Directories Tab (Login Dialog)

When Remember last user directory checkbox is ticked, the initial directories for the session (see Remote directory and Local directory) will be always updated with the last opened directory from the last session. It makes sense to use the option only if you save your session preferences to stored session, because it is the stored session what gets updated on each session close. It also probably does not make sense to combine the option with Default directory is home directory preference option.

Cache visited remote directories, Cache directory changes and Permanent cache checkboxes control directory cache.

When WinSCP reads directory content it by default also resolves all symbolic links it finds. Particularly to learn if they point to file or directory. If the directory contains too many symbolic links, it can slow down opening directory significantly. You may disable the feature by unticking Resolve symbolic links to speed it up. You may use the command also when WinSCP hangs when resolving cyclic links. While WinSCP detects most cyclic links, it can still hang when it encounter more complex symlink “systems”. Note that when the resolving is disabled, Add/edit link command is disabled. Also when the resolving is disabled, double-clicking on any remote file will be intepreted as attempt to open directory with the same name. This allows opening links pointing to directories even when WinSCP does not know they are links.

The Remote directory box defines the initial remote directory opened in panel. When Remember last used directory is ticked the path is updated whenever the session is closed. When the initial directory is not specified the user home directory is usually opened on startup. Note that this may not be true particularly for SFTP servers.

The Local directory box defines the initial local directory opened in local panel on Norton Commander interface. The path is not used with Explorer-like interface. When Remember last used directory is ticked the path is updated whenever the session is closed. When the initial directory is not specified the local user My Documents folder is used.

The initial directories also define home directories (for Go To > Home Directory command) when Default directory is home directory preference option is enabled. It probably does not make sense to combine the option with Remember last used directory.