From: Hans-Bernhard Broeker <broeker AT acp3bf DOT physik DOT rwth-aachen DOT de>
Newsgroups: comp.os.msdos.djgpp
Subject: Re: Short file names
Date: 25 Feb 2000 03:44:53 GMT
Organization: Aachen University of Technology (RWTH)
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Mariano Alvarez Fernández <malfer AT teleline DOT es> wrote:
> Hello, do somebody know how to get/set the short file name in w9x when
> you are using LFN's?

In a nutshell: you *don't*. Short filenames are automatically
generated by the system, and you're not given any influence over that
process, except that you can disable *all* short file names gettting
that pesky '~1' tail, even if they don't need them (see the
'NameNumericTails' trick). This is a rather severe design flaw in
Windows' long filename implementation, IMHO. It causes all kinds of
weird behaviour, inside Windows itself, too.

> I want that, to make a simple migrate utility. Last week a friend bought
> a new hard disk and he wanted to migrate all his files to the new drive.
> I did that:
[...]
> But there was a problem, some short file names wasn't the
> same, and some programs didn't work. 

Ever wondered why most backup programs aren't able to backup and successfully
restore a working Windows 9x system? You've just found the reason.
You need tools like 'DOSLFNBK' that store all the relations between long
and short filenames, in special files, and only then can you copy the 
whole stuff, and use DOSLFNBK again to restore the long file names.

-- 
Hans-Bernhard Broeker (broeker AT physik DOT rwth-aachen DOT de)
Even if all the snow were burnt, ashes would remain.