Naming rules for files and directories

This section covers what are legal or illegal naming rules for files and directories when stored on a Microsoft Windows operating system. This information applies to all Microsoft Windows operating systems whether it is a desktop or server edition.

Fundamental naming rules

The following fundamental rules enable applications to create and process valid names for files and directories, regardless of the file system:

  • Use a period to separate the base file name from the extension in the name of a directory or file.
  • Use a backslash (\) to separate the components of a path. The backslash divides the file name from the path to it, and one directory name from another directory name in a path. You cannot use a backslash in the name for the actual file or directory because it is a reserved character that separates the names into components.
  • Use a backslash as required as part of volume names, for example, the C:\ in C:\path\file or the \\server\share in \\server\share\path\file for Universal Naming Convention (UNC) names. For more information about UNC names, see the Maximum Path Length Limitation.
  • Do not assume case sensitivity. For example, consider the names OSCAR, Oscar, and oscar to be the same, even though some file systems (such as a POSIX-compliant file system) may consider them as different. NTFS supports POSIX semantics for case sensitivity but not the default behavior. For more information, see Create File.
  • Volume designators (drive letters) are similarly case-insensitive. For example, D:\ and d:\ refer to the same volume.
  • Use any character in the current code page for a name, including Unicode characters and characters in the extended character set (128–255), except for the following reserved characters:

    • < (less than)

    • > (greater than)

    • : (colon)

    • " (double quote)

    • / (forward slash)

    • \ (backslash)

    • | (vertical bar or pipe)

    • ? (question mark)

    • * (asterisk)

    • Integer value zero, sometimes referred to as the ASCII NUL character.
    • Any other character that the target file system does not allow.
  • Use a period as a directory component in a path to represent the current directory, for example .\temp.txt.
  • Use two consecutive periods (..) as a directory component in a path to represent the parent of the current directory, for example ..\temp.txt.
  • Do not use the following reserved names for the name of a file:

    • CON, PRN, AUX, NUL, COM1, COM2, COM3, COM4, COM5, COM6, COM7, COM8, COM9, LPT1, LPT2, LPT3, LPT4, LPT5, LPT6, LPT7, LPT8, and LPT9. Also avoid these names followed immediately by an extension; for example, NUL.txt is not recommended.
  • Do not end a file or directory name with a space or a period. Although the underlying file system may support such names, the Windows shell and user interface do not. However, it is acceptable to specify a period as the first character of a name. For example, ".temp".

HPE StoreEasy management console supported characters

In HPE StoreEasy management console, support for UTF-8 characters is limited to 1 Byte and 2 Byte character sets.

HPE StoreEasy management console does not support 3 Byte or 4 Byte Character sets.

You cannot use the following characters in File shares, Quotas, and Quota templates names:

  • Back slash (\)
  • Front slash (/)
  • Colon (:)
  • Question (?)
  • Double quotes (")
  • Greater Than (>)
  • Lesser Than (<)
  • Caret (^)
  • Ampersand (&)
  • Apostrophe (')
  • Ampersand (@)
  • Brackets ({ }, [ ], ( ) )
  • Comma (,)
  • Dollar Sign ($)
  • Equal (=)
  • Plus (+)
  • Exclamation (!)
  • Hyphen (-)
  • Hash (#)
  • Percent (%)
  • Tilde (~)
  • Backtick (`)
  • Pipe (|)

If you have created File shares, Quotas, and Quota templates names using server software and the naming rules are not followed then:

  • Names are displayed with blanks or unresolvable images or characters.

  • Operations in the HPE StoreEasy management console fails

  • Actions are blocked and error messages are displayed. In the error messages, specific characters that caused the failure are not identified.