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1.1. Illegal characters, file lengths and special files
Incompatible characters with Windows
When naming your files, avoid characters incompatible with the Windows file system:
- < (less than)
- > (greater than)
- : (colon)
- " (double quote)
- | (vertical bar or pipe)
- ? (question mark)
- * (asterisk)
- . (period) or a space at the end of a file or folder name
Reserved filenames in Windows
Windows has a set of reserved words that can't be used as valid filenames. If you create and name a file or folder from a non-Windows device that includes a reserved word, then the file will not sync or be accessible on a Windows computers. For a complete list of reserved file names, please see the Naming Conventions section of Windows Developer Network.
Max character length
Windows only allows file and folder names of 260 characters or less.
Some applications might still be subject to the operating system limits and may have problems accessing files that are in long paths. Additionally, some applications—such as Microsoft Excel—have shorter limits (218 characters).
For example, if you have an Excel 2010 file in a path that is 261 characters long, when you try to open it, Excel may display an error message like File Cannot be accessed. To fix this problem, shorten the name or move the file or folder to a higher-level folder.
Note: Windows counts the file path as part of the name. This sample file path is 142 characters, not the 16 characters of the file name:
C:\Users\Panda\My Documents\Dropbox\Creative Nonfiction\My Autobiography\Favorite Things\Favorite Foods\Bamboo\Family Recipes\Fresh Leaves.doc
Beginning characters on Mac and Linux
Mac and Linux operating systems will regard filenames that begin with a period as system files and hide the files automatically. You won't be able to see the files without modifying advanced settings on your computer.
Trailing characters
Files and folders that end with periods (.) won't sync properly between operating systems. If a file ends in a period, like file.txt., the file won't sync and it will appear in bad files check.
Temporary files
When some applications (such as Microsoft Word, Excel, or PowerPoint) open a file, they will often save a temporary file in the same directory and name it in one of the following ways:
- Name begins with ~$ (a tilde and dollar sign) or .~ (a period and tilde)
- Name begins with a tilde and ends in .tmp, such as ~myfile.tmp
Metadata and resource forks
Avoid syncing files that use metadata (or resource forks), including Mac aliases or Windows shortcuts. These types of files typically only work on the operating systems they were created on.
A warning regarding metadata and FAT32 drives
Some documents have file attributes, or xattrs, in data attached to the file. We call this data metadata. Operating systems use metadata in many different ways: storing the icon, labeling your documents, attaching information to the file, permissions, and so on. Thumb drives and portable drives that use the FAT32 file system do not support metadata.
Turning on extended attribute (xattr) support in Linux
Some Linux distributions have extended attributes (xattrs) turned off by default. If you're running a Linux distribution with an ext3 or ext4 file system, it's possible to turn on xattr support, typically through your /etc/fstab settings file. Please refer to your Linux distribution's documentation for instructions.