No Con Do: Forbidden File and Folder Names in Windows

This applies to Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 (all versions)

I was working on a tip about the Windows 10 Control Panel and I took a screenshot. We have done a lot of tips about Control Panel and I had used about every variation of the name Control Panel I could think of to name the screenshots. I decided to name the two new Control Panel screenshots I created, con and con1. But what to my bloodshot eyes should appear when I tried to name a file con.png?  This…

So – no con do, EB!

Maybe somewhere in my long ago, I knew there were system reserved names that you can not use to name a file or folder, but I sure don’t remember them.  I’ve been using Windows for twenty-some years. This goes to show you that no matter how much you think you know, there’s always something new to learn. And I learn the way we all learn a lot of things by getting out there and doing and trying things. I think that is the best way to learn.

This is just a fun tip. If you have an inquiring mind, or you are bored, you just may want to know that in Windows there are names that are reserved for Windows use only. So you won’t be able to use any of the following names to name a file or folder in Windows:

con
prn
aux
nul
com1, com2, com3, com4, com5, com6, com7, com8, com9
lpt1, lpt2, lpt3, lpt4, lpt5, lpt6, lpt7, lpt8, lpt9

None of these names are case sensitive, so you can’t get around using the names by using all capital letters… CON is the same as con in Windows. However, you can substitute the number zero for the letter “o” and use the names c0n, c0m1, c0m2, c0m3 … you get the picture! 

I hope you enjoyed this fun tip!