What is a file path?
Similar to an address for a building, a file path specifies where a file is located within your data room. A file path is created using the name of the file, as well as the names of all the higher-level folders in which the file is contained.
For example, if you have File A located within Folder X that's located within your data room named Due Diligence, the file path for File A would be: Due Diligence/Folder X/File A
A file path is necessary for computer systems to know where exactly to find a file in your device.
"File path too long" error
If you see a "File path too long" error for a file, this means the file path for this specific file has exceeded the 200-characters limit set by most computer operating systems (e.g. Windows OS, MacOS).
While this error will not affect file viewing for you or your data room guests, it will prevent the file from being properly downloaded (e.g. when exporting your data room) to your computer.
Only the file owner is able to see the "File path too long" error in the data room. Guests do not see this error.
How to avoid or resolve this error
As the file path contains the names of the file and all the higher-level folders in which the file is contained (including the data room name), shortening any or all of those names will help to resolve the error.
To see the file's file path, you may enter the data room > Settings > Export > Export File Index. The exported File Index will include the file paths for each file in your data room under the column titled "Path".
We recommend the following steps:
First, try shortening the file name as much as possible.
If the error persists, shorten the name of the folders in which the file is contained, including higher-level folders.
If the error still persists, consider shortening your data room name.
The recommended length for data room, folder and file names is a maximum of 30 characters.