About this plugin
Ordnerwerk (“folder works” in German) adds a folder tree with unlimited nesting to the WordPress media library. Folders are purely virtual: they are stored as a hierarchical taxonomy on attachments, so nothing on your server changes.
What makes it different from other folder plugins
- Completely free, no limits. Every feature is included. There is no premium version, no cap on the number of folders or files, and no upsell screens.
- Folders become living galleries. Any folder can be inserted as a gallery or slideshow that stays in sync with the folder: drop new photos into the folder and they appear on the page, no editing required.
- Lightbox included. Regular WordPress galleries get an accessible lightbox without a second plugin.
- Nothing external. No third-party libraries, no external services, no tracking.
- Made for editors, not developers. Built for a school website maintained by teachers, with a step-by-step guide inside WordPress.
Your files stay exactly where they are
- Files remain untouched in /wp-content/uploads/.
- File names never change.
- The URL of a media item never changes.
- Deleting a folder never deletes media. The items simply become “Unassigned”.
Organise the media library
- Create, rename, move and delete folders and subfolders.
- Folder tree in the media library (grid and list view) and in the WordPress media modal (block editor and classic editor), combinable with search, media type and date filters.
- “All media” and “Unassigned” views with live counters.
- Assign media by drag and drop, including multiple selection; drop onto “Unassigned” to remove an assignment.
- Sort folders manually by drag and drop.
- Files uploaded while a folder is open are assigned to that folder automatically – in the media library and in the media modal of the block editor and classic editor.
Galleries and slideshows from a folder
Turn any folder into a gallery (grid) or a slideshow with a few clicks. In the block editor use the blocks “Media Folder Gallery” and “Slideshow from folder”; in the classic editor use the buttons next to “Add Media”.
- Automatic synchronisation (default): new images in the folder appear on the page by themselves, removed images disappear. Alternatively static: exactly the images you chose. Editing the image list by hand in the classic editor makes the gallery static.
- Sort by upload date (oldest or newest first), title or file name.
- Slideshow: one large image on a fixed stage without layout shifts, arrows, position indicator, keyboard and swipe support. Optional automatic rotation every 3, 5, 7 or 10 seconds with a pause button; rotation pauses outside the viewport, in background tabs and when “reduce motion” is enabled.
- Clicking an image opens the lightbox with exactly the images of that gallery or slideshow.
- If the plugin is deactivated, WordPress shows a regular gallery with the last saved images in the same place. Nothing breaks.
Lightbox for regular WordPress galleries
Regular WordPress galleries stay regular WordPress galleries. Clicking a gallery image opens a lightbox with a large image, caption, counter, previous/next buttons, keyboard control (arrow keys, Escape, focus trap) and swipe gestures.
- Supports the Gutenberg gallery block (including the markup used before WordPress 5.9) and the classic [gallery] shortcode.
- Single images do not get a lightbox.
- The WordPress core lightbox (“Expand on click”) takes precedence when it is enabled.
- Custom links set by the editor stay regular links. Only images without a link, or linked to the media file or attachment page, are handled.
- Galleries from other plugins (FooGallery, NextGEN and others) are left alone.
- Saved post content is never modified; everything happens on output only.
- CSS and JavaScript are only loaded on pages that actually contain a gallery.
To exclude a single gallery, add the CSS class medienordner-ohne-lightbox under “Advanced” in the editor. To disable the lightbox completely, add this to a small plugin of your own:
add_filter( 'medienordner_lightbox_enabled', '__return_false' );
Built-in guide for editors
A step-by-step guide is available under “Media” → “Media Folders Guide” and via the “Guide” link in the plugin list.
Language
The user interface and the built-in guide are available in English and German. The German translation ships with the plugin and is used for all German variants (de_DE, de_DE_formal, de_AT, de_CH). org, if available, takes precedence.
org.
Privacy, security and dependencies
No external services, no tracking, no CDN and no bundled third-party libraries. The plugin does not add links or branding to the public website. All REST and upload requests are protected by nonces and capability checks on the server.
Copyright and license
de. Ordnerwerk is free software, released under the GNU General Public License version 2 or later.