OVERLY-LONG FILE NAMES, as impediment to file copying

[Guest]

I tend to use long file names, so as to identify needed files readily.

If the file saves to my C drive in Windows XP Professional,
I don't pay particular attention to the length of the file name
that I've used.

But in trying to COPY large files (e.g., a folder holding tens
of thousands of sub-folders, with 2GB of saved data), most
copying programs that I've encountered -- on 250 GB Maxtor
external hard drives, on 40 GB HP external hard drives,
on 2 GB Lexar flash drives -- not only will NOT COPY
a file with an overly-long file name, but they also TERMINATE
THE ENTIRE COPYING PROCESS INSTANTLY, merely on
hitting a single too-long file name.

Going into huge saved data files MANUALLY and MANUALLY
reducing the length of each long file name is impossible.

That's why we have COMPUTERS AND PROGRAMS:
to automate important but tedious tasks and processes.

I am hoping that someone somewhere has
AN AUTOMATIC FILENAME-LENGTH TRUNCATION PROGRAM,
or subroutine -- that could be run through my entire C drive
prior to attempting to copy large files, or, even better,
that could be run ON-THE-FLY in conjunction with any
file-copying process, and that could truncate overly-long
file names on-the-fly, as they are encountered, to permit the
standard file-copying routines or algorithms to proceed
without stopping, and even without losing those particular files
with overlong names.

IS THERE SUCH A FILENAME-LENGTH TRUNCATION PROGRAM?

If so, how can I get an operational version, both for XP Professional
and for XP Media Center?

I'd have thought that this sub-routine would have been the most
obvious thing in the world for MICROSOFT itself to have
incorporated into Windows.

But if it's available in Windows XP Professional or in XP Media Center,
I'm not aware of it.

 

[Yves Leclerc]

I think I can reply to this, but main for the USB flash drives. You problem
is that most flash drives are formatted as "FAT" (aka: FAT16) which does not
do long file names. Thsi is why that you may see a different name:

This is a long file name for a document.txt ---> THISIS~1.TXT

 

[Guest]

M. Leclerc,

I appreciate your attempt to help.

I am aware that most external storage devices -- not just flash drives,
but also larger external hard drives (including the HP 40 GB drives
and the Maxtor 250 GB drives that I mentioned) -- use FAT32
systems, whereas my C drive with Windows XP Professional
is NTFS.

The copying process ONLY becomes a problem when the copying
program or sub-routine encounters an overly-long file name.

Then not only is the particular file with the overly-long file name
not copied -- THE ENTIRE COPYING PROCEDURE INSTANTLY
TERMINATES.

I'm AWARE of the fact that overly-long file names cause
this problem.

My difficulty is that, as I explained in my original posted question,
IT IS NOW IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME MANUALLY TO GO THROUGH
MY ENTIRE 80 GB C-drive, and MANUALLY TRUNCATE EACH
AND EVERY OVERLY-LONG FILE NAME.

I need a program or sub-routine that can TRUNCATE THESE FILE NAMES
AUTOMATICALLY -- and, preferably, ON-THE-FLY.

I wasn't asking WHAT the PROBLEM was.

Nor was I seeking multiple scoldings for using overly-long
file names.

I was looking for a PROGRAM THAT WOULD TRUNCATE THESE FILE
NAMES AUTOMATICALLY, and preferably on-the-fly, so that
copying procedures would be unimpaired.

I'm like an inexperienced skiing enthusiast who, having paid insufficient
attention to avalanche warning signs, finds himself buried, and unable
to dig himself out manually.

I need some automatic procedure -- for the overly-long files names,
a program or sub-routine -- to dig me out of this predicament.

I wasn't seeking a diagnosis.

I was seeking a SOLUTION.

Namely, I was looking for a PROGRAM or sub-routine,
that will run on both XP Professional and XP Media Center,
THAT WILL TRUNCATE OVERLY-LONG FILE NAMES
AUTOMATICALLY.


EverymanEndUser

 

[Lem]

I appreciate your problem, and it is _very_ annoying when WinXP aborts
a copy (or move) operation when it encounters a problem copying a file.
I haven't looked to see if there's a non-XP file copy utility that
might be better behaved.

In any case, I don't think you want a filename truncator. Truncation
usually leads to problems. For example, if you have
reallylongfilenamenumber1.jpg and reallylongfilenamenumber2.jpg and you
truncate the last 19 characters, you end up with two files named
really.jpg -- an obvious problem.

What you probably need is a batch renaming facility -- one of which is
built-in to Windows XP. Check these out: http://tinyurl.com/adysu
(scroll down to Rename Multiple Files) and http://tinyurl.com/dr4y5

If the native WinXP file rename function doesn't work for you, a Google
search for +batch +rename had about 757,000 hits.

 

[Guest]

Thank you for your splendid suggestions!

Yes, I'll first try the options at http://tinyurl.com,
and -- were these to fail -- then try batch renaming
alternatives listed by Google.

Yes, filename truncation does pose obvious problems.

But I'd rather face those, once all of my scores of GBs
of files have been copied, than see my myriad attempts
to copy large files each TERMINATE INSTANTLY,
merely upon the first encounter of a single overly long
file name.

But if batch renaming can be achieved in some straightforward
practical way, that indeed would be a better solution.

I was desperate!

And I can't believe that I'm the only one among tens of millions
of Windows XP users who has been too casual about the length
of his file names.

Again, I'm enormously grateful for your excellent suggestions.

EverymanEndUser

 

[VManes]

1. Like the doctor said to the patient who compained his arm hurt every time
he raised it high - "Don't do that". If your folders are reasonably named
for what they contain, files shouldn't need overly long names.

2. To avoid the whole copy operation crapping out on one failure, open a
command window and use xcopy. It has flags that instruct it to copy all
subfolders, and to continue on if errors occur.

Val
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Education's purpose is to replace an empty
mind with an open one.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
message I tend to use long file names, so as to identify needed files readily.

If the file saves to my C drive in Windows XP Professional,
I don't pay particular attention to the length of the file name
that I've used.

But in trying to COPY large files (e.g., a folder holding tens
of thousands of sub-folders, with 2GB of saved data), most
copying programs that I've encountered -- on 250 GB Maxtor
external hard drives, on 40 GB HP external hard drives,
on 2 GB Lexar flash drives -- not only will NOT COPY
a file with an overly-long file name, but they also TERMINATE
THE ENTIRE COPYING PROCESS INSTANTLY, merely on
hitting a single too-long file name.

Going into huge saved data files MANUALLY and MANUALLY
reducing the length of each long file name is impossible.

That's why we have COMPUTERS AND PROGRAMS:
to automate important but tedious tasks and processes.

I am hoping that someone somewhere has
AN AUTOMATIC FILENAME-LENGTH TRUNCATION PROGRAM,
or subroutine -- that could be run through my entire C drive
prior to attempting to copy large files, or, even better,
that could be run ON-THE-FLY in conjunction with any
file-copying process, and that could truncate overly-long
file names on-the-fly, as they are encountered, to permit the
standard file-copying routines or algorithms to proceed
without stopping, and even without losing those particular files
with overlong names.

IS THERE SUCH A FILENAME-LENGTH TRUNCATION PROGRAM?

If so, how can I get an operational version, both for XP Professional
and for XP Media Center?

I'd have thought that this sub-routine would have been the most
obvious thing in the world for MICROSOFT itself to have
incorporated into Windows.

But if it's available in Windows XP Professional or in XP Media Center,
I'm not aware of it.

 

[Guest]

Thank you for the valuable suggestions.

EverymanEndUser