[SOLVED] Text Editor for files on a server

[hankivy]

I have a Mageia 5 system using the KDE desktop, and a server on the Internet, with files that I wish to edit locally, using ftp, (or scp, sftp, etc.) to retrieve and update the files. I could run kate on the server using my local system as an X11 server, but it runs very slowly.

What do you recommend I use?

P.S. I tried gedit, but the gedit window does not have the normal "File", "edit", "View", ..., "Help" tabs.

[xboxboy]

How I do it is in dolphin I connect to the server via sftp, then I can browse the file system and edit the files locally using the local programs. Shout out if you need more info.

[hankivy]

I need more specificity

What buttons do you click to get Dolphin to connect to the server via sftp?

I can run "sftp me@server.com" in a Konsole window, and connect
But that does not seem to offer an useful options in my Dolphin window.
The Dolphin Help Handbook does not seem to mention "ftp".

[doktor5000]

Click in the left panel on network (or enter remote:/ in the adress bar) and then add a new connection using sftp.
You can also use directly fish:/ or sftp:/ kio slaves via the adress bar. See also https://www.maketecheasier.com/quick-ea ... io-slaves/ for an overview over the kio slaves.

[xboxboy]

I agree regarding the Dolphin handbook, bit thin on info.

Seems the Suse handbook is better: https://www.suse.com/documentation/sled ... twork.html

Given you can connect via CLI, then you've got all the credentials right. I had trouble with dolphin in a previous version, but as far as I'm aware the current upto date mageia version 4.14.3, is fine for me.

Once I learnt how to connect the boxes through my house with sftp and dolphin, there's been no looking back. I even use dolphin and sftp to move stuff around with my android phone. Well, the bits that I don't use nextcloud to manage

Sing out if you're still stuck.

[hankivy]

Still no success.

Trials:
Looked at documentation on Mageia, and Suse. On Mageia, the "help" button on the "Network Folder Wizard" window was very good.
But neither distro offered access to diagnostic messages in the event of a failure.
I ran Dolphin from the GUI window.
I ran Dolphin from the command line, so any ERROROUT would appear in my terminal window. Nothing appeared there.
I tried both the fully qualified host name for the server, and its TCP/IP address.
And filled in all of the fields as described in the documentation.
The Dolphin (or KDE) version is 4.14.3.

[isadora]

The solutions given by doktor5000 work for me since i was born.
E.g. fish://ip-address-host

[hankivy]

Thank you, one and all.

Using FISH as the protocol in the "Network Folder Wizard" window made it work.

[isadora]

Please hankivy, don't forget to mark the topic [SOLVED].
You can do so, by editing the subject/title in the first message in this topic.
Write [SOLVED] to the left of subject/title, thanks ahead.

[hankivy]

While the remote network files are listed in Dolphin, I am still working with my original question.
What I have used so far is awkward. Later I will post a reply with the best I have found and flag the topic with [SOLVED].

[doktor5000]

Well, maybe you want to rephrase your original question. Neither gedit or any X11 editor are suitable for a "server".
Usually people will use a CLI editor, like vi, emacs, nano, joe, mcedit or whatever you prefer.

And establishing connections to a server via ssh, sftp or other means is not part of the tasks a text editor should perform.
If you establish a connection via one of the mentioned kio slaves, that should net you a bookmark in the places panel in dolphin, which is also visible from the regular KDE filepicker dialog.
Click on it and you can transparently oen the files from the remote server as if they were local files.

Otherwise you may want to look into sshfs to mount some remote folder via ssh as a local mountpoint. See e.g. https://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/how-to-mo ... -on-linux/ or https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/SSHFS for some examples

[hankivy]

It is solved. Thank you, again.

The following might be flawed, but it is my best memory. [Some times, I set a meaningful config. value, or something else with persistence; and forget it.]

Open dolphin. In the left column, there are two lists: "places" and "devices".
In "places", select "Network". In the right column, there will appear items like: "Network", "Samba Shares", and "Add Network Folder".
Select "Add Network Folder", and then click the magnifier icon with the label "Find". A new text field will appear.
In the new text field, enter something like "fish://username@hostname", and type the Enter key.

My memory is fuzzy. Some where I was given a chance to enter a name to call that network folder. I did so.
The name I gave then appeared in the left column under places.

[wintpe]

just to add my two peneth, this is a very odd approach to editing server files.

it might work for you, but ssh/vi is the basic required entry point to editing anything on a server

regards peter

[xboxboy]

Peter, I agree. But this is a new era, machines are powerful, there's a whole generation that never use CLI. I also manage stuff this way, for example, sometimes I'll work on a Libre Office spreadsheet from another pc if it's convenient. So, yes server config files certainly can be done with ssh and vi, knowing how to set up sftp as a local directory is another blade in the gnu/linux swiss army knife.

In fact, from what I understand, doing it over ssh this way is probably safer than opening a samba/nfs type share?

[doktor5000]

In fact, from what I understand, doing it over ssh this way is probably safer than opening a samba/nfs type share?

Yes, as neither samba nor nfs offers encryption.