Long filenames

By Thomas Underwood 🕣 Updated on August 12, 2025 at 8:30 am

While the path and filename inputs of all Actions of Automation Workshop are handled automatically, the Run CMD Command Action requires the use of "double quotes" when specifying the command line (in a similar manner as double quotes are used in the Windows command prompt itself).

History

Since the introduction of long filename (LFN) support, it became possible to use not only filenames longer than 8 characters but also many previously disallowed characters. Being a progressive shift and allowing for a much better organization of files and folders, long filenames also posed some challenges…

For example, the previously disallowed space character, which was used exclusively as a separator character, is now allowed as a part of a filename. This, in turn, requires a different method of separation between filenames and parameters.

Spaces & quotes

Now, whenever a filename or path contains space characters, it is necessary to use double quotes to delimit filenames (as well as command line parameters when they contain space characters). The use of quotes is optional in cases when no space characters are involved.

The Run CMD Command Action automatically adds double quotes to the filename input (e.g., when the browse button is used). However, there are essential situations when deciphering the intended syntax is not even remotely possible, e.g., when invoking a command in the command line (using the Run CMD Command Action).

Due to the very design of file naming schemes and their processing, it is not possible to automatically deal with the ambiguities inherent in command line specifications.

Example

An example of the C:\My Data\dump db.bat string that could potentially be delimited as…

• "C:\My" "Data\dump" "db.bat" · runs My with the params Data\dump and db.bat
• "C:\My" "Data\dump db.bat" · runs My with the param Data\dump db.bat
• "C:\My Data\dump" "db.bat" · runs dump with the param db.bat
• "C:\My Data\dump db.bat" · runs dump db.bat without any parameters

Summary

It is evident, thus, that a correct specification of parameters requires a necessary disambiguation of the command line input by quote-delimiting the elements appropriately. Even more, such disambiguation cannot be accomplished automatically on the basis of the formal processing of the command line input.

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