How to create folder name or file name with special characters like \ / : * ? " < > | [duplicate]

Question

My problem is that, I can not give name of my folder or file with special characters like \ / : * ? " < > | in windows based O.S. This is very important for me, that giving name of file/folder which contain this type of characters.

I already search and refer so many site,for this problems but all are hopeless. I also read Microsoft support page, they suggest use other characters. This is its link, https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/177506

I already try Alt button + ASCII code number of this type of special characters, from numpad key, just example rename file/folder and press Alt+60 (for < characters) Still it giving message that, A filename cannot contain any of the following characters: \ / : * ? " < > |

Suggest me suitable solution so that I can give name of my file/folder with this type of special characters.

Answer 1

This is very important for me, naming of file/folder which contain these characters.

It may be important to you, but you will have to let this go and find a different way to solve your problem.

These characters are not allowed by the Windows OS function calls that handle filenames.

They are specifically not allowed because they have another use:

• \ - Reserved for use as a path separator and escape character
• / - Reserved for use as a path separator
• : - Reserved for use as a drive name delimiter
• * and ? - Reserved for use as wildcard characters
• " - Reserved for use to quote names containing spaces
• <, > and | - Reserved for use as command redirection operators

You can, of course, create files with names containing these characters using a different operating system (as long as that operating system can read/write a Windows file system).

However, you will be unable do do anything with those files using any Windows programs and they will not understand the file names and will generate errors.

---

Naming Files, Paths, and Namespaces

Naming Conventions

The following fundamental rules enable applications to create and process valid names for files and directories, regardless of the file system:

...

Use any character in the current code page for a name, including Unicode characters and characters in the extended character set (128–255), except for the following:

• The following reserved characters:

  < (less than)
  > (greater than)
  : (colon)
  " (double quote)
  / (forward slash)
  \ (backslash)
  | (vertical bar or pipe)
  ? (question mark)
  * (asterisk)
  

• Integer value zero, sometimes referred to as the ASCII NUL character.
• Characters whose integer representations are in the range from 1 through 31, except for alternate data streams where these characters are allowed. For more information about file streams, see File Streams.
• Any other character that the target file system does not allow.

Source Naming Files, Paths, and Namespaces

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But I really want to do this anyway.

Install cygwin and use touch.

I haven't tested all the possibilities but the following work:

touch :
touch \|
touch \"
touch \>

Example output:

DavidPostill@Hal /f/test/impossible
$ ll
total 0
-rw-rw-rw-+ 1 DavidPostill None 0 Aug 10 21:03 '"'
-rw-rw-rw-+ 1 DavidPostill None 0 Aug 10 21:02 :
-rw-rw-rw-+ 1 DavidPostill None 0 Aug 10 21:02 '|'
-rw-rw-rw-+ 1 DavidPostill None 0 Aug 10 21:07 '>'

As you can see they are not usable in Windows:

F:\test\impossible>dir
 Volume in drive F is Expansion
 Volume Serial Number is 3656-BB63

 Directory of F:\test\impossible

10/08/2016  21:07    <DIR>          .
10/08/2016  21:07    <DIR>          ..
10/08/2016  21:03                 0 
10/08/2016  21:02                 0 
10/08/2016  21:07                 0 
10/08/2016  21:02                 0 
               4 File(s)              0 bytes
               2 Dir(s)  1,772,601,536,512 bytes free

Answer 2

Build your own font set. Replace some of the characters you do not use with the images of the reserved characters.

Answer 3

In Windows, you cannot create files with those characters. There's no solution, these characters are prohibited by the Win32 API.

Win32 is a subset of the POSIX namespace and is case insensitive. It uses all the Unicode characters, except: '"' '*' '/' ':' '<' '>' '?' '\' '|' N.B. Names cannot end with Dot '.', or Space ''.

-- http://dubeyko.com/development/FileSystems/NTFS/ntfsdoc.pdf