File Operations

Working on files is much like working on text: you can encrypt, decrypt, sign, and verify them. The difference is that files are handled as binary input and output. You do all of this in the File Panel.

Open Files in the File Panel

The File Panel is where you work on files. There are two ways to open it.

Using the Open button:

1. In the main window toolbar, click Open. Or open the File menu and choose Open.
2. Choose File… to pick one file, or Directory… to pick a folder.
3. Pick the file or folder you want.
4. The File Panel opens. If you picked a file, it is highlighted and ready. If you picked a folder, you see its contents and can choose files inside.

Using the Workspace button:

1. In the main window toolbar, click Workspace. Or open the File menu and choose Workspace.
2. Choose New File Panel. The shortcut is Ctrl+B.
3. A new File Panel tab opens. Click the file you want.

The new panel opens at the folder set in Settings, General, File Panel Opens At:. You can pick Profile Workspace, Home Folder or Working Directory there.

The Flatpak and Mac App Store builds hide that setting. There, a window called Select Default Path asks you to pick a folder each time you open a new File Panel.

Getting Around the File Panel

The path bar across the top shows the folder you are in, one step at a time. Click any step to jump straight to it. There is a Home step at the start.

To type a path instead, click the edit button at the end of the path bar, or press Ctrl+L. You can use ~ for your home folder.

The small buttons next to the path bar have icons only. Point at one to see its tooltip:

• Go to the parent folder (Backspace): go to the folder above. The Backspace key does the same.
• Read this folder from disk again: refresh the list.
• Go to a mounted volume or removable drive: jump to a USB drive, another disk, or your Profile Workspace.
• Create items and choose what the list shows: opens the options menu. It holds:
  • New Folder and New Empty File, to make something in the folder you are in.
  • Show, a submenu where you choose what the list shows: Hidden Files, System Files and Type Column.
  • Use ASCII Armor. See Choose ASCII or Binary Output.
• Enable batch mode to select multiple files.: see Batch Mode.

The Filter box lists only the files and folders whose name contains the text you type.

Along the bottom you can see how many items are in the folder, how many you have selected, and how much space is left on the disk.

To delete something, right-click it and choose Move to Trash, or press Del. GpgFrontend asks first.

Right-Click a File or Folder

Right-click an item in the File Panel to see what you can do with it:

• Open: open the file in a GpgFrontend tab. Enter does the same.
• Open with Default Application: open the item in the app your system uses for it.
• New: make an Empty File or a Folder. See Make or Rename Files and Folders.
• Rename: give the item a new name. F2 does the same.
• Move to Trash: move the item to your system’s Trash, where you can still get it back.
• Copy Path: copy the full path of the item to the clipboard.
• Refresh: read the folder from disk again.
• Calculate Hash: work out checksums of the file and show them in the Status Panel. Use them to check that a download is complete and unchanged.

Make or Rename Files and Folders

Make a new folder or file

1. Click the options button (Create items and choose what the list shows), then New Folder or New Empty File. Or right-click in the list and choose New, then Folder or Empty File.
2. A window called New Folder or New File opens. It shows the Location: where the item will be made.
3. Type the name in Name:.
4. Click Create.

Rename a file or folder

1. Click the item, then press F2. Or right-click it and choose Rename.
2. A window called Rename File or Rename Folder opens.
3. Type the new name in Name:.
4. Click Rename.

If the name is not accepted

The window checks the name as you type. The Create or Rename button stays greyed out, and a short message says why:

• Enter a folder name. or Enter a file name.: the box is empty.
• The name must not contain path separators.: remove any / or \.
• This name is reserved. or This name is reserved by the operating system.: pick another name.
• Enter a name different from the current one.: when renaming, the name is still the same.
• A file or folder with this name already exists.: pick another name.

If the name is fine but the item still cannot be made or renamed, for example because you are not allowed to write to that folder, a message says so. Its title is Unable to Create Folder, Unable to Create File or Unable to Rename.

Changed in v2.2.3

Making and renaming files and folders now uses one clear window that checks the name before you click.

Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, or Verify a File

The buttons are the same as for text: Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign and Verify on the toolbar, or the same items in the Operations menu. They act on the file you selected in the File Panel. See Find the Buttons for the full list and shortcuts.

GpgFrontend never changes your original file. It always writes a new file next to it, in the same folder. The new file’s name tells you what it is:

Task	You select	New file made	Example
Encrypt	report.pdf	name + .gpg	report.pdf.gpg
Sign	report.pdf	name + .sig	report.pdf.sig
Decrypt	report.pdf.gpg	name without .gpg	report.pdf
Verify	report.pdf.sig	nothing, only a result

If you turned on ASCII output, encrypting and signing make .asc files instead. See Choose ASCII or Binary Output.

If a file with the new name is already there, GpgFrontend asks first. It only replaces the old file after the task has worked. If the task fails, no new file is left behind.

Encrypt a File

You need the recipient’s public key.

1. Select the file. In the File Panel, click the file once so it is highlighted.
2. Pick the recipient. In the Key ToolBox on the right, tick the box in front of the recipient’s public key. Tick your own key too if you want to open the file later yourself.
3. Click Encrypt.
4. Answer any questions. GpgFrontend may stop to check your recipients. See Encryption Safety.
5. Find the new file. It appears in the same folder, for example report.pdf.gpg. The Status Panel shows whether it worked.
6. Send the new file, not the original.

Caution

If you tick no key, Encrypt is greyed out. To encrypt the file with a password instead, use Operations > Sym. Encrypt (symmetric encryption).

Decrypt a File

You need your private key.

1. Select the encrypted file in the File Panel, for example report.pdf.gpg.
2. Click Decrypt. You do not need to tick a key. GpgFrontend finds the right one.
3. Enter your passphrase when asked.
4. Find the new file. It appears in the same folder, with .gpg, .pgp or .asc taken off the end: report.pdf. If the name has no such ending, GpgFrontend adds .out instead.

If the file was also signed, use Decrypt & Verify from the Operations menu to check the signature at the same time. If you added it to the toolbar, it is also in the Decrypt button’s list.

Sign a File

Signing makes a small, separate signature file. The original file stays as it is. You send both files together. You need your private key.

1. Select the file in the File Panel.
2. Pick your key. In the Key ToolBox, tick the box in front of your own key. If you tick no key, or a key that can’t sign, Sign is greyed out.
3. Click Sign.
4. Choose a key, if asked. If your key has more than one signing subkey that still works (not revoked or expired), a window called Select Signing Key(s) opens. Tick the key or subkey to use and click Confirm.
5. Enter your passphrase when asked.
6. Find the signature file. It appears next to the original, for example report.pdf.sig.
7. Send both files: report.pdf and report.pdf.sig. Keep their names as they are.

Caution

After signing, do not change the original file, not even by saving it again without edits. If it changes, the signature no longer matches.

Verify a File

You need the sender’s public key, and both files: the original and its signature.

1. Put both files in the same folder, with their names unchanged, for example report.pdf and report.pdf.sig.
2. Select the signature file (report.pdf.sig or report.pdf.asc) in the File Panel. Select the signature, not the original.
3. Click Verify. You do not need to tick a key.
4. Read the result in the Status Panel: green means the file is unchanged and signed by the key shown; red means it was changed or the signature does not match.

GpgFrontend finds the original by taking .sig or .asc off the signature’s name. If it cannot find that file, a window called File to be Verified asks for the full path of the original:

• Type or paste the full path to the original file and click OK.
• Leave the box empty and click OK if the file you selected holds the data and the signature together in one file.

If you select a .gpg or .pgp file, GpgFrontend treats it as one file that holds both the data and the signature.

If the sender’s public key is missing, the Missing Keys window opens. See If the Sender’s Key Is Missing.

Drag and Drop Files

The File Panel supports drag-and-drop, an easy way to bring files into your working folder or move them around without using the system file dialog.

Where Items Are Dropped

Where an item lands depends on what is under the cursor when you let go:

• Drop onto a folder to place the items inside that folder.
• Drop onto a file to place the items in that file’s parent folder.
• Drop onto empty space to place the items in the folder shown in the panel.

