How can I extract files with names more than 260 characters in Windows 7?

Question

I am downloading lot of stuff in rar files on Windows. But when I extract them, I get a 260 character limit problem.

I can make the path shorter, but is there any way I can extract the files in such a way that the problem doesn't occur?

score 2 · Answer 1 · answered Sep 02 '13 at 20:51

You can try creating a folder in the root directory of one of your hard drives, naming this new folder with a one-letter name; then, extract into that folder. Hopefully this will make the total file name (including the path) short enough allow you to get access to the files.

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Sep 02 '13 at 21:08

As shown on the Wikipedia Page for NTFS, the maximum length for a filename (including the path) is 255 characters. Using a different tool will not likely fix the issue you are having. What you will need to do is extract to a very short-named folder on the root of a drive. Depending how the archive is packed, you may need to select some files manually, or rename folders, to get it working properly.

Another method is to use the SUBST command to substitute a long pathname that you are extracting to as a new drive. As an example, you can run SUBST x: C:\Users\MyUsername\Desktop\ExtractedArchive. You will only be able to access the longer files through the new drive, but you can at least extract the files and move them to wherever you may need them to be.

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Aug 05 '15 at 12:18

1

I had the same issue. I used 7-zip for extracting and it worked like a charm.

answered Aug 05 '15 at 12:18

Real Dreams

5,408

How can I extract files with names more than 260 characters in Windows 7?

3 Answers3