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Finding & previewing media

Browsing folders is one way to find media; this page covers the other tools — search, filters, sorting — and how to select items and inspect them without leaving the browser.

The media grid filling the content area

Search, filter and sort

The toolbar gives you three ways to narrow the grid:

  • Search media — type to filter. The search matches both the media name and the underlying file's filename (for file- and image-based types), and runs as you type, so you don't need to press Enter.
  • Media type — a dropdown to show only one type (Image, Document, Video…). It only appears when a folder holds more than one type.
  • Sort — Newest first, Oldest first, Name A–Z or Name Z–A.

Results load in pages as you scroll (infinite scroll) — there are no pager links to click; just keep scrolling and the next page loads automatically.

Selecting media

Click a card to select it. To select several:

Action Result
Click Select just that item
Ctrl / Cmd + click Add or remove one item
Shift + click Select a range
Select all (toolbar) Select everything loaded

Keyboard equivalents (arrows, Enter, Ctrl+A, Shift+Up / Shift+Down) are on the Keyboard page.

Once something is selected, a selection toolbar floats at the bottom with the count and the available actions — Edit (see Editing and Bulk actions), Delete, Review and Clear.

The selection toolbar with several items selected

Delete is standalone-only

The Delete action appears only on the standalone browser page. In the field-widget and CKEditor contexts you're picking media, not managing it, so deletion is hidden.

The selection drawer

Click Review to open the selection drawer — a running list of everything you've picked, each with a thumbnail and a remove (×) button, plus Clear all.

The selection drawer listing three chosen items

Its real value is that it remembers picks across folders: select two images in Dishes, move to Ingredients and pick a third, and all three stay in the drawer ready to confirm. That's what makes multi-folder selections practical in the field widget and CKEditor.

Availability

Contexts: standalone browser · field widget · CKEditor (not in single-item pickers). Toggle with Enable selection drawer under Browser settings → Display & behaviour.

The preview drawer

Click a card's info (ⓘ) button — or press I with a card focused — to open the preview drawer on the right.

The preview drawer showing a large preview and metadata for one item

It shows a large preview (images inline; video and audio play right in the drawer), a Published / Unpublished badge, the item's metadata, author, created/updated dates and file size, plus:

  • a Download link to the original file,
  • an Edit media link that opens the full Drupal edit form in a new tab,
  • and, when the Entity Usage module is installed, a "where used" count linking to everywhere the item is referenced — worth checking before you delete or replace something.

Availability

Contexts: standalone browser always; in the field-widget and CKEditor modals only when Also show the preview drawer in modals is on. Both are under Browser settings → Display & behaviour.