Allow MFI to handle long path lengths

nathan-clark

What inspired this wish list request?

Multiple File Import failing to display files in a folder due to a complete stoppage in processing upon reaching a filepath of a long length

What is the improvement you would like to see? JMP to do one of the following:

Update MFI to omit or gray out files that have pathlengths that are too long but still process all other files
Update the JMP application manifest to allow longer pathlengths so those with the registry setting turned on, can utilize longer paths.

Why is this idea important?

In this particular case, a folder path was long and certain files in a folder tips the scales of Windows 260 character limit. The manifestation was that MFI only displayed the first 14 files in the folder (the 15th being the first file to break the rule) but there were many files in ithe folder that were fine. MFI should be able to display those files.

In addition, according to the noted windows article ( https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/fileio/maximum-file-path-limitation?tabs=registry ) a user can turn on long pathlengths in their registry, BUT the application manifest also needs to be updated. From the article it appears as though this is something JMP controls.

The first option listed wouold merely bake a try() into the system so files that can't be processed aren't listed as such, but a longer / better solution may be the latter where JMP makes it possible for long path lengths to be used as long as the user has the correct registry keys.

nathan-clark

To add onto this and suggest the answer may lie in the 2nd option more than the first:

Names default to here(1);

dir = Pick Directory();
files = FilesinDirectory(dir);

If the above script is run and we navigate to the offending folder, the files variable is only populated with the first sevaral files before the path length is exceeded. So the issue seems baked in with how JMP utilizes the windows API for file access.

As such, the only fix may be option #2.