WinSCP Initial Setup and Language Settings Guide for Beginners

What is WinSCP? Why is it Recommended?

WinSCP is an open-source FTP, SFTP, and SCP client for Windows. Simply put, it's "software for securely exchanging files between your computer (local) and your server (remote)."

For web creators, it's an incredibly powerful ally for the following reasons:

• Feature-rich and Stable: It includes not only file transfers but also all the necessary functions for server management, such as file editing and permission changes.
• Secure Connections: It supports encrypted protocols like SFTP and SCP by default, allowing you to send and receive passwords and data securely.
• Free to Use: Being open-source, all its features are available for free.
• Highly Customizable: You can finely tune its appearance and usability to your liking. We will touch on some of this in this article.

Step 1: Download and Install WinSCP

First, let's download WinSCP from the official website.

1. Go to the official WinSCP download page.
2. Click the large green button that says "DOWNLOAD WINSCP" to download the installer.
3. Run the downloaded .exe file to begin the installation.
4. When the screen to select a "User interface style" appears during setup, we recommend selecting "Commander". It's an intuitive and easy-to-understand layout with local and remote files displayed side-by-side.
5. For the rest of the steps, you can generally just click "Next" or "Install" to complete the process.

Step 2: How to Change the Language

WinSCP supports numerous languages. If English isn't your first language, or if you need to switch the display for any reason, it's very easy to do in just a few clicks.

1. Launch WinSCP. From the Login screen, click the "Tools" button at the bottom, and select "Preferences...".
2. From the menu on the left, click "Environment".
3. Find the "Languages" dropdown menu among the options displayed on the right and select your desired language. For example, to switch to Japanese, you would select "日本語 (Japanese)".
4. When you press the "OK" button, a message will appear stating that a restart of WinSCP is required. Press "OK" again.
5. Completely close WinSCP and then launch it again.

And that's it! The menus and buttons should now be displayed in your selected language. Easy, right?

Step 3: Essential Initial Settings You Should Configure

Once you have the language set up, let's configure some initial settings to dramatically improve your work efficiency and security. The "Editor settings" in particular is a must-configure item for any web creator.

Enhance Security! Set a Master Password

Saving server connection information in WinSCP is very convenient, but as is, anyone who can operate your PC could access your server, which is a security risk. To prevent this, let's set a "Master Password" to lock all your saved connection information.

1. From the WinSCP main window (or login screen), open the "Options" menu and select "Preferences".
2. From the menu on the left, select "Security".
3. Check the box for "Use master password" and set a password of your choice.
4. Press "OK" to save the settings.

This will require you to enter the master password every time you start WinSCP, preventing unauthorized access by third parties.

Boost Your Workflow! Configure an External Editor

When you want to make a small change to a file on the server, it's a hassle to download it, edit it, and then upload it again. WinSCP has a feature that lets you edit files directly on the server and automatically uploads them when you save.

To maximize the effectiveness of this feature, let's register your favorite editor (like VS Code, Sublime Text, Atom, etc.) with WinSCP. Here, we'll show how to set up "Visual Studio Code (VS Code)," a favorite among many web creators.

1. Open the "Preferences" screen and select "Editors" from the left-hand menu.
2. In the "Editor preferences" section, click the "Add..." button.
3. When the screen to specify the path for an "External editor" opens, copy and paste the following path.

C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Programs\Microsoft VS Code\Code.exe !.!

This line points to the typical installation location for VS Code. The %USERNAME% part will be automatically replaced with your PC's username, so you can just copy and paste it as is.

The !.! at the end is special WinSCP syntax that means "pass the full path of the file to be edited." Thanks to this magic spell, you can open the specified file in VS Code.

After adding the editor by pressing "OK," use the "Up" button to move the newly added VS Code to the top of the list. This ensures that VS Code will be the default editor when you right-click a file and choose "Edit."

Advanced Tip: Back Up and Restore Your Settings

It's incredibly useful to know how to back up (export) your settings to a file, preparing you for when you get a new PC or want to replicate the same environment on another machine.

While this can be done through the GUI (graphical user interface), we'll introduce a smarter way using commands. Open Command Prompt or PowerShell in the folder where the WinSCP executable is located and run them.

Command to back up (export) settings:

The following command saves all your settings to a file named `WinSCP_backup.ini` in your Documents folder.

"C:\Program Files (x86)\WinSCP\WinSCP.com" /ini="%USERPROFILE%\Documents\WinSCP_backup.ini" /export F

Command to restore (import) settings:

After installing WinSCP on a new PC, run the following command to restore your settings from the `WinSCP_backup.ini` file you backed up.

"C:\Program Files (x86)\WinSCP\WinSCP.exe" /ini="%USERPROFILE%\Documents\WinSCP_backup.ini"

By saving these commands in a batch file or similar, you can complete your settings migration with a single click. Be sure to give it a try.

Summary

Great job! In this guide, we've covered everything from installing WinSCP and changing its language to the essential initial settings for boosting your development efficiency.

• ✅ Change the language for stress-free operation
• ✅ Set a master password to ensure security
• ✅ Configure an external editor to speed up your coding

Just by making these settings, your web development environment will become much more comfortable and secure. WinSCP is a very deep tool, but getting the basics right is what's most important. Use these settings as a foundation to explore even more convenient ways to use it.