Windows Explorer now limits my folder names to 16 characters

Question

I usually have long folder names in Windows Explorer, but recently I "fat fingered" some combination of keys and now Windows Explorer limits all my new folder names to 16 characters. What must I do in order to get rid of this limit?

Answer 1

Your question answers itself in a sense.

Since you typically use long folder names in your naming convention I can bet that the path you are attempting to place the new folder in is extensively long.

From the Microsoft Website:

In the Windows API, the maximum length for a path is MAX_PATH, which is defined as 260 characters. A local path is structured in the following order: drive letter, colon, backslash, name components separated by backslashes, and a terminating null character.

I would venture a guess as to say you are probably very close to that limit right now.