File Length Query

When I want to see if a path is getting close to the path name limit, I copy & paste the full folder path into a blank Word document (I use Word 2010),  then I click on the Review tab.  Under the Proofing section of the Review tab, click on the "Word Count" button: that will tell you the number of characters with & without spaces.

In Word 2003 & earlier, I think you could find that Word Count item under the Tools menu.

Word actually just gives you the word count in the bottom left of the screen and has since Word 2007, opposite the zoom controls. If you don't see it by default you may have turned off the feature somehow.

Here's how you can check the length in powershell for a file or path:

First, create a variable in powershell:

$path = c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts

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Then, find the length of your variable:

$path.length

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If you would like to script this to check all the files in a directory, try this:

$files = gci c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc | select -ExpandProperty name

foreach($file in $files){

$filelength = $file.length

echo "$file, $filelength"

}

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Brad,

I wasn't talking about the word count displayed in the status bar at the bottom: there is no way that I know of to make that display the character count.

To see the full word & character count, paste the path of the file into Word. Then, click on the "Review" tab and then click on the "Word Count" button to see the full Word Count statistics. This will include the number of characters with & without spaces. This is a screenshot from a full Word document, so the count is way over the path name limit, of course:

I will try your suggestions and let you know guys :), but due to the amount of files and folders the word document one wouldnt be the best solution.