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#1
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Error Message: "The File Name is Not Valid or Too Long...."
This is my issue: I download a file to my desktop from a website. I, then,
proceed to name that file using only valid characters. The file name is usually only 55 to 60 characters long. But when I try to move the file into a more convenient location (folder) on my hard drive, I receive the following error message: "The file name is not vaild or too long. Specify a different file name." I, then, have to proceed to shorten the file name to something really unrecognizable to me, and only then will the file be accepted into the destination folder. I never had this problem before. It only started recently (2009). I've had Windows XP since 2001. Why is this happening? Can anyone please help me? -- Wade Terry |
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#2
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Error Message: "The File Name is Not Valid or Too Long...."
YourWadeness wrote:
This is my issue: I download a file to my desktop from a website. I, then, proceed to name that file using only valid characters. The file name is usually only 55 to 60 characters long. But when I try to move the file into a more convenient location (folder) on my hard drive, I receive the following error message: "The file name is not vaild or too long. Specify a different file name." I, then, have to proceed to shorten the file name to something really unrecognizable to me, and only then will the file be accepted into the destination folder. I never had this problem before. It only started recently (2009). I've had Windows XP since 2001. Why is this happening? Can anyone please help me? *Only* 55-60 characters long? *grin* Where is the "more convenient location (folder)" you speak of? Essentially, when you save the file to your desktop, the full patch to that file is - in a default installation of Windows XP and with the shortest username I can think would be possible - already 30 characters in - minimum. That is not counting the drive letter and slashes or the filename itself. You really want to try and keep full path, including filename, below 255 characters - or there could be unexpected behavior. Path to your Desktop... C:\Documents and Settings\username\Desktop So - for example - you are moving it to your "My Music" folder, perhaps also under an "Album Name" folder which is under an "Artist Name" folder... C:\Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\My Music\Artist Name\Album Name\filename of your choice.mp3 People seem to really like the fact that they can now name things more than 8 characters with a 3 character file extension. Sure - I understand - it makes things easier to identify later. However - what many do not take into account is all the directories paths and such that add to the length of the filename in order to do anything to that file. So they end up with ridiculously long paths with ridiculously long filenames - and then they have trouble using the very files they now know what they are because of the name being not just recognizable - but exactly what it is. Some abbreviation is good. If you want less abbreviation, download and store your long filename files in a C:\1\ directory... (Or in the root of C or of another drive.) My suggestion... Keep your filename under 31 characters (not including the extension/dot, path.) "a filename under 31 characters.txt" Keep your paths short as well. "A filename with sixty characters in it would look like this.txt" (Again - not counting the extension/dot.) If you need an entire sentence to remember what is in a file - well - you need to change where you store things. ;-) -- Shenan Stanley MS-MVP -- How To Ask Questions The Smart Way http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html |
#3
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Error Message: "The File Name is Not Valid or Too Long...."
YourWadeness wrote:
This is my issue: I download a file to my desktop from a website. I, then, proceed to name that file using only valid characters. The file name is usually only 55 to 60 characters long. But when I try to move the file into a more convenient location (folder) on my hard drive, I receive the following error message: "The file name is not vaild or too long. Specify a different file name." I, then, have to proceed to shorten the file name to something really unrecognizable to me, and only then will the file be accepted into the destination folder. I never had this problem before. It only started recently (2009). I've had Windows XP since 2001. Why is this happening? Can anyone please help me? *Only* 55-60 characters long? *grin* Where is the "more convenient location (folder)" you speak of? Essentially, when you save the file to your desktop, the full patch to that file is - in a default installation of Windows XP and with the shortest username I can think would be possible - already 30 characters in - minimum. That is not counting the drive letter and slashes or the filename itself. You really want to try and keep full path, including filename, below 255 characters - or there could be unexpected behavior. Path to your Desktop... C:\Documents and Settings\username\Desktop So - for example - you are moving it to your "My Music" folder, perhaps also under an "Album Name" folder which is under an "Artist Name" folder... C:\Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\My Music\Artist Name\Album Name\filename of your choice.mp3 People seem to really like the fact that they can now name things more than 8 characters with a 3 character file extension. Sure - I understand - it makes things easier to identify later. However - what many do not take into account is all the directories paths and such that add to the length of the filename in order to do anything to that file. So they end up with ridiculously long paths with ridiculously long filenames - and then they have trouble using the very files they now know what they are because of the name being not just recognizable - but exactly what it is. Some abbreviation is good. If you want less abbreviation, download and store your long filename files in a C:\1\ directory... (Or in the root of C or of another drive.) My suggestion... Keep your filename under 31 characters (not including the extension/dot, path.) "a filename under 31 characters.txt" Keep your paths short as well. "A filename with sixty characters in it would look like this.txt" (Again - not counting the extension/dot.) If you need an entire sentence to remember what is in a file - well - you need to change where you store things. ;-) -- Shenan Stanley MS-MVP -- How To Ask Questions The Smart Way http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html |
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