circumvent 8.3 DBF names? (A2003)

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Is there any workaround for the 8.3 filename limitation for linking to .DBF files? (other than renaming the file!)

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Not as far as I know – it appears to be hard-coded!

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Yeah, I was afraid of that. Usually I can work around it, but in this particular case the file is already used by some other processes, and renaming would be a problem. Drat.

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Depending on the OS of the PC where the file is located, it may have a pseudo 8.3 file name that you could use. If you open a command window and do the DIR command, it may show it to you. The other option would be to copy the file on a regular basis (assuming that is is being updated from another system) and rename it to the 8.3 standard – ugly approach of course.

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Short filenames… great idea, but no joy. They are not present in the folder under Vista or XPPro. Is there a way to force them to be created? I could not find anything after a few minutes of Googling.

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If you open a command prompt window and use DIR to display the list of files with the /X switch, you’ll see the 8.3 names, e,g,

dir c:databases /x

Here is an extract of a directory listing without /X:

FileDialogs.mdb
FileOpen97.zip
FileOpenDialog.mdb
FileOpenXP.mdb
Fill Listbox.mdb
FixedLinesReport.mdb
FontAndColorDialogs.mdb

and the same with the /X switch:

FILEDI~1.MDB
FILEOP~1.ZIP
FILEOP~1.MDB
FILEOP~2.MDB
FILLLI~1.MDB
FIXEDL~1.MDB
FONTAN~1.MDB

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Great catch Hans! I was a little dubious that it would work on NTFS file systems under Vista or Win2003 server, but it works like a champ!

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Hans and Wendell

Woo hoo!!! Once again, you guys amaze me with the depth of your knowledge and willingness to help. I’ve been putting up with this stupid limitation of Access for as long as I’ve been using ESRI shapefiles. My solution has always been to rename the shapefiles with 8.3 names. Now, with this little trick, I can use long filenames for the shapefiles, and simply link Access to the “hidden” shortfilename. It’s such an easy and (dare I say it!) elegant solution. Done in the true spirit of a workaround!

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