convert to short name

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i'm looking for a way to convert to a file's short name
without using the command prompt. anyone know how to do
this?

Short file names
Every time you create a file with a long file name, NTFS creates a second file entry that has a similar 8.3 short file name. A file with an 8.3 short file name has a file name containing 1 to 8 characters and a file name extension containing 1 to 3 characters. The file name and file name extension are separated by a period.

If you have a large number of files (300,000 or more) in a folder, and the files have long file names with the same initial characters, the time required to create the files increases. The increase occurs because NTFS bases the short file name on the first six characters of the long file name. In folders with more than 300,000 files, the short file names start to conflict after NTFS uses all of the 8.3 names that are similar to the long file names. Repeated conflicts between a generated short file name and existing short file names cause NTFS to regenerate the short file name from 6 to 8 times.

To reduce the time required to create files, you can use the fsutil behavior set disable8dot3 command to disable the creation of 8.3 short file names. (You must restart your computer for this setting to take effect.) For more information about disabling 8.3 short file names, see "MS-DOS-Readable File Names on NTFS Volumes" later in this chapter.

If you want NTFS to generate 8.3 names, you can improve performance by using a naming scheme in which long file names differ at the beginning instead of at the end of the name.

For more information about short file names, see "File Names in Windows XP Professional"


--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User


Be Smart! Protect your PC!
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/

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"matt" wrote in message:
...

| i'm looking for a way to convert to a file's short name
| without using the command prompt. anyone know how to do
| this?

i know what short filenames are. i want to be able to
access them quickly, such as in the file's properties. is
this possible?

-----Original Message-----
Short file names
Every time you create a file with a long file name, NTFS
creates a second file entry that has a similar 8.3 short
file name. A file with an 8.3 short file name has a file
name containing 1 to 8 characters and a file name
extension containing 1 to 3 characters. The file name and
file name extension are separated by a period.

If you have a large number of files (300,000 or more) in
a folder, and the files have long file names with the
same initial characters, the time required to create the
files increases. The increase occurs because NTFS bases
the short file name on the first six characters of the
long file name. In folders with more than 300,000 files,
the short file names start to conflict after NTFS uses
all of the 8.3 names that are similar to the long file
names. Repeated conflicts between a generated short file
name and existing short file names cause NTFS to
regenerate the short file name from 6 to 8 times.

To reduce the time required to create files, you can use
the fsutil behavior set disable8dot3 command to disable
the creation of 8.3 short file names. (You must restart
your computer for this setting to take effect.) For more
information about disabling 8.3 short file names, see "MS-
DOS-Readable File Names on NTFS Volumes" later in this
chapter.

If you want NTFS to generate 8.3 names, you can improve
performance by using a naming scheme in which long file
names differ at the beginning instead of at the end of
the name.

For more information about short file names, see "File
Names in Windows XP Professional"


--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User


Be Smart! Protect your PC!
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/

---------------------------------------------------------
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"matt" wrote in
message:
...

| i'm looking for a way to convert to a file's short
name
| without using the command prompt. anyone know how to
do
| this?