I’ve seen some interesting solutions to making sure files that get uploaded outside of WordPress that are meant to be digested by WordPress get handled.  Scripts, plug-ins, etc.  The crux of the problem stems from the fact that if you FTP files into your WordPress site’s “uploads” directory, those files won’t show up.  That’s because a user didn’t use the media manager to alert WordPress to their existence and essentially register the files in WordPress, which is basically another record in its database.

There’s a simple plug-in that will allow you to find any file on your webserver and transfer those files and import them into the media library.  This blog article, though somewhat dated, is still relevant.  I’ve used this “Add From Server” plug-in before and works as advertised!

Here’s the link to the article about the challenge “Add From Server” solves:

“How to Bulk Upload Files to the WordPress Media Library”

I hope I saved someone a little time and trouble with their website!

– Aaron Belchamber