Overview

RCA File Desk exists because Joomla’s Media manager is fine for media libraries but awkward when you need to work on arbitrary folders under the site root, especially during migrations, template work, or client handoffs. File Desk gives Super Users and delegated groups a desktop-style tree with list, icon, and thumbnail views, a live thumbnail size control in elFinder Preferences, quick look previews, selection tools, and a trash volume backed by the site tmp trash folder.

What you get in the box

You get one administrator component (com_rca_filedesk), bundled elFinder 2.1.70 under the component libs tree, self-hosted jQuery UI for the elFinder toolbar, and a small admin JavaScript file that wires the connector URL and Joomla CSRF token into elFinder requests. There is no site frontend view and no custom database tables.

What RCA changed from legacy JMP

The connector runs through a namespaced Init controller with a format=raw task, not a bare PHP file in the web root. Upload MIME rules, path selection, and advanced group folders come from component options. FTP and other remote elFinder drivers that shipped in the upstream tree are not registered in the RCA connector, so out of the box you work on local disk only.

Who this is for

Agencies and site owners who already trust their Super Users with filesystem access and want that access inside Joomla instead of SFTP alone. It is not a substitute for proper hosting backups, and it is not a public file sharing front end.

When not to use it

Do not install File Desk on shared hosting where the host forbids direct filesystem tools, or where untrusted users could receive core.manage or broad component permissions. If you only need image picks for articles, stay with Media. If you need cloud drives (Dropbox, Google Drive), this release does not expose those connectors.