  5. Click Save.

Permissions

This section of the page displays and lets you manage user permissions for this folder. By default, users do not have permissions to new folders. To view or grant permissions to the folder, use the Permissions options.

Note: Permission settings take effect the next time the user connects.

You can perform the following tasks related to user permissions on a folder:

For more information, see Using WS_FTP Server Manager to Manage Permissions.