Drag and drop

Dragging is the quickest way to move a few files. linscp accepts drops from its own panels and from your desktop’s file manager, and it can drop remote files into other programs.

Between the panels

1. Select files in one panel.
2. Drag them to the other panel. Drop on an empty part of the list to use the panel’s current directory, or on a directory to put them inside it.
3. Check the copy dialog and click OK.

Hold Shift while you drop to move the files instead of copying them.

Dropping files onto a directory in the same panel moves them into that directory, after a confirmation.

From another program

Drag files from your file manager (Files, Dolphin, Thunar, and so on) onto the remote panel to upload them. Drop on a remote directory to upload into it.

To another program

Drag remote files out of linscp and drop them in your file manager or on your desktop. What happens:

1. When you drop, linscp downloads the files to a temporary directory of its own.
2. The program you dropped on copies them from there to where you dropped.

The temporary directory lives under the temporary folder set in Options › Preferences › Storage and is removed when you close the window. Warn when there is not enough free space on Options › Preferences › Transfer › Drag & Drop checks the space before the download starts.

This works on both X11 and Wayland desktops.

Tip

For large downloads, use F5 into a local panel instead. You see the real target from the start, and the files are not copied twice.

Confirming drops

By default a drag opens the copy dialog, so you can check the target and the transfer settings. To skip it, tick Do not show this dialog box again in the dialog, or change Drag & drop operations and paste to other applications in the confirmations on Options › Preferences › Environment. With the dialog off, the transfer uses the preset selected on the Transfer Settings toolbar (see Transfer settings and presets).

Windows: dropping to the exact target

Windows only

On Windows, linscp can use WinSCP’s drag and drop shell extension. With it, linscp learns which folder in File Explorer you dropped on and downloads straight there, without the temporary copy. Choose Determine drop target by dragging a fake file on the Drag & Drop page to use it. The installer registers the extension unless WinSCP’s own copy is already registered. Linux has no equivalent; drops always go through the temporary directory.