Saved File Is Displayed with a Generic Windows Icon (296366)

The information in this article applies to:

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

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:

\ / : * ? < > |

Modification Type:	Minor	Last Reviewed:	12/20/2004
Keywords:	kbenv kbpending kbprb KB296366