Windows 10: The filenames would be too long for the destination folder.

I am just looking at a thread from this blog created in April 2018 which came up in my search because the same old "file name is too long" error came up again. Here is an excerpt from that session: - - - Yeah, certainly annoying. Even more annoying is that the copy operation doesn't offer the opportunity to change the file name though that only gives a little wiggle room if the file name is already short, nor does it show the path to the file; in a deep hierarchy of folders, it may not be obvious where it is and, if there are multiple similarly named files in various parts of the structure,

:)

 

The filename is too long for the destination folder etc

Filename is too long for the destination folder. I have started getting this message when only entering about 10 digits I'm to the title. I have other files in the folder which are very long.

 

Filename too long to copy

Hi John,

Thank you for posting your query in Microsoft Community.

I can understand how frustrating it could be when things go unusual. I will certainly help you.

We suggest you to refer the below steps and check it works:

• If you are needing to simply migrate a lot of folders from one place to another is to map a drive to the drilled own folder. Browse to the hidden share path and copy it to your clipboard.
• Click on Map Network Drive in My PC It would appear under the tools menu.
• Then simply paste your long path and hit Finish.
• Now you will be able to copy the files/folders into this location without receiving that error.
  

Please refer the below link for reference:

Can't Delete Folder, "Destination Path Too Long" Error in Windows 7

Keep us posted if you face any issues on windows in future. We will be glad to help you.

 

Why isn't there a "shorten filename" option in "Destination Path Too Long"?

Making a raw copy of some disk folders to an external drive, I run pull a "Destination Path Too Long" warning window.

I'm given the choice of Skip or Cancel.

Let's think about this. I'm making a copy, so if I Cancel, isn't that going to leave all the remaining files "uncopied?" And out of 4,000 files today, how do I know which ones were not copied? So electing Cancel is out of the question.

My alternative is to elect Skip. I discover that I cannot copy/paste from the window - specifically, the file name I'm skipping. I am able to find the file and reduce it's filename length despite this. I also discover other super long filenames beginning
with the first handful of letters I stopped on, and reduce those as well.

There is a check box asking if I want to apply my decision (Skip or Cancel) for all current items. We're back to, "How would I know what was not copied," if I go to automatic skipping.

There should be a third option. Manually shorten the filename in question and Continue. What's the matter with that? It's stopped on that filename. You shorten it by another means (explorer, cmd line, etc.) You tell it to continue. It rewinds the filelist
one filename and tries again. It could even tell you in the pop up window how long you must make that filename to successfully copy it. "Your current filename is 62 characters long; your filename can be at most 18 characters for a successful copy."

There should also be an option (maybe there is!) to have the machine modify the filename to fit the constraints when it hits such an error. I can only guess there would be complications in that. One that comes to mind easily is, if you have thousands of
files in one folder, then you'd have to know you weren't renaming the file as a duplicate file name. Perhaps you can think of others.

Thanks,

Kevin