Manually creating files is very central to most OpenACS development.
However, these files are typically pairs of *.tcl and *.adp files for
the OpenACS Templating System, and this is
development. You
would edit these files on your Dev server and check them into CVS or
whatever other version control system you're using. You would
transfer these newly developed files to your Production web server
solely via CVS.
Unlike say Zope, OpenACS does not lock you into any strange
object storage system, you can use the file-system in any way you wish
- if you wish. It is not a case of, "everything must be in the
database".
Generally, with OpenACS, if you are manually editing files on
your Production web server, either: One, this is an exceptional case
and you know exactly what you're doing and why. Two, you don't know
what you're doing.
There are also files, not in CVS, which are created by OpenACS itself,
which you would never edit. Files uploaded to File Storage and then
stored in the file system come to mind. But as far as I remember, any
files which you the admin would edit, you would edit as part of your
development process, typically on your Dev server. (There may be
other exceptions I've forgotten, and which hopefully someone will
point out, but in general that should be true.)