How to transfer files between two computers

Why not use the cloud or email

The usual ways of getting a file onto another computer each have a cost:

• Email caps out around 25 MB and compresses what you send.
• The cloud means uploading everything and downloading it again: you pay for the trip twice and the file sits on a third party's server.
• A USB stick is no help when the computer is 500 kilometres away.

With LineDesk the file goes straight from one disk to the other, over the same encrypted channel as the session. Our server never sees a byte and there are no intermediate copies anywhere.

Step by step

1. Connect to the remote machine as usual. If you have never done it, see the connection guide.
2. Open the browser: the Files button in the session toolbar.
3. Position both sides. Your computer's disk on the left, the remote one on the right. Browse either side, or type a path directly and press Enter.
4. Pick what to send. Click the file or folder in the source pane.
5. Press Send. It lands in whichever folder is open in the opposite pane. The queue row shows progress and turns green when it finishes.

It works in both directions: from your PC to the remote one and back again.

Entire folders

Selecting a folder sends it whole, with every subfolder and the structure preserved. Empty folders are recreated on the other side too.

A folder with thousands of small files streams through continuously, without negotiating each file separately. That makes an enormous difference: with a round trip per file, a thousand small files would take longer than a single large file of the same total size.

Speed and what to expect

Throughput is set by the slower of the two ends. LineDesk adapts by itself:

• On a LAN it uses large blocks and saturates the available link.
• On slow connections it reduces block size so the transfer does not add lag to the mouse, which shares the same channel.
• Video quality drops deliberately during a transfer. With the browser open nobody is watching the remote screen, so bandwidth goes to the file. It recovers on its own when the transfer ends.

What happens when something goes wrong

• If a file with that name already exists, the new one is saved as file (1).ext. Nothing is ever overwritten.
• If the connection drops midway, the incomplete file is discarded. While writing it carries a temporary extension and is only renamed once it has finished cleanly and its size has been verified. You will never find a file that looks complete but is truncated.
• If you cancel, the partial data is deleted automatically.
• If the destination disk runs out of space, the transfer ends with an error and leaves no debris behind.

Practical tips

• For very large files, let it run. If the session drops, LineDesk reconnects by itself — though the in-flight transfer has to be restarted.
• Zip first if you have very many tiny files. A single archive is often faster than thousands of few-KB files, even with continuous streaming.
• Close the browser when you are done so the video returns to full quality immediately.
• Mind system paths. You can browse anywhere, so pay attention to where you are dropping files on the remote machine.