# Editing files outside the Workbench

To edit a Workbench resource outside the Workbench:

1. Navigate in the file system to the Workbench's installation directory. Go into the workspace directory and open the file that you want to edit with the external editor.
2. Edit the file as needed. Save and close it as usual.
3. Important: Go back to the Workbench, right-click the edited file in one of the navigation views, and select Refresh from the pop-up menu. The Workbench will perform any necessary build or update operations to process the changes that you made outside the Workbench.

Tip: If you work with external editors regularly, you may want to enable auto-refresh.This can be done by going to the preferences dialog (by choosing the Window >Preferences menu item), drilling down to the General > Workspace preference page, and checking the Refresh automatically option. When this option is enabled, any external changes will be automatically discovered by the Workbench. Depending on the platform this may not happen immediately.

Editors
External editors

Opening files for editing
Associating editors with file types