I've just tried it in TextEdit and it behaves exactly the same:

• create a new text file in TextEdit and save it on the Desktop
  
• enter four characters and save the changes with Cmd-S
  
• open the file's directory in Finder
  
• Finder shows a size of 4 bytes
  
• enter 2 more characters and switch to Finder without saving manually
  
• Finder shows a size of 6 bytes
  
• enter 2 more characters and switch to Finder without saving manually
  
• Finder shows a size of 8 bytes

To confirm this, I've also connected to an SFTP server with ForkLift and opened a remote text file in TextEdit. When I made changes in TextEdit and switched back to ForkLift without saving manually, the changes were uploaded immediately.

TextEdit uses the NSDocument architecture of Mac OS X. Textastic also uses NSDocument. The modern apps that you are quoting are not modern after all, but they are using the pre-Lion behavior. One of the unique features of Textastic is that it actually supports AutoSave and iCloud which the other editors do not.

That being said, I'll consider adding an option that disables AutoSave and therefore also iCloud and Versions as some people seem to prefer the old behavior.

I still think that since AutoSave is now the official default behavior in Mac OS X, apps like Transmit need to find a way to support this better.

Have a look at this entry in the manual to see how to upload files to an FTP server: http://www.textasticapp.com/v4/manual/lessons/How_do_I_connect_to_an_FTP__FTPS_or_SFTP_server.html

Thanks, this will be fixed in the next update.

You can disable iCloud in the systems settings of your Mac. Then the startup behavior is as you describe.

This is the same behavior as in Apple's Notes app.

Thank you, I didn't know this shortcut either.

I'm using the standard dialogs that are provided by the system. I don't think I can change that behavior.