The Index Manager in cPanel allows you to customize the way a directory appears when no index files reside in a directory. This tool is useful if you want to display an index or list of content contained in a directory, and then give the directory URL to a user to access the content. If there is no index file or the directory path is set to no indexing, the user will see a 403 forbidden message. Note: The default index method is to inherit the parent directory settings. 

Modify a directory index

1. Sign in to your My Services page.
2. Click the Hosting link.
    
3. Click the Indexes link in the Advanced module. 
     
4. Click the Edit button for the Directory you want to modify. Note: You can click the Directory name to navigate down the file system if you want to edit a subdirectory.
    
5. Select One of the Four options:
   • Inherit (Default option) - Select this mode to use the parent directory’s setting. If the index settings are not defined in the parent directory, the system will use its default settings. 
   • No Indexing - No files will appear for this directory if a default file is missing. 
   • Show Filename Only - This mode shows a simple list of the files present if the default file is missing. 
   • Show Filename and Description - This mode shows a list of files and their attributes: file size and file type. 
      
6. Click the Save button.
     
7. Review the confirmation.
     
8. Click the Go Back link to return to the set of four options and click Go Back again to return to the previous directory index.
    

Indexes Settings

The Indexes Settings allows you to set where the Index list will open when you first access the Indexes tool.  The default is Home. You can also select to open to the Web Root, which is the public_html directory, or a subdomain root listed in the dropdown. Important: If you change this setting, remember to checkmark Always open this directory in the future, then click the Save changes button.