SharePoint file path too long checker: test before you move

On the file server, or a PC with the share mapped, open Windows PowerShell and run one line. Change S:\ to the folder you plan to move.

Get-ChildItem -LiteralPath "S:\" -Recurse -Force | Select-Object FullName | Export-Csv -Path "$env:USERPROFILE\Desktop\folder-list.csv" -NoTypeInformation -Encoding UTF8

• -Force includes hidden and system files, which are left out otherwise.
• -Encoding UTF8 keeps accented letters. Windows PowerShell 5.1 saves CSV as ASCII unless told otherwise.
• -NoTypeInformation drops the “#TYPE” line. The tool skips that line if it is there.

Drop folder-list.csv from your desktop into the tool. A plain text file with one full path per line works too, and so does pasting.

Each path is rebuilt as it will look after the move, then measured:

• SharePoint length = library and folder + / + the path below the folder being moved.
• Synced length = the synced library folder on a PC + any folder after the library name + the same path.

Folders with no line of their own in the list are checked too.

Then it flags:

• Over 400 in SharePoint. Microsoft’s limit for the entire decoded path, including the file name. Every character counts, including slashes and spaces.
• Over 400 once encoded. Microsoft says spaces and special characters count in their encoded form (a space becomes %20), so these are worth a second look.
• Over 260 when synced. Word, Excel, PowerPoint and File Explorer on Windows can’t open a path longer than 260 characters.
• Blocked characters: " * : < > ? |
• Blocked names: .lock, CON, PRN, AUX, NUL, COM0 to COM9, LPT0 to LPT9, desktop.ini, names starting with ~$, and _vti_ anywhere in a name.
• “Forms” at the top of a library, and names that start or end with a space.
• # or % in a name, which some organizations don’t support yet.

• Shorten folders near the top first. One shorter client folder name shortens every path below it. The “Where the long paths are” table shows which folders to start with.
• Size the synced folder for the longest user name. The synced path starts with the user’s own folder, so the same file can fit on one PC and fail on another.
• Links to other workbooks. Excel formulas that point at a renamed or moved file stop updating. In Excel, open Data > Queries and Connections > Workbook Links and use Change source after the move.
• Hidden files. desktop.ini and ~$ files are on Microsoft’s blocked list. Leave them out of the move.

Rename on the server before the move, while everyone still knows where things are. Our field guide on moving a file server to SharePoint covers the rest of the plan.