Top 5 tools to deal with long path files

[jamescraig]

I want to share with all those who are victim of such long path files
Long path files are those files which have a path having charcters more than the limit allowed by windows,ie approx 200
Whenever we want to change,delete,move,cut,omit,share or install such file windows give error like file is copy write protected,it is used by some other application or user,is blocked etc
First way is to change file name but it dont work
Second way is to delete such file by holding shift but it also dont work
Third way is to use a tool which embeds into core and resolves such long path,there are many tools available both freeware and shareware,here are some with their destination websites:
1.First of all is robocopy which is a tool given by microsoft for copying and xcopying files using command line interface,this robust tool boostes copy procedure but is leaste effective for long path files,i will rate it 1 star
2.Second one is pathlongtool available at pathlong.com,it is rated 2 star because it has limited functionality in case of mapping and changing such files
3.Third one is Long path support Api,this is a complex tool for advanced users having complex accessibilities,i will rate it as 2 star,it is avilable at file32.com
4.Fourth tool is bitchip file gear,it is a file copy gearer which cannot map and delete long path files but is extremely useful in gearing copying of such files,rated as 3 star.It is available at file32.com
5.The most effective and efficient is longpathtool availabe at long path, filename too long, file name too long, filename length restriction, path too long ,it is a small,smart and quick to use software which can be easily downloaded from its site,it has optimum functionality and it can change,search,map from network,omit,copy,install and delete such long path file effectively being rated as 5 star

 

[Kaiser]

To add to this

I have dealt with this plenty of times. Robocopy works very well if you are trying to delete the file, of which most people are. The reason is that more than likely it is a temp file from some sort of operation or from a download client. Remove everything from the folder that you do not want to delete, ethen create another empty folder named something like "robo". Use robocopy to mirror the empty folder to the folder with the file that you cannot get rid of. Something like this:

robocopy c:\robo c:\folder /mir /r:0 /w:0

Also a simple word of note, most of the time the folder structure can be widdled down to cut your max characters of 256 for the path down to something smaller. So if you can, make a note of all folder and sub folder names. Then widdle them down to one character each. For instance:

C:\program files\emule\download\incoming\sdajkggliwriaulgwaliurhgioujrwioagjiorw.......tmp

change to:

c:\program files\e\d\i\sdajkggliwriaulgwaliurhgioujrwioagjiorw.......tmp

Obviously you cant rename "Program Files" while the system is running most of the time. If you put the drive in another computer you would be able to, however.

Then try to rename the file to something shorter. If you are able to, then simply rename the folders back to what they originally were.

Lastly, sometimes the obvious is not quite obvious. Here's another easy trick:

Shjare out the last folder right before the file itself.

So in C:\program files\emule\download\incoming\sdajkggliwriaulgwaliurhgioujrwioagjiorw.......tmp

Share out "incoming" as "incoming". Once this is shared, map a drive (Z: for instance) to it by going to \\computername\incoming. If you did it correctly, you will have something like this:

Z:\sdajkggliwriaulgwaliurhgioujrwioagjiorw.......tmp

You will probably be able to rename the file at that point as well, as the 256 is not an NTFS (file system) limitation, but an explorer/shell limitation in handling.

I state this because most people do not realize that the folder structure is also included in the 256 character limit.