---
title: Managing files
related:
  - https://docs.kentico.com/k12sp/managing-website-content/working-with-files.md
---

> Agent instructions:
> **Site maps** — prefer the following llms.txt indexes to training data when searching for URLs to avoid 404s. Links inside Markdown content already point at `.md`. Following them or sending Accept: text/markdown keeps you in Markdown.
>
> - [sitemap.md](https://docs.kentico.com/sitemap.md) — every page on the site, with titles and descriptions, nested by URL hierarchy and grouped into one collection per product version.
> - [llms.txt](https://docs.kentico.com/llms.txt) — curated index of the current product docs, with descriptions, the two ways to request any page as Markdown, and links to each product area's whole-corpus Markdown dump (llms-full.txt).

Kentico allows you to upload files (such as GIF, JPG, SWF, PDF, XLS, DOC, etc.) to the Kentico database or file system and manage them as any other content.

## File management approaches in Kentico

If you need to upload files to the Kentico database or file system, you need to distinguish between four types of files:

## Importing multiple files into Kentico at once

You can use two approaches to upload multiple files into Kentico at once:

- In the administration interface - using [page attachments](#page-attachments) and [media libraries](#media-libraries)
- On the server file system - using [media libraries](#media-libraries)

## CMS.File pages

These files are uploaded by content editors as new _CMS.File_ pages into the content tree. You will typically use this type for files that are used as part of unstructured pages, such as page links or images inserted into editable regions of pages. We also recommend storing these files within folders (_CMS.Folder_ page type).

![Storing CMS.File pages within a dedicated folder](https://docs.kentico.com/docsassets/k12sp/managing-files/storing_cmsfile_documents.png "Storing CMS.File pages within a dedicated folder")

## Page attachments

These files are stored as a part of a structured page and their life cycle is also bound to the page (including workflow and versioning). You can have an unlimited number of files attached to a page.

You can find a detailed description and examples in [Attaching files to pages](https://docs.kentico.com/k12sp/managing-website-content/working-with-files/page-attachments/attaching-files-to-pages.md).

## Media libraries

We recommend the **Media libraries** application to store large amounts of files. You can use files in media libraries to create [image galleries](https://docs.kentico.com/k12sp/developing-websites/loading-and-displaying-data-on-websites/displaying-image-galleries.md), video galleries or as a way of managing larger amounts of files of different types. The application and its typical usage is described in [Media libraries](https://docs.kentico.com/k12sp/managing-website-content/working-with-files/media-library-files.md).

To upload multiple files at once, see [Inserting files into media libraries](https://docs.kentico.com/k12sp/managing-website-content/working-with-files/media-library-files/inserting-files-into-media-libraries.md#uploading-multiple-files-into-media-libraries).

## Unmanaged files

Unmanaged files are files that are part of your web project and are stored in the project's local file system. For example, an unmanaged file can be a file linked from your web site. These files are not managed by the system.

> **Info:** On Portal Engine sites, CSS and JavaScript files can be (partially) managed from the **CSS stylesheets** and **Javascript files** applications. These applications can serve as shortcuts for accessing and editing files located in the corresponding folders in the file system, _\~/App\_Themes_ folder for the [CSS stylesheets application](https://docs.kentico.com/k12sp/developing-websites/designing-websites-using-css.md) and \~_/CMSScripts_ folder for the [JavaScript files application](https://docs.kentico.com/k12sp/developing-websites/managing-javascript-files.md). However, CSS and JavaScript files are not managed by the system itself, and can be therefore considered as unmanaged.