EditPlus: How to Connect to a Remote Server Using FTP or SFTP

To edit files on a remote server in EditPlus, add a connection account under File → FTP → FTP Settings, then open a file using the remote-open command or the Directory Window. For an SFTP server, choose sftp in the account’s advanced encryption settings and enter the port and authentication details supplied by your server administrator.

EditPlus includes FTP, FTPS and SFTP remote editing, as described in its official feature overview. Menu labels and dialog layouts can differ between versions and interface languages; the paths below identify the relevant commands rather than an identical layout in every installation.

What to prepare before connecting

A website administrator login does not necessarily grant access to the server’s file-transfer service. Obtain the file-transfer account details from your hosting control panel or server administrator. Check these items before configuring EditPlus:

• Server address: the file-transfer hostname or IP address. It may differ from your website address. Do not paste a web-page URL beginning with https:// into the server field.
• Protocol and port: whether the service uses FTP, SFTP or FTPS, and the actual connection port. Use a custom port if the administrator specifies one.
• Username and authentication: whether the account uses a password, a private key or additional authentication requirements.
• Starting directory: the folder to browse after login. A hosting account may have a restricted root, so the visible path may differ from the server’s operating-system path.
• Permissions: directory listing, file reading and writing to the intended location. Being able to open a file does not establish permission to save changes.

Before changing a live file, keep a separate copy of the original and check whether someone else is editing it. Start with a test file so that you can verify both connection and saving without unexpectedly overwriting a production file.

FTP, SFTP and FTPS: differences and ports

FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. SFTP, commonly expanded as SSH File Transfer Protocol, transfers files over SSH (Secure Shell); it is a separate protocol rather than FTP with an encryption switch. FTPS protects FTP connections using TLS (Transport Layer Security).

Plain FTP exposes passwords and data without encryption, as discussed in RFC 2577: FTP Security Considerations. Prefer an encrypted service when your server provides one. For the underlying protocols, see the OpenSSH sftp manual and RFC 4217 on securing FTP with TLS.

FTP’s registered control port is 21 in the IANA service port registry, and the default SSH port is 22 in the OpenSSH server’s Port setting. Administrators can configure different ports. Changing the port number alone does not change the protocol: the encryption selection and port must both match the server.

Add an FTP or SFTP account in EditPlus

1. Open File → FTP → FTP Settings. Although the menu is named FTP, this is also where you configure SFTP accounts.
2. Select an account group and choose Add. Give the account a descriptive name, such as “Development server,” to distinguish it from other connections.
3. Enter the account description, FTP server address, username and the authentication details required by the server. If you know the starting directory, enter it in the directory field. Otherwise, leave it unset initially and browse the folders available after login.
4. Open Advanced Options. For SFTP, choose sftp in the encryption selection and enter the server’s SSH port. For FTP or FTPS, choose the mode specified by the administrator instead.
5. Check the values, confirm the advanced options and save the account settings.

files.example.com is an example address, not a server to connect to. Replace it with your own server details. If the server requires private-key authentication, entering a username and password alone will not meet that requirement.

Passive FTP mode concerns FTP data connections. It is relevant when an FTP login succeeds but directory listings or transfers stall, in conjunction with the server’s passive-port range and firewall configuration. It is not a fix for SFTP connection failures.

For private-key authentication, check the methods supported by your installed EditPlus version and the server. If your version offers a Use Pageant option, determine whether that agent-based workflow fits your authentication setup. The official EditPlus change history documents SFTP authentication and compatibility fixes. Do not weaken server security settings simply to make an incompatible client connect.

Two ways to open a remote file

Use the remote-open command

1. Open the File → FTP submenu and choose the command for opening a remote file, commonly labeled Open Remote.
2. Select the registered account and connect. Browse to the required folder, select the file and open it.
3. Confirm that the document belongs to the intended server and remote path. A local file or a file on another server may have the same name.

This method is convenient when you want to open a particular file directly. If an SFTP connection displays a host-key confirmation, compare the fingerprint with one supplied by the administrator. If a previously trusted key has changed, confirm the reason, such as server replacement or key rotation, before accepting it.

Browse through the Directory Window

1. Open the location list in the Directory Window and select the registered FTP or SFTP account.
2. Connect, expand the available folders and open the file you want to edit.
3. When switching between accounts, verify the account description and remote folder before modifying a document.

The Directory Window is useful when you need to work with files in several folders. It lists the paths available to the authenticated account. A displayed / does not necessarily mean the root of the server’s entire file system: restricted accounts can see an account-specific directory as their root.

Show the Directory Window if it is hidden

In the View menu, look in the toolbar/window visibility submenu for Directory Window and enable it. Some installations show Alt+Shift+3 beside this command; use the shortcut displayed in your own menu because shortcuts can vary or be customized.

If the pane is visible but shows local drives, select the remote account from its location list. An open Directory Window does not automatically mean that you are browsing the server. Check the account name and group when several connections are configured.

Save changes and verify the server copy

When a document was opened as a remote file, Ctrl+S can save it back to that remote location. Pressing Save alone does not prove that the upload succeeded: a disconnected session or insufficient write permissions can stop it. Saving a local document instead writes to its local location.

1. Keep a recoverable original. Use an independent local copy, server backup or version-control record. A recovery copy must not be overwritten along with the remote file.
2. Confirm the remote path and save. Make a small change to a test file first. Check for transfer errors or an unexpected save dialog. If another person may have changed the same file, compare against the latest server contents.
3. Read the server copy again. After saving finishes, refresh the listing and, if needed, open the file in a separate document to confirm the change exists on the server. Do not discard an unsaved document merely to perform this check.
4. Check the application’s result. For a web page or configuration file, verify that the relevant service uses the updated contents. Caching, deployment paths and restart requirements depend on that service’s configuration.

If a local Save As dialog appears, check where the current document was opened and which save command you used. Do not assume a single cause. Preserve the edited contents in a local copy first, then reopen the remote file, compare the two versions and apply the intended changes to the correct location.

To restore a file, compare the saved original with the current server version, check for newer changes made by others and restore only the intended contents. Read the remote copy again afterward. To correct a connection configuration, edit that account’s values in FTP Settings or remove an unused connection entry; this is separate from deleting server files.

Troubleshoot connection and saving errors

File-name encoding and file-content encoding are separate settings. An option such as Use UTF-8 file names concerns the server’s handling of names. If text inside a file is garbled, check the encoding used to open the document. Keep the original and reopen it with the appropriate encoding before overwriting anything.

Use the error message to narrow the failure stage: address and port, authentication, directory listing, file reading, then saving. If another client also fails with the same account, investigate the server-side conditions. If only EditPlus fails, review the installed version, supported authentication methods and the SFTP fixes in its release history. Granting broad write permissions or switching to an administrator account should not be the first troubleshooting step.