Where received files go, and when they are removed
When you open a file in your remote session, TwinPane opens a copy on your PC. Find it again, keep it with Save As, choose how files arrive, and see when copies are removed.
When you open a file in your remote session, TwinPane sends a copy to your PC and opens it in the app on your PC. This guide shows where that copy is, how to keep it, and when TwinPane removes it.
The video shows TwinPane 1.0.53. The Windows desktops in it are illustrations.
Read the video transcript
0:00 — Open a file in the session, and it opens on your PC
When you open a document in the remote session, TwinPane sends a copy to your PC, Microsoft Defender scans it, and it opens in the app on your PC.
0:09 — Find it again in Recent files
Open TwinPane on your PC and click Recent files. The folder button shows the copy in TwinPane's receiving folder. No longer on this PC means the copy has been removed.
0:19 — To keep it, save a copy in your own folder
Received files are temporary. In the app on your PC, use Save As and choose a folder such as Documents. Changes are not sent back to the session.
0:28 — Choose how files arrive and how long they stay
In TwinPane on your PC, Settings has Show notifications, Open files automatically, Scan with Defender and Remove received files after a number of days.
0:39 — Received copies clean themselves up
A received copy is removed a moment after you close the app it opened in. Anything left is removed after the number of days in Settings. Copies you saved in your own folders are never touched.
Step 1: Open a file in the session
Double-click a document in the remote session. TwinPane sends a copy to your PC, Microsoft Defender scans it, and it opens in the app on your PC. Your PC shows File Opened From Remote.
The original stays in the session. Your PC gets a copy.
Step 2: Find it again
- Recent files: open TwinPane on your PC and click Recent files. Open opens the file again, and the folder button shows it in File Explorer.
- Open receiving folder: in the TwinPane flyout or window, or by right-clicking the TwinPane icon in the taskbar. It opens the folder that holds the received copies.
The receiving folder is %LOCALAPPDATA%\FileSyncBridge\.cache. It is hidden, and each file is in its own subfolder.
In Recent files, No longer on this PC means the copy has been removed. Clear history only empties the list. It doesn't delete any files.
Step 3: Keep a file with Save As
Received files are temporary copies. To keep one:
- In the app on your PC, choose File › Save As.
- Choose a folder of your own, such as Documents.
- Click Save.
Changes you make to a received copy are not sent back to the session. If Mirror Mode is on, a file you save in Documents on your PC is also in Documents in the session. See Save to your PC from a remote app.
Step 4: Choose how files arrive
Open TwinPane on your PC and click Settings:
- Show notifications: shows a notification when a file arrives from your remote session.
- Open files automatically: opens files as soon as they arrive. When it's off, open them from Recent files.
- Scan with Defender: Microsoft Defender checks each file before it opens. If Defender finds a threat, TwinPane deletes the file and shows Security alert.
- Remove received files after: the number of days a received copy stays on your PC, from 1 to 365. The default is 7.
If a setting says Managed by your organization or Required by your organization, your IT controls it.
Step 5: Know when copies are removed
- When you close the app: TwinPane removes the copy a moment after you close the app it opened in. If the file opened in an app that was already running, the copy stays until the number of days runs out.
- After the number of days in Settings: anything still in the receiving folder is removed.
- Never: copies you saved in your own folders, and the original file in the session.
For administrators
- Defaults on each PC: under
HKLM\SOFTWARE\FileSyncBridge\Client, setShowNotifications,AutoOpenFilesandScanWithDefender(DWORD,1on or0off) andFileRetentionDays(DWORD, number of days). The installer sets them to 1, 1, 1 and 7. A user's changes are saved per user in HKCU and win. - Organization policy: the dashboard policy can require the Defender scan, limit file types and set a maximum file size. See Set an organization policy in the dashboard.
- On the session host: a file waits in
%LOCALAPPDATA%\FileSyncBridge\PendingOpensuntil the PC has received it. It is removed once the PC confirms, or after 30 minutes if the PC doesn't.