Fail: Window’s “Destination Path Too Long” Dialog

You’re in the middle of copying a large directory between drives. You are then presented with this “Destination Path Too Long” dialog:

Destination Path Too Long

Thoughts that come to mind:

  • Can’t I rename it now?
  • Can’t Windows rename it now?
  • Can’t Windows show me a list of all the files that fall into this category?
  • Can’t Windows present the offending files in a dialog where I can copy the filenames and paths for easier resolution?
  • Does Windows really have to bring the copy to halt because of this? It’s already copied a lot of data – what’s the harm if it continues the copy? If I cancel later what’s the harm? Instead the machine is left waiting for me.

Let’s say the user really does want to continue the copy. Here’s the scenario they’re confronting:

  1. Write down the filename(s!)
  2. Press Skip and continue to babysit the long copy for other offending filenames.

Once the copy operation is “complete”, here’s the next steps:

  1. Search for offending file on the source drive
  2. Rename offending file
  3. Find the location on the destination drive
  4. Copy file to new destination
  5. Repeat this process for every offending file.

Ugh, no thanks.