Who is this article for?

Users who encounter this error when attaching a file.

When attempting to attach a file, you may encounter the error message PathTooLongException - The specified path, file name, or both are too long.

This article explains what causes the issue and how to resolve it.

1. Issue
2. Solution

1. Issue

When dropping a file attachment in to the application, you may receive this error message:

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.

The fully qualified path name includes:

• The file name (including extension)
• The folder names
• The drive letter, plus colon
• All backslashes in the path

So for example, the full path below is 39 characters:

C:\Temp\Some Folder\Some File Name.docx

It is made up of:

2. Solution

The workaround here is to either rename the file to a shorter name, or copy it to a shorter path.