This operation allows you to load into memory an existing file on disk, then activate the corresponding editor in the current workspace.
To activate it, from any workspace window, select from the menu the command File/Open file... (or hotkey Ctrl+O).
Once the operation is activated, a prompt window will be displayed in which you must specify the desired file type (if required, or leave the file type All Files selected) and, most importantly, the full name of the file to be opened: the last folder used in similar operations in the workspace is proposed as the current folder.
Confirm the opening and loading of the selected file by pressing Open (or hotkey Enter), or cancel the operation by pressing Cancel (or hotkey Esc).
NOTE: There may be editors that work with files on disk automatically: if so, consult the specific manual of the editor concerned for more information.
Annotations
If the selected file type includes a specific suffix, it will be added automatically if not already specified.
In case the requested file (and folder) is already opened by an editor in the current workspace, that editor is automatically activated in the foreground, regardless of the editor type (even if it is different from the requested one): this is to prevent the same file from being edited simultaneously by several editors.
The edit operation is normally done in memory, so any changes to the file on disk must be explicitly requested through the save operation.
Specific file types.
When a specific file type (other than All Files) is selected, the specified file will be opened and loaded with the corresponding editor only: the extension related to the file type will be automatically added to the file if it either does not specify one or specifies a different one.
Generic file type
Using the file type All files, RDE attempts to automatically detect the file type. Based on the specified extension, it will check by how many editor types that specific extension is requested by:
•If no editor requests it, the file will be created in memory with the ASCII editor configured (or binary editor configured, in case it detected with content that cannot be traced to a UTF-8 encoding).
•If only one editor requires it, the file will be created in memory with that editor.
•If multiple editors request it, a list will be displayed with all editors involved (displayed by file type): if confirmed, the file will be created in memory with the selected editor, otherwise the operation will be cancelled.
Opening with specific editor
Using the create new object in workspace feature, it is possible to create a specific editor object with the desired file: in this case, in the prompt window, select a valid object from the Editor category, then specify the desired file name.
If the selected editor object includes a specific suffix, it will be added automatically if not already specified.
An example of use is to open a normal text file with the binary editor, which would normally be automatically opened with the ASCII editor instead.
NOTE: The open operation may fail if the specified file is not compatible with the selected editor object.
Opening from workspace
Some particular editors remain listed in the workspace window until explicitly removed: for example, RDT Project files (*.rdtx).
To open these files, simply open the relevant object.
Opening from recent
To open a file from the list of recent files, select the desired file from the File/Recent/<file> menu.
The recent list contains are a limited list of the latest files created/opened in the workspace: for more information see Recently Used Files.
