I have always found the media handling in WordPress a bit clunky so I thought I would try and create my own plugin to enhance the media functionality. It seemed sensible to put it in the WordPress sidebar so it is always visible without taking up too much of the window.

If you didn’t know, WordPress by default organises media via month so if the date is 14/02/2026, and I upload a media file it will, be default, be placed in a directory 2026/02. If it is an image file, it may create a few variations at different resolutions so don’t be too concerned if you find your image is duplicated.

If we go through each item on the plugin window… The first dropdown allows the selection of the directory where the media resides. Default is All Folders. The second textbox allows you to filter for a specific media file or files. The third dropdown allows you to limit the search for media files to reduce the impact on the server searching for files. Next is a reload button to allow you to manually start the search for more media files after changing one or more of the filters.

Next the files found based on the selected criteria. There is a thumbnail, the name of the media file, the size of the file and the dimensions in pixels.