Programmatically Opening Files in Brackets

Brackets has a few different APIs for opening and managing files. This document describes best practices for opening files and examines the differences between the APIs used for opening and managing files in Brackets.

Best Practices

The best way to open a document in Brackets is to execute the command CMD_ADD_TO_WORKINGSET_AND_OPEN. This command will open the file in the specified pane, add it to the working files list and select it in the working file list. This is the preferred way to open a file.

Here's an example:

CommandManager.execute(Commands.CMD_ADD_TO_WORKINGSET_AND_OPEN, {fullPath: "./view/WorkingSetView.js", paneId: "first-pane"})

API Details

API	Function	Returns	Notes
CommandManager .execute(Commands .FILE_ADD_TO_WORKING_SET)	Opens a Document and adds it to the workingset	Promise(Document)	Deprecated. Use CommandManager .execute(CMD_ADD_TO_WORKINGSET_AND_OPEN)
CommandManager .execute(Commands .CMD_ADD_TO_WORKINGSET_AND_OPEN)	Opens a File and adds it to the workingset	Promise(File)
CommandManager .execute(Commands.FILE_OPEN)	Opens a Document (not added to Working Files List)	Prompise(Document)	Deprecated. Use CommandManager .execute(CMD_OPEN)
CommandManager .execute(Commands.CMD_OPEN)	Opens a File (not added to Working Files List)	Promise(File)
MainViewManager .addToWorkingSet	Adds a file to the working files list	number	For Internal Use only
MainViewManager .addListToWorkingSet	Adds a list of files to the working files list	number	For Internal Use only
DocumentManager .setCurrentDocument	Sets the currently view document to the document specified	void	Deprecated use CommandManager .execute(Commands .CMD_ADD_TO_WORKINGSET_AND_OPEN)
FileViewController .openAndSelectDocument	opens the document and selects it	Promise(*)	For Internal Use only. May resolve to a Document, File or void depending on the current state