nextcloud / nextcloud/server

Add file details/metadata view to sidebar

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0. Needs triage enhancement
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Description

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The Nextcloud Files sidebar includes views for sharing, activity and file versions. A dedicated Details/properties view would be a useful addition.

The data view would display general information such as file size, type, location, owner, creation date and last modified date, but with the available fields adapting to the file type to improve file management.

For example:

  • For images, this could include the format, dimensions, colour profile and available EXIF data, such as the camera model, lens, exposure settings and geolocation. This would be useful when comparing images, checking whether a photo has been resized or compressed, or verifying whether location data is still attached before sharing it.
  • For videos, the view could show the container format, video and audio codecs, resolution, frame rate, bitrate and duration. This would help users confirm whether a video is compatible with a particular device or service, understand why a file is large, or check whether it has been transcoded.
  • For audio files, it could include the codec, bitrate, sample rate, number of channels, duration and available tags such as artist, album and track number.
  • For documents, it could show information such as page count, author, language, word count and the application used to create the file, where available. PDFs could include details such as the colour profile, page count, chapter structure and other relevant document properties.

Other file types could display any metadata relevant to them. My examples are largely focused on media because I'm a graphic designer but feel free to suggest other possible use cases.

Local file managers often provide this kind of information:

on Windows File Manager on MacOS Finder
Image Image

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  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start by reviewing the existing Files sidebar views for sharing, activity, and file versions, then identify how general file properties are currently exposed. Define which metadata sources and file types are in scope before implementation; done should mean a Details/properties view displays appropriate information for supported files without disrupting existing sidebar views.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
javascript, php
Domain
backend, frontend
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Active
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
30/100

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