Long filename crashes user profile on PC

staplegun
We use Novell so our local userid-based profiles are copied up to the server each time we logoff WinXP. Twice my profile has refused to copy back down to my PC the next day, reporting a problem with a long filename in a zotero directory.

The filename is: "the-ultimate-small-business-marketing-toolkit-all-the-tips-forms-and-strategies-youll-ever-need-by-beth-goldstein-4214-thumbnail-2" Though this isn't something I have saved to my library.
  • dstillman
    Well, Zotero certainly isn't interested in small business marketing toolkits, so it is something you saved—but it was likely an ad file that was saved as part of a snapshot. You can probably figure out what snapshot it was by doing some searching in your Zotero data directory.

    Also, while this isn't a Zotero error, it'd be helpful to include the full error message you're getting, since it's not even clear what software is giving you the error.

    However, I'm not really sure what Zotero should do differently here. If the file saves correctly to begin with, it kind of ceases to be Zotero's problem. I suppose Zotero could support a filename length limit and automatically rename snapshot files longer than that, but this is the first report we've had of such a problem, so it wouldn't be a very high priority.
  • staplegun
    Thanks. Here's the error:

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    Windows cannot copy file \\_SERVER_\DATA\USR\_USERID_\Windows NT 5.1 Workstation Profile\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\919iaxiq.default\zotero\storage\GGMTJ26S\the-ultimate-small-business-marketing-toolkit-all-the-tips-forms-and-strategies-youll-ever-need-by-beth-goldstein-4214-thumbnail-2 to location C:\Documents and Settings\_USERID_\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\919iaxiq.default\zotero\storage\GGMTJ26S\the-ultimate-small-business-marketing-toolkit-all-the-tips-forms-and-strategies-youll-ever-need-by-beth-goldstein-4214-thumbnail-2. Possible causes of this error include network problems or insufficient security rights. If this problem persists, contact your network administrator.

    DETAIL - The filename or extension is too long.

    For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp
    --------------------------------
  • dstillman
    You might try relocating your Zotero data directory to a higher location in the filesystem—i.e., somewhere where it will have a shorter path. No guarantee that that will work, though.
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