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Editing/Opening Files
WinSCP allows you to edit/open remote file using editor or associated application on local machine. To do so it needs to download the remote file to temporary directory first. Then it opens the file in your preferred editor or associated application. Once you change the file it uploads it back. With Norton Commander interface you can even edit/open local files, but most of this chapter covers editing remote files only.
To edit file selected in panel go to File(s) > Edit. The command by default opens the file in an internal editor. Command File(s) > Edit (alternative) by default opens the file in an external editor (Notepad). You can swap the meaning of the commands or change the external editor in preferences.
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You can create new empty file using command File(s) > Edit New File. The command asks for name of the new file and then opens your default editor.
To open file in an associated application use File(s) > Open. You can also double-click the file or press Enter (as long as Copy files using double-click preference option is disabled and Resolve symbolic links session option is enabled and server supports resolving symbolic links).
Editing Modes
WinSCP has two modes to manage the edited/opened remote files. The mode can be selected in preferences.
Multiple Files Mode
With Multiple files mode (the default), WinSCP can handle several edited/opened remote files at once.
Especially when the files are opened in an external editor, user can easily change two files at once. For the reason WinSCP must upload the files back using background transfer/queue to allow several uploads at once.
One File Mode
With One file mode, WinSCP can handle only one edited/opened remote file at once.
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With this mode the WinSCP window is locked as long as the file (or rather the editor/associated application) is opened. Modified files are uploaded back using the main connection. Only once the upload is finished you can continue using the main window for other tasks.
External Editors
For basic editing WinSCP offers simple integrated text editor. For advanced editing you will probably want to configure your favourite editor.
Problems with Some External Editors
Some external editors can open multiple file in one process. Usually such editors have some kind of tabbed interface, but it is also case of new versions of Microsoft Word (2000 and XP).
If such editor is already running and the WinSCP runs second instance to open new file, the second instance just notifies the first to open the new file and exits immediately. Hence WinSCP expects that the file was closed as well and tries to delete the temporary file.
To allow WinSCP use this kind of editors, you need to select Multiple files mode and enable preference option External editor opens multiple files in one window (process). Then WinSCP will not treat the file as closed when the editor launched to open it is closed. Drawback is that all the files ever edited by current instance of WinSCP will be kept in temporary directory (until WinSCP is closed) and WinSCP will need to watch for changes of them all.
If you choose to edit the same file again during the same session, WinSCP will download it to the same temporary directory as before, allowing the external editor to reload the file content in case it has it still opened (and the editor can detect the change).
Note that WinSCP can heuristically detect that you need to enable the option External editor opens multiple files in one window (process) and offers you to do so.
If you want to both keep the standard WinSCP behaviour and use your preferred editor, you may check if your editor offers you option to open separate instance for each edited file. Some editors have such option:
- UltraEdit: Advanced > Configuration > General > General Application Items > Allow multiple instances
- PSPad: Settings > Program Settings > System Integration > Only One Program Instance
- Crimson Editor: Tools > Preferences > General > Allow Multiple Instances
- TextPad: Configure > Preferences > Allow Multiple Instances to Run
Editing Binary Files
The internal editor supports only Windows-format text files. Thus the text transfer mode is forced when transferring remote file to/from the internal editor.
If you want to edit binary files you need to use external editor that supports binary files and uncheck preference option Force text transfer mode for files edited in external editor. The configured transfer mode will then be used even for transfers to/from external editor. Note that if you have configured binary transfer mode, your external editor must support server-side format of text files (Unix format usually), if you still want to edit them.