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 FAT32 file systems. Windows 2000, Windows XP Home Edition, Windows XP Professional, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003, and Windows Vista 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.

See Also

Reference

Global Constants