It brings media, templates, components, posts, pages and custom post types into one central browser directly inside Bricks. Throw HappyFiles into the mix and it becomes an even more useful way of keeping larger WordPress websites organised.
So, is it something you’ll actually use? Let’s take a look.
More Than Just a Media Browser
The first thing worth pointing out is that calling this a Media Browser doesn’t really tell the whole story.
Open it inside the Bricks editor and you’ll find sections for templates, components, posts, pages, custom post types and your actual WordPress media.
Everything is accessible from the same interface, with keyboard shortcuts making it easy to jump between the different sections.
The options available change depending on what you’re browsing. Templates, for example, can be searched and filtered by things like bundles, tags and template types, while different layouts let you switch between grid, masonry and list views.
It’s effectively bringing several areas of WordPress and Bricks together instead of making you continually jump between different screens.
Managing WordPress Content From Inside Bricks
Posts, pages and custom post types also appear inside the browser.
You can search and sort them, filter by status and control some of the information displayed in the browser. There are also quick options for things like editing the content in WordPress, duplicating it or opening it in a new tab.
Custom post types get the same treatment, which is particularly useful if you’re building more complex dynamic websites with Bricks.
This doesn’t suddenly turn the Bricks editor into a complete WordPress content management replacement, but having quick access to this information without leaving your current workflow is useful.
The Media Library Is Where Things Get More Interesting
The actual media section is probably where most people will spend their time.
Images, videos, fonts and documents can all be accessed through the browser, and selecting an image gives you access to familiar WordPress information including the title, alternative text, caption, description and generated image sizes.
You can also copy URLs, download files and delete media directly from the interface.
Editing the actual image still takes you back to WordPress, so the browser isn’t trying to replace all of the existing Media Library functionality. It’s primarily there to make browsing, finding and managing files easier.
And that’s where some of the new filtering options become particularly useful.
For example, you can quickly filter your images to find anything with missing alt text. If you’ve inherited a website or you’re working with multiple people adding content, that’s a simple way of finding images that need attention without manually working through the entire library.
Media Health Could Be Genuinely Useful
Another new feature is Media Health.
Bricks can scan your media library and flag potential problems including:
- Broken files
- Missing alt text
- Missing image sizes
- Oversized images
- Obsolete file formats
You control what Bricks considers unhealthy through the settings.
An image over 1MB could be flagged as oversized, for example, while separate limits can be configured for fonts, documents and videos. You can also define which file extensions should be treated as obsolete.
Don’t care about Media Health? You can simply disable it.
I can see this being particularly useful when inheriting an existing website, working as part of a team or dealing with a site where media has been uploaded over several years without much thought given to organisation or optimisation.
It’s not necessarily something you’ll be checking every five minutes, but having the information available when you need it is useful.
HappyFiles Makes the Browser Even Better
If you’re already using HappyFiles, Bricks 2.4 integrates with its folder structure.
This means your existing HappyFiles organisation appears directly inside the Bricks browser. You can create folders, move files between them and organise your media without leaving Bricks.
More importantly, it works both ways.
Create a folder inside the Bricks Media Browser and you’ll see it inside the normal WordPress Media Library. Create or organise something through WordPress and that organisation is reflected back inside Bricks.
The integration isn’t restricted to images either.
If you’re using HappyFiles to organise posts, pages or other content types, those folders can also appear inside the relevant sections of the Bricks browser.
For anyone already using HappyFiles, this is probably one of the more useful additions to the new browser.
I’ve been using HappyFiles myself for quite some time, I paid for it and have no affiliation with them. For organising media, posts, pages and other WordPress content, it’s been one of those relatively inexpensive purchases that’s proved genuinely useful.
Pairing it with the new Bricks browser makes a lot of sense.
A Small Feature That Could Improve the Bricks Workflow
The new Media Browser isn’t going to fundamentally change how you build websites with Bricks, but that’s not really the point.
It’s about reducing some of the friction involved in moving between Bricks and different areas of WordPress.
Being able to search and filter your media more effectively, quickly find images with missing alt text, check the general health of uploaded files and manage templates and content from one interface all adds up to a cleaner workflow.
If you’re also using HappyFiles, the integration makes it considerably more useful because your existing organisation carries directly across into Bricks.
It’s another solid quality-of-life improvement in Bricks 2.4, and one I can see becoming more useful as the browser develops.
What do you think? Is the new Media Browser something you can see yourself using, or are you perfectly happy sticking with the standard WordPress Media Library?
