Path Field Limits (CRT)

Path Field Limits

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Microsoft Visual Studio 2005/.NET Framework 2.0

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Run-Time Library Reference

Path Field Limits

#include <stdlib.h>

Remarks

These constants define the maximum length for the path and for the individual fields within the path.

Constant	Meaning
_MAX_DIR	Maximum length of directory component
_MAX_DRIVE	Maximum length of drive component
_MAX_EXT	Maximum length of extension component
_MAX_FNAME	Maximum length of filename component
_MAX_PATH	Maximum length of full path


Note The C Runtime supports path lengths up to 32768 characters in length, but it is up to the operating system, specifically the file system, to support these longer paths. The sum of the fields should not exceed _MAX_PATH for full backwards compatibility with Windows 98 FAT32 file systems. Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, Windows XP Home Edition, Windows XP Professional, Windows Server 2003, and Windows Server 2003 NTFS file system supports paths up to 32768 characters in length, but only when using the Unicode APIs. When using long path names, prefix the path with the characters \\?\ and use the Unicode versions of the C Runtime functions.

Note The C Runtime supports path lengths up to 32768 characters in length, but it is up to the operating system, specifically the file system, to support these longer paths. The sum of the fields should not exceed _MAX_PATH for full backwards compatibility with Windows 98 FAT32 file systems. Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, Windows XP Home Edition, Windows XP Professional, Windows Server 2003, and Windows Server 2003 NTFS file system supports paths up to 32768 characters in length, but only when using the Unicode APIs. When using long path names, prefix the path with the characters \\?\ and use the Unicode versions of the C Runtime functions.

Reference

Global Constants