There has been some discussion about the file names from this site being too long. If you have any thoughts about the length, or info included in the file names from this site please leave your thoughts so we know how best to proceed.
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Windows usually limits file names to 260 characters.
But the file name must actually be shorter than that, since the complete path (such as C:\Program Files\filename.txt) is included in this character count. This is why you might occasionally encounter an error when copying a file with a very long file name to a location that has a longer path than its current location.
I download to C:\Users\User\Downloads\All_Scrapbooking FILES\DigitalScrapbook.com then add the kit name as a sub folder and marisa-lerin__3935__bottlecap-vietnam-03__personal-use to the equation and it makes a very long file name.
Hence, I am always altering file names to suit me.
I'm not sure if older versions of Windows have an even shorter number of characters required, as I think Windows 95 may have been the first version to handle the longer file names.
I have had a similar problem a few times and just changed the commercial use and personal use to show _pu or _cu at the very end. This always seems to fix it for me allowing enough room. I especially run into the problem more often if I'm trying to save the files to my external hard drive. Maybe it has a few extra characters directing it to the correct drive away from my "C" drive??? Below are two examples for my files at the site.
This is the file name for a template for me:
C:\Users\shawna\Downloads\_Digital Scrapping Stuff\DigitalScrapbook.com\_Templates - Layout\marisa-lerin__2107__mothers-day-layout-template__personal-use
This is the file name for the Bedouin Nights kit & a lowercase brown alpha letter for me:
C:\Users\shawna\Downloads\_Digital Scrapping Stuff\DigitalScrapbook.com\1012 Bedouin Nights\Alphas_Glitter\Brown\Lowercase\l-a copy
Because I organize several folders deep, i.e. Scrapbooking>Digiscrap>Designing>MarisaLerin>PaperOverlays>(ItemName) sometimes my computer says that the name/path is too long. So I have been changing the names of all your items to just MarisaL then the info, (removing all the double underscore or hyphens), then changing Personal Use or Commercial Use to just PU or CU (these seem to be pretty much accepted abbreviations and it sure shortens the name so my computer will let me store it where I want.
I would love it if you could shorten just those two designations to CU or PU on your files, as most of the time that would be all the change needed to make them work on my computer.
I use Renamer (you can download this little program for free)
I only use PU on files from designers like Marisa who do both PU and CU items...and where I get loose (not in kits) files. If I label those then I can keep the designer's stuff together but know at a glance if I can use it in designing. I try to rename everything that is commercial use (or at the very least the kit folder) with the CU so I can search for them if I can't find an item I know I have but can't remember the designer, or if I need something specific for a kit I am designing. It really helps when you have over 2 TB of digital files!
I also add my little code (CrReq, NoFr, ALT, etc.) to the designer folders with CU to indicate if it can be used for Freebies, if credit is required, if it has to be altered before use etc. This makes it easier to find what I want also, but there again it makes the name longer...hence the need to try to keep the name as short as possible.
I do not need all the colors of the item in the name, and usually shorten that also to just the main color to desiginate it from a similiar item in another color. I do love when designers give their elements a number code. It helps to group the same item in different colors together and lets you shorten the name without having to get too creative, i.e. if the name is flower-blue-white-buttoncenter and I want to shorten it to flower-blue I might have several with that name. But if it is flower26-blue-white-buttoncenter and I shorten it to flower26-blue it is unique. And if I have the same flower in red then it would be flower36-red and would thus automatically group next to the blue one in my folder, which I like because then I can see all the like elements in the different colors.
I am now trying to get through all of my own CU items and rename them like this so that when I use them in my kits others will not have to rename if they group my stuff together.
Thanks for all you do for us Marisa. I love the new site.
Hmm, what the girls have said about shortening some of the file names like cu and pu makes sense. I've never had a problem with long file names, but I'm on a mac and it sounds like a lot of you are on pc. I really like all the info the file name gives yet - I'm a go-with-the flow kinda girl so I'm truly fine with whatever
Okay, I've shortened up the file names of downloaded files.
marisa-lerin__5638__item-name__personal-use.png
vs.
marisa-lerin_5638_item-name_pu.png
Hopefully that helps people with deep folder structures