diff --git a/rse/plugins/org.eclipse.rse.files.ui/src/org/eclipse/rse/files/ui/resources/SystemTempFileListener.java b/rse/plugins/org.eclipse.rse.files.ui/src/org/eclipse/rse/files/ui/resources/SystemTempFileListener.java
index ebf5ce25239..caecc53ece5 100644
--- a/rse/plugins/org.eclipse.rse.files.ui/src/org/eclipse/rse/files/ui/resources/SystemTempFileListener.java
+++ b/rse/plugins/org.eclipse.rse.files.ui/src/org/eclipse/rse/files/ui/resources/SystemTempFileListener.java
@@ -706,7 +706,9 @@ public abstract class SystemTempFileListener implements IResourceChangeListener
 						// instead, defer synchronization to later but allow user to edit
 						// set the dirty flag to indicate that this file needs resynchronization
 						properties.setDirty(true);
-						return;
+						
+						// as per bug 256048 - comment#6 if we're not connected follow through to
+						// doResourceSynchronization so we have the change to mark the SystemTextEditor dirty
 					}
 				}
 				doResourceSynchronization(fs, file, uploadPath, monitor);		
diff --git a/rse/plugins/org.eclipse.rse.files.ui/src/org/eclipse/rse/files/ui/resources/SystemUniversalTempFileListener.java b/rse/plugins/org.eclipse.rse.files.ui/src/org/eclipse/rse/files/ui/resources/SystemUniversalTempFileListener.java
index f2f997826dc..a7e633ab998 100644
--- a/rse/plugins/org.eclipse.rse.files.ui/src/org/eclipse/rse/files/ui/resources/SystemUniversalTempFileListener.java
+++ b/rse/plugins/org.eclipse.rse.files.ui/src/org/eclipse/rse/files/ui/resources/SystemUniversalTempFileListener.java
@@ -138,8 +138,9 @@ public class SystemUniversalTempFileListener extends SystemTempFileListener
 			// first we need to get the stored timestamp property and the actual remote timestamp
 			SystemIFileProperties properties = new SystemIFileProperties(tempFile);
 			
-			// make sure we're working online - not offline
-			if (fs.isOffline())
+			// make sure we're working online 
+			// also as per bug 256048 - comment#6 if we're not connected we still need to do the same thing
+			if (fs.isOffline() || !fs.isConnected())
 			{			
 				// offline mode - make sure the file stays dirty
 				properties.setDirty(true);