File names

When using any file system, you have to be aware of two things:

Use only alphanumeric characters

Alphanumeric characters are numbers and letters.

There are certain characters reserved for specific use in file systems. These are:

~ ! @ $ % ^ & * ( ) + = { } [ ] | \ / > < , . ' "

The # character has also caused issues.

So it's important not to use these characters in names of files or folders.

It's also best to avoid the space character in file and folder names, especially at the beginning or end of a filename.

256 character limit

The file systems we use have a 256 character limit. This includes server, folders and the filename itself.

For example:

Server01\Folder1\Folder2\Folder3\Filename.doc

This example has 45 characters.

Some examples

Example 1

Server\Conference proceedings\conference photos\conference photos(day1)\photo1.jpg

This 83 character path can be improved by:

And that gives us a 50 character path:

Server\ConferenceProceedings\Photos\day1\photo1.jpg

Example 2

Server\Quality&Processing\individual_reports\Jody's reports\draft1.Jody report 22/11/16.doc

We can improve this 91 character path by addressing:

And that gives us a 77 character path:

Server\QualityProcessing\individual_reports\Jody\draft1_jodyreport22nov16.doc

Note: the _ (underscore) character stands in for a space and is ok to use.