Open locations and manage favorites

The Address field opens a local folder, bucket, or S3 prefix directly. A favorite saves that destination under a name; for S3, it also saves the account to use. The same s3:// address can refer to different data depending on the service configured in the account.

Supported addresses#

An S3 address describes a browsing location, not an HTTP download link. Enter the s3:// prefix in lowercase. Relative local paths and http://, https://, or file:// URLs are not accepted in this field. Use a folder prefix rather than a file key you want to open.

S3 prefixes preserve case and characters: Exports/ and exports/ are different. S3Client appends a trailing / to a folder prefix if it is missing. Encode ? and # in keys as %3F and %23; write a literal % as %25. The displayed address encodes characters where required. Incomplete or invalid % escapes are rejected. The . and .. components of an S3 prefix remain part of the key; they do not navigate up the tree as they do in a local path.

Open an address and choose an account#

For S3, first configure and enable the account in File > Accounts…. Its connection must be configured, and its credentials must allow you to view the bucket’s contents. If its credentials are stored in a locked vault, S3Client asks you to unlock it when opening the location.

1. Click inside the destination pane, using a mode other than Preview.
2. Click Address, or press Ctrl+L.
3. Enter the address.
4. Press Enter or click Go.
5. If Choose account appears, select the account and click Open.
6. Once loading finishes, check the displayed address and contents.

An entered S3 address does not automatically inherit the previous location’s account. If only one account already knows the bucket in the browser, S3Client selects it. If several accounts know it, you can choose between those accounts; if none do, you are offered the account list. Account names and IDs distinguish accounts with identical names. Disabled accounts cannot be opened. An address can open a bucket that has not yet been attached to the account’s list.

While opening, Go becomes Stop. Click Stop to cancel the current request. Escape in the address field also cancels it; outside loading, it restores the displayed location’s address if you have started editing it. On failure, Navigation error explains the cause; the previous contents may remain visible.

Correct the account or connection#

The account button beside Address, with the Account and connection… tooltip, lets you change the account or connection for the displayed S3 location or an S3 address you are entering. For the displayed location, it uses the current account and region. It is disabled while a requested navigation or refresh is in progress and in Preview mode.

Click this button to open Choose account when the address does not yet identify an account. For a bucket already associated with an account, the button opens a menu; choose Choose account… to switch accounts. Opening Choose account manually this way also shows Region; the account prompt displayed automatically after Go does not. Choose Automatic to use the bucket’s known region or the account default, or select a region configured in that account. An (Unavailable) value prevents opening. Click Open to open the location with the selected account and region.

If the address already identifies a bucket in a known account, the menu also offers Bucket connection…. You can open this dialog from an S3 favorite’s editor as well.

1. Open Bucket connection… for the relevant bucket and account.
2. In Signing region, choose a configured region or enter the signing code expected by the service.
3. Check Endpoint. Selecting a listed region also fills in this host.
4. If the host is not yet configured in the account, click Account settings…, add it under Regions, and save the account.
5. Check the fields in Bucket connection again and click Save.
6. Open the location to verify access. When configuring from the address field, opening resumes after saving.

Endpoint expects a host allowed by the account’s regions, without a scheme or path. The port and HTTP or HTTPS setting come from the account. If the signing code matches a known region, its signing and addressing settings are used; otherwise, the default region’s settings are used with the entered code.

The connection is saved for the account and bucket pair and applies to all its favorites. It does not change the bucket’s region on the service. Cancel in Bucket connection discards its inputs. A connection already saved with Save remains saved even if you subsequently cancel the favorite form.

Reload connection replaces your inputs with the reloaded connection: a region hint carried by the location takes priority, followed by the saved connection, then the default region. Returning from Account settings… also reloads the fields. If the connection was changed elsewhere while you were editing it, reload its values and check them before saving again. See account connections for region corrections returned by the service.

Attach or remove an external bucket#

An external bucket is manually attached to an account in S3Client, for example when credentials provide access to a bucket owned by another account. Attaching it neither creates the bucket nor grants access. It uses the selected account’s credentials and settings.

1. Display or select the S3 account root in the relevant pane.
2. Click Add external bucket in that pane’s toolbar.
3. In Add external bucket, enter the existing bucket’s name in Bucket name, without s3:// or a path.
4. Click OK.
5. Open the added bucket and check its contents. If needed, configure its connection using the procedure above.

To detach it, select only that bucket, choose Remove external bucket, and confirm with Yes. This removes the local entry without deleting the bucket or its objects on the service. Favorites are managed separately.

Add a favorite#

Favorites can refer to local folders, buckets, and S3 folders. The s3:// account root cannot be saved as a favorite. You do not have to open a location successfully before saving it; its existence and permissions are checked when you open it.

1. Open the location in the relevant pane.
2. Click the star beside Address, with the Add favorite tooltip.
3. In the Add favorite form, check Name and Address.
4. For S3, check Account. If needed, open Bucket connection… to configure the connection shared by this bucket.
5. Click Save.

You can also click Favorites, then Add…, and enter a destination directly. In a narrow pane, Favorites becomes an icon with the Open favorites tooltip. Name must not be empty and accepts up to 4,096 characters. Account appears only for an S3 address and must identify an available account when you define or change the destination. Favorite names do not identify accounts and may be repeated.

Save becomes available once the values are valid and, when editing, a value has changed. Wait while Saving favorite… is displayed. After a successful save, the form closes and the favorite is selected in the list. If saving fails, the form stays open with the cause; resolve it before trying again. The catalog holds up to 10,000 favorites, and its file cannot exceed 16 MiB. If you reach either limit, delete entries before adding more.

The star can also save an address you are editing once its destination and account are defined. If the location already has a favorite, the tooltip becomes Edit favorite. If several favorites point to it, a list lets you choose which one to edit.

Find and open a favorite#

1. Click Favorites in the destination pane.
2. In Search favorites, enter part of the name, account, or address.
3. Select the favorite in the Name, Account, and Address columns.
4. Click Open or press Enter.

Search updates immediately, ignores case, and does not search the service’s files. From the search field, the up and down arrows focus the list. Click column headers to sort. Favorites are shared across panes and retained for future sessions. No favorites. means the catalog is empty; No matching favorites. means no entries match your search.

A local favorite shows Local under Account. A favorite whose account was removed shows Deleted account; a disabled account has (Disabled) appended. Open is unavailable when the account is missing or disabled, or when an old region hint is no longer configured. The selected row’s explanation is displayed. You can still edit or delete the entry. Even an available favorite can fail to open if the folder has disappeared or permissions have changed.

Edit and delete a favorite#

In Favorites, select an entry and click Edit…, double-click the row, or press F2 in the list. Change Name, Address, and, for S3, Account, then click Save. Cancel discards the form. Renaming an account does not change which account a favorite is linked to; recreating an account with the same name does not restore that link.

You can rename a favorite whose account is unavailable without losing its destination. To open it again, choose an available account and check its connection.

If The region saved with this favorite is no longer configured. prevents opening, choose Edit…, then Bucket connection…. Configure a valid connection and click Save in Bucket connection, then Save in the favorite form. Saving the favorite removes its old region hint so it uses the bucket’s shared connection.

If a conflict is reported, Reload entry replaces the form with the current entry; check your changes before saving again. If the entry was deleted, This favorite was deleted. Close this form to add a new favorite. tells you to close the form and create a new entry with Add….

To delete an entry, select it and click Delete, or press Delete in the list. Deletion is immediate, without confirmation, and does not delete any folder, S3 object, or account. Closing Favorites does not undo a completed deletion or save.