Prohibited characters in file names - all info

When you save a file on your PC or laptop, it is important to give it a unique file name. However, when choosing a file name, it is important to keep in mind that some characters and symbols may not be used. We will give you an overview of the prohibited characters in this article.

What happens when you use forbidden characters in filenames

When saving files, you may receive an error message. This is often because the selected file name contains characters whose use in file names is forbidden. The reason for this is that your PC or laptop cannot process the files or folders correctly if the name contains certain characters. If the entered file name contains forbidden characters, you must change the name, otherwise saving is not possible.

The use of these characters is forbidden in file names

To avoid error messages when saving files, it is important to get an overview of which characters may not be used when selecting a file name.

1. So the use of hashtags (#), ampersands (&) as well as the use of quotation marks ("") in file names is not allowed.
2. Curly brackets as well as forward slash and backslash may also not be used in file names.
3. Mathematical symbols such as the approximate sign (~), the percent sign (%), and the greater than/less than symbols (<>) are also prohibited in filenames.
4. In addition, filenames must not contain colons, question marks, or the asterisk symbol (*).