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- DOCUMENT:Q99589 24-SEP-1993 [W_NT]
- TITLE :How Windows NT Generates MS-DOS Compatible Filenames
- PRODUCT :Windows NT
- PROD/VER:3.10
- OPER/SYS:WINDOWS
- KEYWORDS:
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------
- The information in this article applies to:
-
- - Microsoft Windows NT operating system version 3.1
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- Summary:
-
- Windows NT file system (NTFS) filenames do not have the same
- limitations that MS-DOS FAT style filenames have. MS-DOS style
- filenames are limited to eight and three character strings separated
- by a period. NTFS filenames can be much longer and may contain more
- types of characters. When Windows NT copies a file from an NTFS
- partition to a FAT partition, it needs to change the filename for
- compatibility. The following rules are applied when filenames are
- converted from NTFS to FAT:
-
- - All spaces in the NTFS filename are removed.
-
- - All periods except the last one preceding a character are removed.
-
- - The first three characters following the last period are used for
- the three letter extension of the FAT filename.
-
- - All characters that are illegal in FAT but legal in NTFS are
- replaced with underscore characters ("_").
-
- - The first six characters of the NTFS filename, a tilde character
- (~), and a single digit are used for the eight letter prefix of
- the FAT filename.
-
- If this does not result in a unique filename, only the first five
- characters of the NTFS filename are used, followed by the tilde and
- two digits.
-
- When filenames are moved from a FAT partition to an NTFS partition, no
- conversion takes place because NTFS fully supports the FAT file naming
- convention.
-
- Additional reference words: 3.10
- KBCategory:
- KBSubCategory: FILSYS
-
- =============================================================================
-
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- OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO
- EVENT SHALL MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR
- ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL,
- CONSEQUENTIAL, LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS OR SPECIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF
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- OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES
- SO THE FOREGOING LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY.
-
- Copyright Microsoft Corporation 1993.