Editing/Opening Files

WinSCP has two modes to manage the edited/opened remote files. The mode can be selected in preferences.

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 this reason WinSCP must upload the files back using background transfer/queue to allow several uploads at once.

With One file mode, WinSCP can handle only one edited/opened remote file at once.

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 can you continue using the main window for other tasks.

For basic editing WinSCP offers a simple integrated text editor. For advanced editing you will probably want to configure your favourite editor.

Some external editors can open multiple files 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 later).

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.

Note that setting only affects the “edit” operation. If a warning message still appears when you double click the file, then you can configure WinSCP to default the double click to “edit” in preferences.

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 (if 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

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.

When remote file is downloaded to editor or uploaded from editor, default transfer settings or settings of active preset are used, with some exceptions:

• Filename modification option is forced to “No change”.
• Preserve-read only is turned off.
• Replacement of characters not valid on Windows is enabled (original filename is restored on upload).
• Exclude and include masks are ignored.
• Text transfer mode may be forced (see Editing Binary Files).
• Transfer resume support is disabled.