SharePoint, when used and setup correctly can be an amazingly powerful tool for both file storage and collaborative working. However, poorly chosen file names can lead to significant headaches.

The character limit for file paths in SharePoint Online and OneDrive is 400 characters. This limit includes the full path, including the site URL, folder structure, and file name.  However, it’s important to note that individual file and folder names are limited to 255 characters.

If you have processes and habits that mean you use really long file names and also use lots of nested folders, it can quickly add up and before you know it, you are hitting the character limit. This is fine on a local drive as you will be warned and you can shorten the folder or file names, but issues arise when you then try to move to SharePoint.

The name of the SharePoint site is appended onto the front of the file path and thus if you are already close to the limit it can push you well and truly over it.  This will stop files being copied to SharePoint when you migrate and will also cause issue when copying files or saving them when your SharePoint site is live.

Best Practices for SharePoint File Names

1. Keep File Names Concise: Give your documents a short 1- or 2-word name along with the date the files were created.
2. Leverage File Properties: Use the properties of a file (Right click the file, select properties and select the details tab) to insert more detail about the file’s contents.
3. Organise with Folders: Use a logical folder structure to organise your files. This can help reduce the length of individual file names.

The information you put in under point 2 is indexed and searched by SharePoint when you upload files meaning that when you search your SharePoint site you will still get results even if you have the shorter filenames.

The the above is great to stop yourself running into the long file name issue, but what to do if you already have it?

1. Shorten Folder Names: In a lot of cases this is all that will be needed to resolve the issue is to shorten the folder names. This has the benefit of reducing the overall path length for multiple files at a time and if there are nested folders with long names then.
2. Rename Files: If you are still having issues then you will need to rename the files themselves to shorter, more concise names.

The above should allow you to manage files within SharePoint in a way that will stop you having issues with long file path.

Let Beaming Help. We’re experts in SharePoint migration and management and can help you implement best practices and optimise your SharePoint environment (and avoid long file name issues). Contact us today to learn more.