How to Delete Files With Long Names [Easy Steps & Tips]

Third-party file manager may help you delete the long file names

5 min. read

Updated onOctober 4, 2023

updated onOctober 4, 2023

Share this article

Improve this guide

Read our disclosure page to find out how can you help Windows Report sustain the editorial teamRead more

Key notes

Have you ever run into a file name that was too long to delete or afile extension that was superfluous? This can happen when you’re removing an old file or editing a new file with a long title. Some files in Windows are strange. You may find that the file name is too long to delete or rename.

If this sounds familiar, we’re here to lift that burden. You don’t have to be stuck with a file you want to get rid of. In this article, we shed more light on how to delete files with long names.

What are long file names?

Long file names are file names that exceed the maximum length of 255 characters. You can use long file names as long as you want, but you must be careful to avoid problems when naming your files.

If you try to save a file with a long filename, Windows will automatically truncate the name to 255 characters or less and then save it to disk. A long filename that is too big for Windows to store on disk will result in an error when the user tries to use that file.

Long file names can be used for several reasons:

There are many reasons that can prevent you from deleting files with long names. These include:

How do I delete files that are too long?

Before you proceed with any of these steps, we recommend you check the following:

1. Use a third-party file manager

Deleting long file names is a tedious task. It can be done using an automated tool or manually, but the latter is more time-consuming and cumbersome.

A third-party file manager is a great way to delete long file names from your computer. It will allow you to search for and select the files you want to keep, as well as delete them all at once.

Aomei Partition Assistant Professionalis a third-party file manager that can be used to manage files and folders in your system. It is also one of the best partitioning software available on the market, so you can easily see what you are doing.

AOMEI Partition Assisstant Professional

2. Rename the file

While this method works most of the time, some file names are stubborn and won’t delete. For instance, when you try to delete a PDF with a long file name, you may be unsuccessful since most PDFs don’t allow any edits.

You can choose toinstall PDF editor softwareto help you edit the file but most of them are paid for. The free ones may be able to help but a majority of them come with basic features. If this works, you should be able to delete the file but if it doesn’t, proceed to the next step.

3. Delete via Command Prompt

Hopefully, one of these methods has been able to help you get rid of the long file name that wouldn’t delete. Aside from file names, you may also havetrouble deleting a folder. If you encounter such an issue, don’t hesitate to check out our expert article on the same.

For any additional thoughts, leave us a comment down below.

How to Delete Files With Long Names [Easy Steps & Tips]#

What are long file names?#

How do I delete files that are too long?#

1. Use a third-party file manager#

AOMEI Partition Assisstant Professional#

2. Rename the file#

3. Delete via Command Prompt#