We are aware of the issue with the badge emails resending to everyone, we apologise for the inconvenience - learn more here.

Forum Discussion

DS15's avatar
DS15
New member | Level 2
2 years ago

I cannot rename a file in the Dropbox folder

Good Morning Everyone   hope someone help me.   We use the dropbox from desktop file.   If I tried to re-name the file in the desktop, it doesn't let me change longer ( It used to b...
Desktop
Edit
Windows
DS15's avatar
DS15
New member | Level 2

HI Mark

 

Yes we are using Window. but my question is, we used to rename to certain length?. but now it doesn't let us rename even certain length

 

Thank you for your help

 

 

Hannah's avatar
Hannah
Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
2 years ago

Hey DS15, like Mark mentioned, there is a limitation to how long a file or folder path can be.

 

If you move the files somewhere higher in the folder hierarchy, you should be able to rename it.

 

For more info on naming files, you can see this article.

  • Jeff-C-SFL's avatar
    Jeff-C-SFL
    Helpful | Level 6
    9 months ago

    Hi,

    I'm having the same issue with long file names...

    Previously, there was no issue with the file name length. However after a re-install of the OS (other issue...) when the file store location was selected, Dropbox added a duplicate named sub directory. Now, many files are showing "file name too long" errors.

     

    What is more, I am not able to rename the files "in place" to a shorter truncated name (to accommodate the duplicate sub-directory length mentioned above), and cannot open files with out extra steps (>Moving the file to the desktop or something, >>renaming the file, and >>>placing the file back in it's original location).

    Also, I'm concerned that other users in our group may be having similar issues and do not understand the error and are not able to communicate the error for help...

    It seems that it is only with files located in Dropbox, that I am not able to: "Shorten the File Name" - In Place...

    (Note: I have a lot of data - all stored in the Cloud AND Locally - I would like to avoid downloading all that data again, if possible... (Lots of bandwidth usage, It's a lot of writing on the SSD, and the time is a concern.

    I definitely don't want to have to figure out file by file a renaming task...
    And yes, I want all the data Local and in the cloud. I have plenty of drive space on my device. Thanks! :- )

    Please advise.

    Thank you. 🙂

    • Hannah's avatar
      Hannah
      Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
      9 months ago

      Hey Jeff-C-SFL, thanks for your contribution to this thread.

       

      Indeed, file and folder paths have a certain character limit, which you can see more about here.

       

      However, can you clarify what you mean when you say that Dropbox added a duplicate named sub-directory after your OS was reinstalled?

About Delete, edit, and organize

Solve issues with deleting, editing, and organizing files and folders in your Dropbox account with support from the Dropbox Community.

Need more support

If you need more help you can view your support options (expected response time for an email or ticket is 24 hours), or contact us on X or Facebook.

For more info on available support options for your Dropbox plan, see this article.

If you found the answer to your question in this Community thread, please 'like' the post to say thanks and to let us know it was useful!