Windows NT Long Filename (NTFS) Lost Saving Document in Word

• Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 2.0, 2.0a, 2.0a-CD, 2.0b, 2.0c, 6.0, 6.0a, 6.0c
• Microsoft Windows NT operating system version 3.1
• Microsoft Windows NT Advanced Server version 3.1

SYMPTOMS

When you run Word for Windows with Windows NT, Word does not retain the NT File System (NTFS) long filename when you save the file in Word.

For example, if you open a file named "This is a test document.DOC", Word opens the file using its short, MS-DOS-compatible filename, THISIS~1.DOC. If you save the file, Word retains only the short, THISIS~1.DOC filename and discards the NTFS filename.

CAUSE

This problem occurs because when you save a document, Word replaces the previous version of the file with the new version. Windows NT stores the long NTFS filename in the previous version, so after you save the document in Word, the NTFS filename no longer exists.

With Windows NT, you can preserve a long (more than eight-character), NTFS filename even when you open or save the file in an MS-DOS or 16-bit Windows-based application. As long as your application does not save files by replacing the original file with a temporary file, Windows NT can preserve the long, NTFS filename. In other words, the method Word uses to save files makes it impossible for Windows NT to retain the NTFS version of the filename.

MORE INFORMATION

In Windows NT, you can use long filenames that contain more than eight characters. To ensure compatibility between Windows NT applications and MS-DOS or 16-bit Windows-based applications, Windows NT automatically creates a short (eight-character), MS-DOS filename for all files. Windows NT records the short filename in the directory where the NTFS file is stored.