In the Windows operating system, it will be difficult for an ordinary user to give her specific names when creating a new folder, because they are prohibited. We will take a closer look at how folders cannot be named in Windows and why.
What are the names for folders prohibited in "Windows"
In the operating system, you cannot create folders with the names CON, PRN, NUL, and so on. This prohibition is due to the fact that such directory names are reserved for use in certain system tasks and processes. Of course, if you especially wish, you can make a folder with a name reserved in Windows using the command line or a space code. A complete list of how to not name folders in Windows is as follows:
- CON;
- PRN
- AUX
- NUL;
- COM with a digit at the end from 0 to 9;
- LPT with a digit at the end from 0 to 9.
Also, you will not be able to create a folder or file whose name will contain one or more of such characters as less and more characters (>, <), a question mark (?), A colon (:), quotation marks (""), an asterisk (*), slash or slash (/), backslash (\), vertical dash (|), and some others.
Next, we consider in detail the situation when some people still manage to make such a directory, despite the fact that you can’t call folders in Windows that way .
How to give a directory a reserved name
Although it is very difficult to name the CON or PRN folder in the Windows operating system directly, there are two workarounds:
- Use space.
- To resort to the help of the command line.
Let's consider each of the ways in a bit more detail.
The system does not allow a file or folder name to contain only a space or end with a space. But you can use the alt and 255 key combination to create an invisible character before the name con or prn.
To give the reserved name to the directory the second way, run the command line, where we type, for example, md \\. \ C: \ aux. Congratulations, a folder named "AUX" will appear on your C drive. You can view it in Explorer, but you cannot delete it. To delete the directory, you have to resort to the command line again, where you need to register the following: rd \\. \ C: \ aux. Experts do not recommend creating folders with names reserved in the system, since you will not get any sense from this. Perhaps you can surprise your comrades or a girl in the knowledge of information technology, but nothing more.
Next, we will examine in detail why the folder cannot be called CON or another name reserved in the system.
Why you should not give directories the names Con, Prn, Aux, Com1 and so on
Above was a complete list of names that should not be given to folders and names. The reason why folders cannot be named like this in Windows, as a rule, is because these keywords have been reserved since MS-DOS. For example, the name CON should not be given to a folder or file, since this is an abbreviation for console - a console for entering data. It is intended for an internal command of the operating system that calls the console on the computer screen. Although many resources on the World Wide Web claim that it was the nickname of Bill Gates, which he strongly disliked in his youth.
Other names were reserved by the same principle: prn - abbreviation for the printer, aux - system speaker, COM and LPT - serial and parallel ports.
So now you know how to name folders in Windows and why.