How to Enable Long Paths on Windows 11?

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)

File Folder Path too long, Max Path Limit

Error 0x80010135 is a Windows File Operation Erro r 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.

Information on the Go!

The longPathAware element is a setting inside a Windows application’s manifest file that tells Windows the program can safely handle file and folder paths longer than 260 characters. If an application doesn’t include this element, it will still be subject to the old 260-character limit even if you’ve enabled long paths globally in Windows.

Different Methods to Enable Long Paths on Windows 11

1. Toggle Long Paths on Windows 11 using Windows Settings [GUI]
2. 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.

System Settings

• Under System , scroll down and locate Advanced. Select Advanced Settings.

Advanced System 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.”

Locate 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.

Enable Long Paths on Windows 11

• 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.

Run Windows Registry Editor Command

• 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

Navigate to the following path

• In the main panel, you can find a lot of Registry Values. Locate LongPathsEnabled from the list.
• Right-click on LongPathsEnabled and click Modify.

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.

Can’t Find the LongPathsEnabled Registry Value in your Windows Registry Editor?

If you are not able to find the LongPathsEnabled Registry Value in the File System, then don’t worry, here are the steps to fix this problem.

• In the Windows Registry Editor, navigate to the following path HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem

Navigate to the following path

• Once you are on the path, right-click on the main panel, and click hover over New , and then click on DWORD (32-bit) Value.

Create a new DWORD 32-bit Value

• New Value would be created. Rename it as LongPathsEnabled.

Rename the newly created value to LongPathsEnabled

• Open the created file by double-clicking on that.
• In the Value data , replace its value from zero to one.

Change Value Data to 1

• Finally, click OK.
• That’s it. LongPathsEnabled Registry Value is created, enabled, and saved. Close the Windows Registry Editor , and then restart your PC.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Windows have a 260-character limit?

This limit dates back to older versions of Windows and DOS for compatibility reasons. Many older applications were written assuming file paths would never exceed 260 characters.

How can I check if long paths are enabled using Windows PowerShell?

You can use the following command in PowerShell. Get-ItemProperty -Path “HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem” | Select-Object LongPathsEnabled

Long Paths is enabled and still not working on Windows 11?

This can happen due to various reasons.

1. The application may not support Long Paths.
2. You may have to restart your PC, as the changes haven’t taken effect yet.
3. File Path still exceeds the true limit. For Network or UNC paths, some tools, such as PowerShell and Explorer, have their own practical limits.
4. Cloud Storage Services may have their own path length limits.

Long Paths on One Drive Folder not working on Windows 11?

Cloud Storage Services like OneDrive will force their own restrictions on the path length for various reasons. However, you can overcome Long Paths on One Drive Folder not working issue by using tweaks such as Shorten Folder Names, Move OneDrive Folder Higher in Path, Use Shorter Sync Paths for Shared Libraries, and more.

Take Away

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.

Have Queries?

The above article provides various methods to enable Long Paths on Windows 11. We hope you are satisfied with our article. If you have any queries , please let us know in the comments. For more interesting Windows 11 Tweaks, stay tuned to Winsides.com. Happy Computing! Peace out!