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Configuration Storage
By default WinSCP stored its configuration into Windows registry. Optionally it can store it into an INI file. To switch the storage see Storage tab of Preferences window.
On startup WinSCP looks for INI file in the directory from which it was started. The INI file must have an .INI extension and the same name as WinSCP executable. If it finds the INI file it loads configuration from it. If it does not find any, it uses the registry (of current user). This allows you to easily carry WinSCP with your configuration on removable media or USB drive.
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You may also use INI file in different folder or with different name using /ini switch.
Removing Configuration
You can clean up all configuration data stored on your machine.
Transferring the Configuration
If you use registry as configuration storage, you may export/import following registry key to export/import the settings.
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Martin Prikryl\WinSCP 2]
If you do not know how to work with registry, switch to INI file.
If you use INI file as configuration storage, copy the winscp3.ini file from WinSCP installation directory on your source computer to installation directory on destination computer. The file is typically in following directory:
c:\program files\winscp3\winscp3.ini
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This file is automatically created when you switch to INI file configuration.
Portable Configuration
You can configure WinSCP to be completely portable, i.e. make it store all its files and configuration in one place, portable drive (such as USB drive).
First, you need to turn to INI file configuration. In addition to configuration, WinSCP stores by default some files to local drives:
- Random seed file (file
winscp.rndin yours Documents and Settings folder) - Temporary files (system temporary folder)
You can force WinSCP to store the files into different location in preferences. You can use paths relative to WinSCP start folder.
To change the storage directly in an INI file to the same location, where WinSCP is started from, set following parameters:
[Configuration\Interface] RandomSeedFile=.\winscp.rnd DDTemporaryDirectory=.\
Pre-configuring WinSCP
Learn how to distribute pre-configured version of WinSCP.