The length of a file name is generally limited by the combination of OS and filesystem.
Most common configurations:
Windows XP/7 on NTFS has a max path+filename+ext (yes, full path and filename combined) length of 260. Path and folder take a minimum of 3 characters ("C:"), so you are left with effectively 257.
Windows 98/95/3.x/DOS on FAT32 had max filename+ext length of 8+3.
Most Linux/Unix filesystems have max filename+ext length of 255
Field names can be a maximum of _____ characters in length
In MS-DOS, the maximum length of a file extension is three characters. This limitation is part of the 8.3 filename convention, where file names can be up to eight characters long, followed by a period and a three-character extension. This convention was designed to ensure compatibility with earlier file systems and remains a characteristic of DOS and its derivatives.
64characters
The maximum length of a directory name or file name is affected by the location itself.The maximum length of the path to a file on a modern Operating System is 255 characters.
The maximum number of characters allowed for a file name varies by operating system. For example, in Windows, the maximum file name length is 260 characters, including the path. In contrast, most Linux filesystems allow file names up to 255 characters. It's important to note that these limits can be affected by the file system being used.
The DOS (Disk Operating System) rule for file name length states that file names can be a maximum of 8 characters, followed by a 3-character file extension, commonly referred to as the 8.3 naming convention. This means that file names must be formatted as "filename.ext," where "filename" can consist of up to 8 characters, and "ext" can have up to 3 characters. This limitation applies to the older FAT (File Allocation Table) file systems commonly used in DOS environments.
The file name must not exceed eight characters separated by a dot having up to three extension letters. Very little punctuation or special characters can be used in the name or extension other than a hyphen, tilda, brace or an underscore. In fact, if the file name is corrupted and a character you cannot type is in the name, it makes it difficult to deal with the files. There was a little trick where some users held down ALT and typed 255 on the number pad and added that character to the name. Others would see a name with a space on the end and then wonder why entering a space doesn't work. For example: abcdef12.123 hello.c readme are all valid filenames. Directories usually have a null extension, though they can have an extension. Files don't have to have an extension but usually do. For example: dir *. will display mostly directory names. In later DOS versions, you would do Dir /ad if you want directories so you won't get files that have no extensions nor exclude directories that have extensions. This command might even help find hidden directories. The 8.3 limits apply to older versions of DOS that use a FAT12 or FAT16 file system. Starting with FAT32, long filename support (LFN) was added, and a few additional characters could be used in the long file names, including spaces, and file names could be up to 64 characters long. However, there were underlying short file names that were there for reverse compatibility, and they still follow the above rules.
Filenames could consist of no more than 8 letters and a 3 letter extension. There were no spaces allowed in filenames. There were various reserved words that could not be used as file names and characters that could not be used in the names, as these names and characters had other uses.
8.3 file name i.e. <8 characters fo filename>.<3 chars for extension> But U can not use special characters in file name as \ / : * ? " < > |
Yes, FAT-16 supported short file names, commonly referred to as the 8.3 filename convention, which allowed for a maximum of eight characters for the filename and a three-character file extension. This format enabled users to create files with names like "example.txt." However, the naming convention was limited, and additional file systems, like VFAT, were introduced later to support longer and more descriptive filenames.
Katie and Micah Sloat
An old convention stemming from MS-DOS ca. 1983, which only allowed 8+3 characters in file names - 8 in the name and 3 for the extension. Since MS-DOS used the file extension to look up which program could open it, and there were many programs, developers would commonly use all three characters in their extensions.Neither Unix/Linux nor Mac had these requirements, but the convention is still with us.