8.3 file names

Before Windows 95 was released, file names in Windows operating systems had to conform to the 8.3 file name format. File names could not be longer than eight characters, and the file extension could not be longer than 3 characters. So a typical set of files would look something like this:

Later versions of Windows can create a 8.3 file name for longer file names, in order to make the files compatible with older systems.

In command prompt, the command:

dir /x

. . . will generate a list of 8.3 file names, and the full long file names side by side.

32,767: the real Windows file path limit

The Litigation Support Tip of the Night for March 13, 2017 discussed how to get around the 255 limit for file paths in Windows Explorer in the Windows 10 operating system. The actual NTFS file system used by Windows actually has a far longer file path limit of 32,767 characters. See this post to the Microsoft Windows Developer site on Maximum Path Length Limitation., which confirms this is the limit. The reason why is that this is highest number that can be used for a 16-bit application written for early versions of Windows.

Easily check out Bluetooth devices in your area

Don't miss another great free utility from Nirsoft: BlueToothView available here: https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/bluetooth_viewer.html will generate a list of bluetooth devices within range of your PC, and indicate which type of device they are - cellular phone and so on.