Use the Windows Registry

Support System File Naming Conventions

Windows 95 supports long file names (up to 255 characters ) and universal naming convention (UNC) paths (such as \\ servername \share ).

Long File Names

To support long file names in an application, all dialog boxes used in the program should display a reasonable portion of the name in the user interface. Documents and data files should be displayed accurately in the shell with both large and small icons with no visible 8.3 dependencies (the original format for file names, eight-character names with a three-character extension.) Windows 95 will recognize the ."3" extension as a separate "type" field.

Universal Naming Convention

By supporting UNC paths, users can browse networks directly and open files without making explicit network connections. UNC paths also make applications more data-centric. For example, some applications save a list of documents previously opened by the user. If the application stores this information as a drive letter (such as N: \) and then does not reconnect to N:\ , the file will not be found. By saving the information in UNC path form, applications will reconnect directly to the share without requesting the location from the user.