File changes on disk
JSON Digger watches every open file. When another program changes or removes one, the tab stops showing outdated data and asks you to reload it.
What counts as a change
Section titled “What counts as a change”| What happens to the file | JSON Digger reports |
|---|---|
| Another program or an editor writes or saves it | Changed |
| It is renamed or moved | Removed |
| It is deleted | Removed |
JSON Digger does not follow a renamed file to its new name. For a .gz or .zst file, it watches the archive, and decompresses it again when you reload.
Reload a changed file
Section titled “Reload a changed file”When the file changes, a banner appears above the document: “This file changed on disk. Reload to see the current content.” The tab gets a dot with the tooltip Changed on disk.
Select Reload to read the file again, or Close tab to stop working with it.
The banner stays until you reload or close the tab. Until then, search, queries, and editing are not available on the tab, so that they never mix old and new content.
Reload automatically
Section titled “Reload automatically”To reload changed files without the banner, open Preferences → Viewer and turn on Reload automatically. It is off by default.
Automatic reload applies to changed files only. A removed file always shows the banner.
Removed and renamed files
Section titled “Removed and renamed files”When the file is deleted, renamed, or moved, the banner reads “This file was deleted or moved. Close the tab, or try again if it comes back.” Select Try again after the file is back at its path, or Close tab. If the file comes back on its own, for example when a program writes it again, the banner switches to the changed-file message.
Files with unsaved edits
Section titled “Files with unsaved edits”A tab with unsaved edits works from its own copy, so it keeps working when the original changes. Instead of the reload banner, it shows “The file changed on disk while you were editing. Save will overwrite it.” with Save, Discard, and Dismiss buttons.
If you save, JSON Digger asks first: “Overwrite the changed file?”. Saving replaces the file on disk with your version, so the other program’s changes are lost. To keep them, select Discard and make your edits again after reloading.
Network drives and locked files
Section titled “Network drives and locked files”On some network drives and file systems, the system does not report changes. JSON Digger then never learns that the file changed, and the tab keeps showing the content it read. To read the file again, open it again with Ctrl+O: JSON Digger reloads it in its existing tab. If you edit a file on such a drive, Save still asks before it overwrites changes made by another program; see Saving replaces the original.
On Windows, JSON Digger opens files so that other programs can still write, rename, and delete them. An editor can save a file that is open in JSON Digger, and the tab reports the change.