renaming with long file name fails

[chea]

If I try to rename a file to a new name with 270 characters, it first asks me if I want to keep it, but then it fails with the error "Invalid file name specified!".
I thought that TC supports long file paths (unlike Explorer). Am I missing something or is this a bug?

[Dalai]

Well, does your filename include characters like the following?

Code: Select all

< > ? | " / \ : *

If so, remove them and it will (hopefully) work.

Regards
Dalai

[chea]

No, regular allowed characters only. As soon as I type too many characters it fails, the same characters work fine till then.

[HolgerK]

If I try to rename a file to a new name with 270 characters,...

a single path name component (filename or directory-name) is still limited by windows to max 255 characters.
The complete path can be longer...
c:\can't be more than 255 characters\
c:\this\can\be\more\than\255\characters\

This may also depend on the underlying file system (ntfs, ex-fat, fat32, fat16, ...)

Regards
Holger

[chea]

You're right, HolgerK. I thought the new W10 long paths setting would fix this, but it doesn't.
Perhaps TC could display a more descriptive error, although the previous warning already gives the user a clue on what's going on.

[Dalai]

I thought the new W10 long paths setting would fix this, but it doesn't.

JFTR: This setting you're referring to requires applications to be made aware of this change (see this MS article). Otherwise it won't change a thing. TC has been able to support long paths for several years, even without this new Win10 setting by using the long path prefix (\\?\) which also works in older Windows versions.

Regards
Dalai

[chea]

Right.
Well, today I saw another somewhat related problem:

In short: dragging and dropping long path files from Explorer to a program's window fails, if the file is on a non-system (not C:\) drive.

When dragged and dropped from TC the file from D:\ drive fails to open (just like when using Explorer or FreeCommander, for instance). But it opens when dropped from the 7-Zip file manager.
Does anyone know why? I mean both why it fails to open from D:\ with most programs and why it succeeds with 7-Zip.
At first I thought 7-Zip is the only one of these to be W10 long path aware, but that doesn't seem to have any effect here. I can disable that setting in GP and it doesn't change anything.

[ghisler(Author)]

When dragged and dropped from TC the file from D:\ drive fails to open

Are you running Total Commander with higher user rights, "as administrator"? Drag&Drop does not work between programs with higher rights and programs with normal rights.

[chea]

No. You can read the first post in that linked thread for more details. It's a problem with long file paths, but for some reason (Windows bug?) the problem is only on non-system partitions. If the file is somewhere on the C:\ drive then it works fine.

[ghisler(Author)]

Maybe 8.3 names are disabled for this volume. Try the command
cm_SwitchLongNames
on a button or in the command line, and check whether long names are displayed as short 8.3 names or not.

[chea]

Yep, that's it. Interesting, I had no idea this was a thing.

Why do files dropped from the 7-Zip file manager load anyway, though? And could TC perhaps do the same, without generating 8.3 names on those volumes?

[ghisler(Author)]

No idea, sorry. Maybe it passes the extra-long names in a different format, e.g. with/without prefix \\?\ or uses a different clipboard format for the files.