The target folder must be one you can write to. If it is not, a Copy Failed or Move Failed message says The target folder is not writable.

Copy Files Into the Panel

Drag one or more files or folders from your system’s file manager (Finder, Windows Explorer, or your Linux file manager) and drop them onto the File Panel. The items are copied in, leaving the originals in place. This is a quick way to gather the files you want to work on.

Move Files Within the Panel

Drag files or folders from one spot in the File Panel and drop them onto a different folder in the same panel. The items are moved to that folder.

Confirmation and Safeguards

Before it moves or copies anything, GpgFrontend asks you to confirm, showing the item name (or count) and the destination folder. A few safeguards prevent common mistakes:

• Dropping items back into their own folder does nothing. The status bar says The source and target folder are the same.
• A folder can’t be moved or copied into itself or one of its own subfolders. The status bar says so.
• If an item with the same name already exists in the target folder, a Copy Failed or Move Failed message tells you, and nothing is replaced.

After a successful drop, the panel refreshes, selects the new or moved items, and shows how many items were handled.

Work on Many Files at Once (Batch Mode)

By default the File Panel works on one file at a time. Turn on Batch Mode to handle several at once.

1. Click the batch mode button, the segmented icon at the top-right of the File Panel toolbar. Its tooltip says Enable batch mode to select multiple files. Once it is on, the tooltip says Batch mode is enabled. Multiple files can be selected.
2. Select several files with Ctrl+Click or Shift+Click.
3. Click Encrypt, Decrypt, Sign, or Verify. The action applies to every selected file.

Batch Mode is handy when you have many files to process at once.

Encrypt or Decrypt a Whole Folder

GpgFrontend can encrypt and decrypt an entire folder, keeping its structure intact.

Encrypt a Folder

When you encrypt a folder, GpgFrontend:

1. Packs it into a single .tar archive, combining all files and subfolders. GpgFrontend does this itself; you don’t need a separate tar program.
2. Encrypts that archive, giving you a .tar.gpg (binary) or .tar.asc (ASCII) file, depending on your output mode.

This works like the gpg-zip tool: packing and encrypting in one step. The result is one file that holds the whole folder, ready to store or send.

Decrypt a Folder Archive

When you decrypt a .tar.gpg or .tar.asc file, GpgFrontend:

1. Decrypts it back into the .tar archive.
2. Unpacks that archive into a folder in the current directory, restoring the original structure.

You don’t need to unpack anything by hand.

File Types and Output Format

File Extensions

Knowing the file extensions helps you keep track of encrypted and signed files:

• .asc: ASCII-armored. A text-friendly format that can hold encrypted data or signatures.
• .gpg: Binary. Encrypted files, or combined encrypted and signed files. Smaller than ASCII.
• .sig: Binary signature file, used for signatures only.

Choose ASCII or Binary Output

GpgFrontend saves files in binary by default (since version 2.0.4; older versions used ASCII). Binary files are smaller. Choose ASCII when you need text-friendly output, for example to paste into an email.

Change it in Settings:

1. Open Settings and go to the General section.
2. Find the option Use Binary Mode for File Operations.
3. Check it for binary (.gpg / .sig), or uncheck it for ASCII (.asc).

Or toggle it from the File Panel:

1. In the File Panel toolbar, click the options button. Its tooltip says Create items and choose what the list shows.
2. Tick Use ASCII Armor. You then get .asc files instead of .gpg or .sig.

This is a faster way to switch output modes without opening the main settings.

Large Files

You can encrypt and decrypt large files with either engine. The rPGP engine works through a file piece by piece, so the whole file never has to fit in memory at once.

If an Operation Is Interrupted

Since v2.2.2, GpgFrontend writes its result to a temporary file first and only puts it in place once it is complete.

If an operation fails or is interrupted, you get no output file at all, rather than a half-written one sitting next to your original. Your input file is never touched either way.

If a file with the output name already exists, GpgFrontend asks before it continues. The old file is only replaced after the operation succeeds. See Encryption Safety.