Microsoft KB Archive/296366

= Saved File Is Displayed with a Generic Windows Icon =

Article ID: 296366

Article Last Modified on 1/31/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional Edition
 * Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0 Developer Edition
 * Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition
 * Microsoft Windows 95
 * Microsoft Windows 98 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition

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This article was previously published under Q296366





SYMPTOMS
When you save a file on your computer by using the common Save As dialog box in a Win32 program, the icon for the saved file may appear as a generic Windows icon without a file extension. Therefore, the program that you used to save the file may not be associated with the file.



CAUSE
This behavior can occur if you save the file with a name that exceeds the maximum allowed number of characters. You can type a name that exceeds the maximum allowed number of characters in the common Save As dialog box.



WORKAROUND
To work around this issue, rename or save the file again and use a shorter file name.



STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.



MORE INFORMATION
The number of characters, including spaces, that that are allowed for a file name depends on the operating system and file system in use, and on the location in which you are saving the file. Typically, the entire path to the file cannot exceed 255 characters). In addition, file names cannot contain the following characters:

\ / : * ? < > |

Keywords: kbenv kbpending kbprb KB296366

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