INFO: Filenames Ending with Space or Period Not Supported

ID: Q115827

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Win32 Application Programming Interface (API), used with:
- Microsoft Windows NT, versions 3.5, 3.51
- Microsoft Windows 95

CreateFile() removes trailing spaces and periods from file and directory names. This is done for compatibility with the FAT and HPFS file systems.

Problems can arise when a Macintosh client creates a file on a Windows NT server. The code to remove trailing spaces and periods is not carried out and the Macintosh user gets the correctly punctuated filename. The Win32 APIs FindFirstFile() and FindNextFile() return a filename that ends in a space or in a period; however, there is no way to create or open the file using the Win32 API.

Applications such as File Manager and Backup check to see whether the filename ends with a space or period. If the filename does end in a space or a period, then File Manager and Backup use the alternative name found in WIN32_FIND_DATA.cAlternateFileName to create and open the file. Therefore, the full filename is lost.

SUMMARY

Additional query words: 3.10 3.50 4.00 winfile ntbackup

Keywords :
Version : winnt:3.5,3.51
Platform : winnt
Issue type : kbinfo