Good Stuff to Know About SharePoint Files, Folders, URLs, Sites and the Like
When working with SharePoint, one question that comes up often is what are the restrictions on file names, folders, and URLs. I have been gathering information from various Microsoft resources to compile a list. The following applies to WSS 2.0, WSS 3.0, SPS 2003, and MOSS 2007.
File & Folder Restrictions
- You cannot use the characters ” # % & * : < > ? \ / { | } ~ in a file or folder name.
- A file or folder name in a URL cannot contain more than 128 characters in WSS 2.0/3.0 and MOSS.
- You cannot start or end a file name or folder with a period. For example, .MyFile.docx and MyFile.docx. are both invalid names.
- Periods are not allowed consecutively in the middle of a file or folder name. For example, My..Project.file is not a valid name.
URL Restrictions
- The maximum length for a URL in Windows SharePoint is 260 characters. However, I suggest you do not use URLs longer than 256 so users can include the links in the links list, as mentioned in Miscellaneous section below.
Site Restrictions
- You cannot use the characters ” # % & * : < > ? \ / { | } ~ in a site name.
- You cannot start a site name with an underscore. For example, _MySite is not a valid name for a site or a subsite.
- Periods are not allowed consecutively in the middle of a site name. For example, My..Site is not a valid name.
- You cannot start or end a site name with a period. For example, .MySite and MySite. are both invalid names.
Document Libraries
- If you use one of the following characters in a Document Library they will be removed: Comma, hyphen, period, left and right parenthesis ().
Miscellaneous Tips
- Do not use underscores in a site name. Although allowed, Microsoft discourages it.
- Link list items cannot be more than 256 characters.
- If you want to restrict users from creating site names that are too long and will cause problems, you can use the site creation management Web part from Bamboo.
- Blocked file uploads can be easily bypassed in SharePoint by simply renaming the file. For example, report.exe can be easily uploaded by renaming it to report.exz. You will be able to save it to another location and then rename it back. However, you won’t be able to execute it on the server because it will be blocked by SharePoint.
- ForeFront Security for SharePoint will block files based on their content.
- Former MVP and now Microsoft employee Angus Logan has a method to validate SharePoint file names on upload.
May 13th, 2009 at 1:21 am
Could you tell me, why Sharepoint does not allow hyphen in document library?
Is there some kind of WHY?
May 14th, 2009 at 10:59 am
Hi Fredrik,
That’s a good question and I don’t know the answer.
Hyphens are allowed in URLs so you would think they should not be a problem in a Document Library name. By “not allowed” I mean that you are able to create Document Libraries with hyphens (even commas) but in the URL SharePoint removes the hyphen (for whatever reason) but leaves the hyphen in the title name.
If I find the answer to your question I will post it here.
July 17th, 2009 at 4:48 pm
Good article. I added you in the ‘Liked’ category.. thanks for sharing the article!
November 5th, 2009 at 11:06 pm
Good article , I added you in the ‘Liked’ category.. thanks for sharing the article!
June 21st, 2011 at 8:35 pm
Great post. While doing some SharePoint development, I hit this brick wall with a hyphen in a document library name and thought my code was wrong. Little did I know that this was by design. Thanks. You’ve saved me hours, if not days, of debugging time.
June 21st, 2011 at 8:55 pm
Phil,
I am glad I was able to save you some debugging time.
August 24th, 2011 at 4:53 am
Is there any work around to allow Link list items to be more than 256 characters?
August 24th, 2011 at 3:08 pm
I am not aware of any workaround to allow Link list to be more than 256 characters.
November 2nd, 2011 at 1:19 pm
Did anybody come to know why “Hyphens” are not allowed in List/Library name. Why it is removed by SharePoint if used. On the other note, I see an inconsistency in this behavior. In one environment, it removes “Hyphen” in the document library name but when I check the same behavior in other environment it works fine. It doesn’t remove “Hyphen” in document library name. Strange!!!