Long Paths on Windows

When you create a file path with Windows, you are limited to a length of MAX_PATH, which is defined as 260 characters.

That limitation was removed in Windows 1607 (Anniversary Update) released in July 2016. Now you can have a path with 32,767 characters. Each component of the path (directory/file name) can be at most 255 characters.

To enable long paths, open a PowerShell window and type:

sp HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem LongPathsEnabled 1

The setting will apply to any process started after you enable long paths.

Let’s see this in action. This PowerShell script takes the opening crawl of Star Wars and creates a directory for each line. Open a new PowerShell window to ensure you have the long paths enabled setting. Copy and paste this script:

$crawl = @"
LONG_PATH_TEST
Episode IV
A NEW HOPE
It is a period of civil war.
Rebel spaceships, striking
from a hidden base, have won
their first victory against
the evil Galactic Empire.
During the battle, Rebel
spies managed to steal secret
plans to the Empire's
ultimate weapon, the DEATH
STAR, an armored space
station with enough
power to destroy an entire
planet.
Pursued by the Empire's
sinister agents, Princess
Leia races home aboard her
starship, custodian of the
stolen plans that can save
her people and restore
freedom to the galaxy...
"@
$crawl -replace "[.']", "" -split "\n" |%{$d = $_.trim(); md $d -f; cd $d}
write-host "PATH LENGTH IS $((pwd).path.length)" -ForegroundColor Green

Creating Desktop Wallpaper

Download 15MB 5472×3638 Full Sized Image

I am using my own photography for my desktop wallpaper. Today I switched to some images I took a couple of days ago on a hike to the Dawn Falls Trailhead. The hike is one of my favorites with huge Redwood trees, ferns, and a stream.

I have been learning about photography recently. I purchased a camera with a large aperture (F/1.4) so that I could get Depth of Field (DOF) effects. I like the look of DOF where things in the background are blurry and the subject is in focus. The camera I use is a Panasonic Lumix LX10. I am using Adobe Lightroom to organize and cleanup my photos.

Download 22MB 5472×3648 Full Sized Image

Mini-review: No Safe Spaces

“No Safe Spaces” is a documentary about the attack on the first amendment. Who doesn’t want freedom of speech? The people featured in this movie.

It is scary stuff that does not get much airplay. It’s worth checking out.

It is available for $20 for streaming from https://nosafespaces.com/

4/5 Stars

Rethinking Taskbar Location

The taskbar is normally on the bottom of your screen. You can optionally move it to the top, left, or right. I decided to try a different location for one reason: I need more vertical space.

Since I need vertical space, I did not consider placing the taskbar on the top. So the question is: left side or right side?

I decided to go with right side. Why?

  • Muscle memory: The clock placement is in bottom right, same as bottom taskbar
  • Muscle memory: The Action Center button is in bottom right, same as bottom taskbar
  • Muscle memory: The Notification Area is in the bottom right, same as bottom taskbar
  • Muscle memory: The peek desktop in in the bottom right corner, same as bottom taskbar
  • Minimize mouse travel: When you click on Action Center it opens on the right side. With the left taskbar, you click on the left side of your screen to open Action center and interact with it on the right side. With the right taskbar, you click on the right side to open and interact with it. For dealing with Action Center, Fitt’s Law says it should be on the right.
  • Left to Right: We read left to right. With the taskbar on the right side, it stays out of the way of our natural vision pattern. I also put my primary app on the left side, which allows me to focus better with less distractions from the taskbar.

Mini Review: The Black Cauldron

The Black Cauldron is a Disney animated movie that is hard to find. I was interested in seeing it after I read it was the first Disney animated movie to receive a PG rating and use computer generated imagery. It is not available on Disney+ nor will it be. It is not available for streaming. It is not available to rent. It is not available on Blu-ray.

It is available on DVD. I bought that so I could see it.

And…it sucks. It looks like TV-quality animation. It was boring. The characters were awful (think Jar-Jar).

0/5 stars