FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

• Where do I get username and password?
• WinSCP gives warning that the server’s host key was not found in cache. What does it mean?
• I receive “Received too large (??? B) SFTP packet” on login. What is wrong?
• I click on “Login” button, program starts connecting, but then it displays some error message and quits. What I’m doing wrong?
• Where should I type IP address of my remote host?
• How can I use WinSCP with OpenSSH for Windows?

• Can I transfer files between two remote servers with WinSCP (FXP)?
• When I drop files outside of WinSCP, they are moved to drop target. I want to copy them. How do I do that?
• File transfer speed is very low. WinSCP does not utilize all available bandwidth. How do I improve the transfer speed?
• Downloaded files are stored first to temporary directory and only after that, they are moved to destination directory. How do I prevent storing files to temporary directory?
• I need to overwrite remote file that isn’t owned by me, but I’m member of its group. File has write permission for group. After transfer I get message like “Upload of file <filename> was successful, but error occurred while setting the permissions and/or timestamp”
• Where can I change file transfer mode (binary, ascii) or enable auto-select transfer mode option?
• Why is the timestamp of uploaded/downloaded file different from the timestamp of source file?
• When I attempt to copy files, I get an Error 127. What does it mean?

• How can I configure default local or remote directory for session?
• How do I store session, so I don’t need to fill in all login information every time I start WinSCP?

• I need to upload files to my server automatically at specified time. Can it be done using WinSCP?
• My script works fine when executed manually, but fails when run by Windows Scheduler or similar tool. What am I doing wrong?

• How do I change a user after login (e.g. su root)?
• How do I know if the connection is secure?
• Can I have local directory in both panels (turn WinSCP into file manager)?
• How do I change drive on remote panel?
• Why I cannot edit more than one file with my external editor?
• Can WinSCP show me HTTP URL address for selected file?
• What do direction options (local, remote, both) for Synchronisation mean?
• During synchronisation all files are transfered. How do I make WinSCP transfer changed files only?
• Can I map SFTP or SCP server as a network drive in Windows?
• Why can’t I change the owner and the group of a file?
• What is error code 4? (or other error code)
• How do I transfer my settings to another computer? How do I import/export my settings?
• I cannot read file panel font. How can I make panel font larger?
• What command-line parameters can be used with WinSCP?
• How to keep user in specified directory on server? (chrooted session)
• Only scp2 is allowed on our server. Is it possible to make WinSCP use it instead of scp1?
• Why does selecting a file in WinSCP not work as I expect (as is usual in Windows)?

* Why does WinSCP display a symlink that I’ve just created with a red background on the little diagonal arrow at the lower left corner of the file icon? (this is a real question, please do not edit it out. If you have an answer as to why this is happening, please post it)