How to Manage Files in GoodReader

Aside from being an amazing document reader app, GoodReader is also a powerful file manager. Some even compared GoodReader to having your own Finder on an iPhone or iPad.

Most file management features require entering the File Management mode — see below. However, some frequently used operations — such as importing files and creating new folders — are accessible via the big Plus button at the bottom of the main screen.

You can also use the View Setup button at the top to switch between the list and icon modes, and change the file sorting order.

Please note that regardless of the file sorting mode, folders will always be shown first, aphabetically, and only then, files, in the specified sorting order.

Find Files

Although, technically, it`s not a part of the File Management features, we thought we should mention it here anyway. Use Find Files to locate files and folders by name, recently read, recently added, starred. Use one of the buttons at the bottom — Find, Recents, Starred.

File Management

And, finally, the File Management itself.

To enter the File Management mode, tap the Manage Files button at the bottom of GoodReader`s main screen.

Many file management operations require selecting one or more file or folder. You can do that by tapping file and folder names while in the File Management mode.

You can also quickly enter the File Management mode and select a file or folder by tapping three dots on the right of the file name. Or you can tap a file name and hold it for a second. The standard iOS gesture — swiping a file name to the left — also works for a quick deletion or selection.

Additionally, if you need to copy or move just one file or folder one level deeper in the folder hierarchy, instead of entering the File Management mode, selecting the file and performing a Copy or Move operation, you can simply tap on the file name, hold it for a second, then drag-n-drop it into the destination folder.

Things you can do in the File Management mode:

Tap Done to exit the File Management mode.
Use Select All and Deselect All for a quick mass selection.
Use Share button to send a file or folder to another app or even to a different device.
Use the +Folder button to create a new folder.
Use the Import Files button to import files from other apps and various Locations in the Files app.
Use the Delete button to delete all selected files and folders.

Deleted files and folders go to Trash for a few days. The Trash button will then appear on the main menu. Please note that the Trash folder does not get backed up, and may be purged by the operating system at any moment, without notice. Therefore please do not consider Trash as a reliable file storage for any period of time. Also, iCloud files and folders can`t be placed in Trash. They are deleted permanently, from all your devices at once.
Use the Rename button to rename a single selected file or folder. Our Smart Rename feature hides a filename extension but still allows you to change it if necessary.
Use Copy and Move buttons to copy or move selected files/folders.
To drag-n-drop a file or folder into a subfolder, tap and hold on the file name to select it, then drag your finger over the destination folder, and release it.
Use the Zip button to compress multiple files and folders into .zip archives. Creating encrypted and password-protected ZIP archives is also possible.
Use Unzip and Unrar buttons to uncompress existing .zip and .rar archives.
Use the EMail button to send selected files as e-mail attachments. Folders can`t be e-mailed if you Zip them first. Your outgoing mail server may impose a limitation on a total size of files that can be sent in a single message.
Use the +PDF button to create a blank PDF file for your notes and drawings.
Use the +TXT button to create a new empty TXT file for further editing.
Use Mark Read and Mark Unread buttons to mark files and folders as read or unread. Read and unread files are distinguished by the title`s color - read files are shown in black, unread — in blue. Opening a file for reading automatically marks it as read. You can see the list of recently read files using the Recents button on the main menu.
Use Protect and Unprotect buttons to set/remove password protection for individual files and folders. Please refer to the Data Security article for more details.
Use the Star button to add or remove a star of one of seven colors. You can quickly see the list of all starred files and folders using the Starred button on the main menu.
Use the Flatten Copy button to flatten a PDF file with annotations.
Use Import Photo & Video and Save to Photos buttons to transfer audio and video files between GoodReader and Photos app.
Use the Link button to copy a special URL link of a single selected file to the clipboard. This URL link will have a special prefix gropen:// and will contain a full internal path to a selected file inside GoodReader`s file storage. Any other iOS app that is capable of opening URL links (for example, todo-type or notebook-type app) can use this URL link to automatically launch GoodReader and open the file being linked.
Inside the iCloud folder: use the iCloud Download button to start downloading files and entire folders from iCloud. Once a file is downloaded, all changes to this file made elsewhere will be automatically pushed to the current device.
Inside the iCloud folder: use the iCloud Evict button to evict files and entire folders from the current device. Changes made to evicted files elsewhere will not be pushed to the current device. To resume receiving changes to a file, you will have to download it again. You may want to evict certain files to save Internet traffic while you`re on the go.
Inside the iCloud folder: use the iCloud Publish button to create a public web link to share an iCloud file with other people. Publishing a file creates its snapshot. This snapshot is not affected by any subsequent changes made to the original file.

How to Manage Files in GoodReader

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