Enable Long Paths on Windows 11: Earlier versions of Windows had File path Character Restrictions of 260 characters for compatibility reasons. Microsoft addressed this issue on Windows 10 and continued it to Windows 11 by increasing the file and folder paths to 32767 characters using Long Paths. In this article, we will explore how to enable Long paths on Windows 11 using various methods. Let's get started.
Errors related to the File / Folder Paths Character Limitations on Windows 11 (Error 0x80010135)
Error 0x80010135 is a Windows File Operation Error that usually appears when we try to extract, copy, or move a file whose path is too long for Windows or the application handling it. Windows limits the path length to 260 characters for compatibility reasons. However, from Windows 10 onwards, you can overcome this error by enabling Long Paths on your Windows Operating System.
Different Methods to Enable Long Paths on Windows 11
- Toggle Long Paths on Windows 11 using Windows Settings [GUI]
- Turn on Long Paths using the Windows Registry Editor [Regedit]
The most convenient way to enable Long Paths on Windows 11 is to use the Windows Settings.
Toggle Long Paths on Windows 11 using Windows Settings [Recommended Method]
- Go to the Windows Settings using the keyboard shortcut WinKey + I.
- In the Windows Settings, from the left pane, click on System Settings.
- Under System, scroll down and locate Advanced. Select Advanced Settings.
- You can find various settings there, including options for the Taskbar, Virtual Workspaces, and File Explorer. Under the File Explorer section, you’ll see an option called “Enable long paths.”
- Enabling the Long paths option will remove MAX_PATH limitations from common Win32 file and directory functions. Toggle Long paths to ON.
- That’s it! You’ve successfully removed the file and folder path length restriction on Windows 11.
Enable Long Paths on Windows 11 using Windows Registry Editor [Regedit]
If you have any issues following the above method, or if you can't find the option on the Windows Settings, you can use Windows Registry Editor and enable Long Paths on Windows 11. Here are the steps.
- Open the Run Command using the keyboard shortcut WinKey + R.
- In the Run, execute the following command regedit.
- This action will open Windows Registry Editor after User Account Control confirmation.
- In the Windows Registry Editor, navigate to the following path
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem
- In the main panel, you can find a lot of Registry Values. Locate LongPathsEnabled from the list.
- Right-click on LongPathsEnabled and click Modify.
- Edit D-WORD (32-bit) value of LongPathsEnabled will pop up now. Change the Value Data from 0 to 1 and then click OK.
- Change Value Data to 1 and click OK.
- Once the changes are made, it is recommended to restart your system. Kindly save your work and restart your Windows 11 PC.
- Long Paths is now enabled using Windows Registry Editor.
Takeaway
Long Paths on Windows 11 breaks down the traditional 260-character limit for file and folder path structures, allowing smooth file operations and better compatibility with modern applications. However, some old programs may still not support long paths on Windows 11.