You can run a PowerShell script to find the long path name.
Otherwise, use an application (eg. Tree Size) to generate a report
I'm not 100% sure, but there appears to be a pattern if a file exceeds the 260 character full path limit, Windows File Explorer stops counting and returns only what it has counted so far.
In the past, I have hunted down files buried deep in an extended file structure, and renamed files with very long file names to shorter file names and the problem went away. The problem is that there is nothing that indicates the order that Windows File Explorer is going through the files when adding things up, so you can't tell where it left off when the process that does the counting crashes. Users cann't find the file names that are too long.
Five things that would be helpful would be:
1)
- If Microsoft increased the size of the fields in the Windows Explorer module that does the counting to accomodate longer full path files names. (So it does not crash and return a smaller erroneous count).
- Put in an error message with the full path of the file name when it comes across a file with a full path that exceeds the file length limits causing it to stop counting. (Gives a user a hint as to where to start looking to shorten a file path/name)
- Show a message in the properties that it stopped counting at a particular file name (provide full path) instead of showing inaccurate data.
- Add a feature in Windows Explorer Extended Search that allowed you to search for all file names with full path file names that were above a certain number of characters. I would like to be able to go through and shorten everything to under 230 in case I move the entire root folder to another drive and put it in a folder that causes a longer pathname. To do that, I need a way to find everything that has over a 230 character full file pathname.
- Have a message appear if you are moving files or folders that are higher in a folder structure down into a folder that is lower in a folder structure if the full path that was short enough before now becomes too long. I am okay having to go in to shorten files that have full paths that are too long. I have over 80,000 files in over 2,500 folders. I need a way to find the handful of files that have path and file names that are too long.