Even now, putting a space in the name of a file that is destined to be on a website URL isn’t a good idea. And so, some people will put underscores (_) or hyphens ➖ instead of spaces in filenames
to help avoid these issues
. Because then they don’t have to quote their paths on the command line.
Why do file names use underscore?
On the web, spaces are typically replaced with “%20” in URLs, and some browsers will ‘throw away’ anything after a space. Use the underscore symbol (_) or dash (-) in
between words to represent a space
, or use CamelCase and omit spaces from your file names altogether.
When naming files you should use underscores instead of spaces?
Don’t start or end your filename with a space, period, hyphen, or underline. Keep your filenames to a reasonable length and be sure they are under 31 characters. Most operating systems are case sensitive; always use lowercase.
Avoid using spaces
and underscores; use a hyphen instead.
Why is it better not to use spaces in a file name?
It is extremely cumbersome to handle space escaping correctly over multiple levels of scripting languages. So
if there is any chance that your program is supposed to be compiled by a Makefile-based build system
, don’t use spaces in your filenames.
Should file names have dashes or underscores?
Naming guidelines
Make file and directory names lowercase. In general, separate
words with hyphens, not underscores
. Use only standard ASCII alphanumeric characters in file and directory names.
Do file names take up space?
So, to answer you question, when the file system
is created there is no space reserved for file names
, but once you create a file NAME_MAX bytes are reserved for the name.
Is underscore a symbol?
An underscore is a symbol that looks like
“_” a long hyphen positioned at the bottom of the line
. If you’ve wondered what the same of this symbol is, you know probably: it’s called underscore. It might be that you usually not use it but this symbol most works when you write an email or when you deal with computer code.
What can I use instead of underscore?
Yes, Google does have a preference! Google recommends using
hyphens
instead of underscores in your URLs. This is because using hyphens instead of underscores makes it easier for Google’s web crawler to compute the information that your website has and create consistent results.
Can Linux file names have spaces?
4 Answers. Spaces, and indeed
every character except / and NUL, are allowed in filenames
. The recommendation to not use spaces in filenames comes from the danger that they might be misinterpreted by software that poorly supports them.
What is the best file naming convention?
- Files should be named consistently.
- File names should be short but descriptive (<25 characters) (Briney, 2015)
- Avoid special characters or spaces in a file name.
- Use capitals and underscores instead of periods or spaces or slashes.
- Use date format ISO 8601: YYYYMMDD.
Can you have spaces in file paths?
Spaces are
allowed in long filenames or paths
, which can be up to 255 characters with NTFS.
Do long file names cause problems?
If a file’s full path length is too long, you
may not be able to access the file
and a server may not be able to back it up or even find it. Recently, a designer I know tried to copy a file. He got an access denied error. Then he tried to edit the file, and again, was denied access.
How do I remove spaces in Windows filenames?
- Copy all the files you want to rename without spaces in a single folder.
- Create a new text file in the same folder and paste the following script in the text file: @echo off. …
- Save the text file and change the extension of the text file from . txt to . …
- Now double click the .
Are dashes OK in file names?
There are really
only two non-alphanumeric characters
that you should use in naming your files: dashes and underscores. Dashes are preferred for a couple of reasons.
What kinds of characters should be avoided in file names?
Punctuation, symbols, or special characters (
periods, commas, parentheses, ampersands, asterisks, etc.
) should be avoided. Some of these symbols are used in operating systems to perform certain tasks, such as to identify folder levels in Microsoft products and Mac operating systems.
What is a valid file name?
Supported characters for a file name are
letters, numbers, spaces, and ( ) _ –
, . *Please note file names should be limited to 100 characters. Characters that are NOT supported include, but are not limited to: @ $ % & / : * ? ” ‘ < > | ~ ` # ^ + = { } [ ] ; !
