IMPORTANT: Syncplicity restricts the following characters for naming files and folders: \, /, <, >.
This article describes some suggested best practices for conservative file naming that can provide maximum cross-platform compatibility.
The objective of Syncplicity is to sync or backup any file possible. This means if a character is valid on Mac and it is not valid on Windows, it should still be accepted. This allows backup of any files, from any Mac or Windows, as well as the sharing of files as compatible environments. If you use a Windows or Mac restricted character, the folder or file will sync to Syncplicity; although, it will not sync to the OS that does not support it.
Sample naming conventions
If you have multiple operating systems tapping into Syncplicity, and you want to always ensure smooth cross-compatibility use the following naming conventions:
- All lower case
- No spaces
- No underscores (use hyphens as they are cross-compatible)
- Use the least number of characters (limit the length of your name to the maximum number of characters allowed for the operating system)
For example:
Folders
- SampleFolderName
- samplefoldername
- Sample-Folder-Name
- sample-folder-name
Files
- FileNameXYZ
- filenamexyz
- file-name-xyz
- File-Name-XYZ
Using characters
Use the most common characters when naming files. For example, your file names should follow naming rules in order to work on different operating systems such as Windows and Mac. If you use special characters in file or folders, such as \, /, <, or >, they may not be compatible across operating systems; therefore, most special characters should be avoided. The following information provides the characters that are reserved and should not be used in file names:
Windows
- < (Less than)
- > (Greater than)
- : (Colon)
- " (Double quote)
- / (Forward slash)
- \ (Backslash)
- | (Vertical bar or pipe)
- ? (Question mark)
- * (Asterisk)
Mac
- : (Colon)
- / (Forward-slash)
- \ (Backward-slash)
- | (Vertical bar or pipe)
MySite
The maximum number of characters supported in a Syncplicity top-level folder (syncpoint) name is 50.
- : (Colon)
- / (Forward-slash)
- \ (Backward-slash)
- | (Vertical bar or pipe)
- ? (Question mark)
- * (Asterisk)
- .. (quotation mark)
- ; (semi-colon)
- < (Less than)
- > (Greater than)