How many characters can a file name hold?

Question

The maximum filename length on a NTFS partition is 256 characters, and 11 characters on FAT (8 character name, . , 3 character extension). NTFS filenames keep their case, whereas FAT filenames have no concept of case (however the case is ignored when performing a search etc on NTFS).

Is there a character limit on file names?

Individual components of a filename (i.e. each subdirectory along the path, and the final filename) are limited to 255 characters, and the total path length is limited to approximately 32,000 characters. However, on Windows, you can't exceed MAX_PATH value (259 characters for files, 248 for folders).

Can a file name be too long?

Windows can handle file names of up to 260 characters in length, including the path to the file. If a file is nested within many folders, and/or if the file has a long name, the character limit is most likely exceeded.

How many characters can a filename have in Windows 10?

In Windows 10, you can enable long file name support, which allows file names up to 32,767 characters (although you lose a few characters for mandatory characters that are part of the name). To enable this, perform the following: Start the registry editor (regedit.exe)

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