Editing remote files

You can edit a file on the server without downloading and uploading it by hand. linscp fetches a temporary copy, opens it in an editor, and sends the copy back to the server whenever you save.

Edit a file

1. Select the file in the remote panel.
2. Press F4, or choose Edit from the file’s context menu or the Files menu.

linscp picks the editor from the list in Options › Preferences › Editors: the first entry whose mask matches the file name wins. See internal and external editors.

To choose an editor for this file only, use Edit With instead. Its submenu lists the configured editors; Edit With… at the bottom lets you name another program and, with Remember this editor, add it to the list.

If you are already editing that file in an external editor, linscp opens its existing copy again rather than downloading a second one.

To start a new file on the server, use Files › New › File…, type a name, and edit it the same way.

What happens on save

• Internal editor: File › Save writes the copy and uploads it. Save All does this for every open editor window.
• External editor: linscp checks the temporary copy about once a second. When its modification time changes, linscp uploads it. Each save in the editor therefore produces one upload.
• Associated application: handled like an external editor, opened with your desktop’s default program for that file type.

Uploads use the current transfer settings. An external editor entry can force text mode, which converts line endings; see text and binary modes.

Caution

linscp does not track the external editor’s process. It keeps watching the copy until the session closes, so close the editor before you disconnect. Saves made after that stay on your computer only.

Protect against overwriting others’ changes

With Check that edited remote file has not changed before saving it (Preferences › Editors), linscp compares the server file’s time with the time it had when you opened it. If someone changed it meanwhile, you are asked before your copy replaces theirs.

Where the temporary copies go

Copies are kept in a fresh folder under the system temporary directory ($TMPDIR, or /tmp), one per edited file. When the session closes and its queue is empty, linscp deletes those folders.

You can change this in Options › Preferences › Storage, under Temporary directory:

• Use this directory puts the copies somewhere else, for example on a faster or encrypted disk.
• Append session name to temporary path and Append remote path to temporary path make the copy’s location show where it came from. Some editors display that path in their title bar.
• The deterministic paths option reuses one fixed path for each remote file, which helps editors that remember per-file state.
• Cleanup obsolete temporary directories on startup removes folders left behind by a crash, optionally after asking.

See configuration storage for the other settings on that page.

Note

The temporary copy is an ordinary local file. Anyone who can read your temporary directory can read it while you edit.