WiscWeb - Using Media Library to add images or documents

The Media Library is your file repository, where you can store documents and images that you intend to use and make available to your audience through your site.

In this document:

Purpose

The Media Library serves as the central file storage location for a WordPress site where images and documents can be uploaded to and then made available for either viewing or downloading by site visitors.

Requirements

There are several key pieces of information to be aware of as you are using the Media Library:

Uploading to the Media Library

Begin by clicking on the Media option in the left menu. Media button located on the left menu of the dashboard Your full media library will appear. If you have images in the library, they will appear here.

  1. Click the Add New button.

    Media Library screen showing the "Add New" button

  2. You can search for the items to upload by clicking on the Select Files button, otherwise you can drag items onto the screen to upload items automatically.

    Screen showing drag and drop option for Media Library

  3. Your images will appear on the screen. You can change your view between List or Grid with the toggles in the upper left corner of the library.

    Screen showing different view options for the Media Library

You can also filter the items that you see by clicking in the two pull down menus - the first to view by type, the second to view by upload date. You can also individually select items by clicking the Bulk Select button.

Working In Grid View

Within this view, you have a visual representation of the items in your library through thumbnails; documents that are within your library will display with their file name in the thumbnail.

Individually clicking on an item will select it, and open that image or document's informational window.

Image informational window

Here are some of the key items to note within the Attachment Details screen for an image:

Working in list view

Within this view, your media library items are listed within a table with other pieces of information.

Media Library list of documents

Here are some of the key items to note within the List View. Note that you can sort the columns of this table by clicking on the linked headers:

Additionally, list view offers the two options detailed below:

File size in list view

In June of 2023, WiscWeb added the option to see a "file size" column within your Media Library list view.

The purpose of showing this content is so that you can see how large your images/files are and determine you want to downsize/adjust. Really large images can impact page speed/performance so it is recommended that you review these sizes and scale down when needed.

It is important to note two caveats with this column view: 

Alt text in list view

In June of 2023, WiscWeb added the option to see a "alt text" column within your Media Library list view.

The purpose of showing this content is so that users can clearly see 1.) if alt text appears for a certain image and 2.) if it makes sense for that content. If no alt text appears, it is highly recommended that you add it in: WiscWeb - Using Alternative (Alt) Text Also, consider revising the alt text if it isn't a good representation of what the image is. 

It is important to note one caveat with this column view: 

Placing images

Images can be placed on pages or within posts using a variety of page elements (such as the Image Carousel or Featured Content Block), or by simply clicking the Add Media button within a Text Block.

Linking to documents

The Add Media button can also be used to create a direct link to a document within your Media Library.

  1. Place your cursor where you want the link to be inserted, and click Add Media.
  2. Locate the document that you want to link to.
    • Be aware that by default, the Title of the document that you uploaded will be used as the linked text.
  3. Click on the document and then click Insert into page.
  4. The link will appear, with the text again being set to the Title of the document. To change this linked text:
    • Click on the link
    • Click on the edit icon (pencil)

      A link has been clicked on showing the pencil icon to edit
    • Click on the Link options icon (gear)

      The edit options are available including the gear icon
    • Update the Link Text field

      The full link options available are visible, with the URL and Link Text field at the top
    • Click Update

See Also: