Error: “SharePoint document failed to download (The specified path, file name, or both are too long)…”

Applies to:

  • Revu 20
  • Revu 2019

Jump to other versions:

While a recent SharePoint update has made it possible to raise file path character limits, Revu is currently not compatible with file paths longer than 260 characters.

Problem

When attempting to access a SharePoint file within Bluebeam Revu, the following message appears:

SharePoint document failed to download. (The specified path, file name, or both are too long. The fully qualified file name must be less than 260 characters, and the directory name must be less than 248 characters.)

Cause

Revu currently supports a 260 character limit for file paths, which is comprised of the folder path plus the file name. When a SharePoint-hosted PDF is opened in Revu, the file is copied to a “SharePoint Drafts” folder on your PC. Before Revu can search the folder path where the document is located, it first needs to visit:

C:Users{your-username}DocumentsSharePoint Drafts

Therefore, if the the folder path above plus the file name for your document exceeds 260 characters, you will receive an error message. For more information on site names, folder names, and file names in SharePoint, please visit the Microsoft site.

Solution

Ensure that your full file path does not exceed 260 characters by using the following methods:

  • Shorten the file name.
  • Shorten the folder path.
  • Move the file to a folder higher in the folder structure.

Integrations & Plugins

Troubleshooting

Revu 20

Revu 2019

Revu 2018

Error Message

Other versions of this article

Revu 2017 and older

Summary

You receive an error when opening SharePoint files that says your file name is too long.

Relevant Products

Bluebeam Revu


Problem

While a recent SharePoint update has made it possible to raise file path character limits, Revu is currently not compatible with file paths longer than 260 characters.

You’re trying to access a SharePoint file within Bluebeam Revu and the following message appears:

SharePoint document failed to download. (The specified path, file name, or both are too long. The fully qualified file name must be less than 260 characters, and the directory name must be less than 248 characters.)

Why Does this Happen

SharePoint uses the same rules for file names and folder paths as the Windows operating system, which places a 260 character limit on the combined length of the file name and its complete folder path. The 260 character count is comprised of a maximum 248 characters for the file path, plus the number of characters used in the file name. This includes the drive letter or server name, colon, backslashes, spaces, folder names, the file name, file extension, the dot that appears before the extension, and an additional hidden character.

Whenever you open a PDF that’s hosted in SharePoint into Revu, the file and its parent folder structure is copied to a folder on your hard drive called “SharePoint Drafts” located within your Windows user profile. This means Revu needs to go to C:Users{your-username}DocumentsSharePoint Drafts before it can search the folder path where the document is located. This increases the character count because it also includes the path from the root of your C drive (C:) to the SharePoint Drafts folder, as explained in the following example.

Only the folder structure and document you’re accessing are copied to your local hard drive. All of the folders are in fact empty, except for the final folder which only contains the documents you’ve opened or checked out.

Checking the Numbers

Let’s look at an example of a user with a Windows login name of jdavis who is opening a PDF file from SharePoint named E101 Sheet Set Plan.pdf. The location of the file within the SharePoint repository is spvmZZtest library 1Valley College ProjectSheets…Electrical. Let’s assume that the total character count for this folder path, including the server name (spvmZZ), is 232 characters. When you add the number of characters in the file name E101 Sheet Set Plan.pdf, the combined total is 255 for the SharePoint folder path plus the file name.

Whenever this file is opened or checked out, a copy of the document and all folders in the folder path are copied to C:UsersjdavisDocumentsSharePoint Drafts, which is 44 characters long. This now extends the length of the combined folder path and file name to 299 characters, which exceeds the limit imposed by Windows by 39 characters.

Please refer to additional information from Microsoft regarding special character usage in site names, folder names, and file names in SharePoint.

Solution

To resolve this issue, you should consider moving the SharePoint Drafts folder to the root of your C: drive by resetting the Server Drafts Location within the Options dialog in Microsoft Word.

To reset the Server Drafts Location:

  1. Open Revu and make sure that you’ve checked in all of your SharePoint files, or at least canceled any checkouts.
  2. Close Revu.
  3. Open Microsoft Word and click File > Options.
  4. Select Save from the list on the left.
  5. Go to the Offline editing options for document management server files section, and change the Server drafts location to C:SharePoint Drafts.
  6. Click OK.

SharePoint will now use this version of the SharePoint Drafts folder.

 

 

Troubleshooting

Revu 2017 & Below

Error Message

Integrations & Plugins

This issue is caused by a character limit, which can be reduced by moving a folder to a certain location.

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