The short version: DocuBuild never renames, truncates, or alters your file names. When a name arrives shortened with a tilde (for example SITE-P~1.PDF), it was shortened by Windows itself, before the file ever reached your browser — because the file's full folder path on your computer exceeds Windows' 260-character limit. Uploading the same file from a shorter folder path fixes it.
How to recognise this issue
A file name shortened by Windows has a very distinctive fingerprint:
- The name is cut to a few characters followed by a tilde and a number — e.g.
SITE-P~1.PDF,SITE-P~2.PDF - The file extension appears in ALL CAPS (
.PDFinstead of.pdf) - Only some files in a batch are affected — typically the ones with the longest names, while shorter-named files from the same folder upload perfectly
- The files live in a deeply nested folder tree, often inside a synced OneDrive or SharePoint folder
If that matches what you're seeing, read on — the fix takes about a minute.
What's actually happening
This behaviour comes from two long-standing Windows mechanisms working together:
| 1 | Windows limits full file paths to 260 characters (the MAX_PATH limit). That count includes every parent folder in the path — so a file inside C:\Users\yourname\OneDrive - Company Pty Ltd\Projects\…\Electrical Services\… can hit the limit even when the file name itself seems reasonable. |
| 2 | Windows keeps a hidden "8.3 short name" alias for every long file name — a legacy DOS-era name like SITE-P~1.PDF. It's maintained automatically; you normally never see it. |
| 3 | When you pick a file in the browser's file dialog (or drag and drop it), and the full path is over 260 characters, the Windows file dialog silently substitutes the short alias to squeeze the path under the limit. The dialog still displays the long name — but it hands the short one to the application. |
| 4 | Your browser (Chrome, Firefox, and others) simply reports the file name it was given. By the time DocuBuild's upload page sees the file, its name is already SITE-P~1.PDF — you can even see the short name listed in the upload dialog before pressing Upload. |
Microsoft documents the 260-character limit as intentional, and the file-open dialogs are not covered by the newer "long paths" opt-in — so this affects every website and upload tool on Windows, not just DocuBuild. Web-based document platforms across many industries publish the same guidance for their users.
Why OneDrive folders are frequent culprits: OneDrive allows paths up to 400 characters in the cloud, but your local copy lives under a long prefix like C:\Users\yourname\OneDrive - Company Pty Ltd\…. Files can sync perfectly yet quietly sit past the local 260-character line — everything looks fine until you try to upload.
Verify it yourself in 30 seconds
In File Explorer, hold Shift and right-click the affected file, then choose "Copy as path" and paste it anywhere. If the pasted path contains tilde names (like SITE-P~1.PDF) or is longer than 260 characters, you've confirmed the cause.
Recommended solutions
Create a folder with a short path — for example C:\Upload\ — copy the affected files into it, and upload from there. With the long parent folders out of the way, the full path drops well under 260 characters and the complete file name comes through.
If a project folder tree keeps triggering this, trim the longest parent folder names (e.g. As-Builts DRAWINGS-DATA HALL 1 → AB-DH1). This fixes the problem at the source for everyone working in that tree.
Some upload platforms report that Microsoft Edge handles long paths better than other browsers. It's a low-effort option — but verify the file name shown in the upload dialog before pressing Upload, and fall back to solution 1 if it still appears shortened.
What doesn't work: the Windows registry setting LongPathsEnabled does not help here — file dialogs and Explorer are excluded from it by design. We also advise against fsutil 8dot3name strip: it can make long-path files unselectable entirely and may break installed software. Neither is worth your IT team's time for this issue.
Already uploaded a file with a shortened name?
Because the browser never received the long name, it can't be recovered on our side. You have two options:
- Re-upload the file as a new version from a shallow path (solution 1) so the correct name is captured, or
- Rename the document inside DocuBuild — open the document and edit its name to the full original.
On a Mac? macOS has no equivalent path-length limitation for uploads — this issue only affects Windows.
References
- Microsoft LearnMaximum Path Length Limitation — the official documentation of the 260-character
MAX_PATHlimit and the scope ofLongPathsEnabled. - Microsoft LearnNaming Files, Paths, and Namespaces — how Windows maintains 8.3 short-name aliases.
- Microsoft SupportRestrictions and limitations in OneDrive and SharePoint — why OneDrive files can sync fine yet exceed the local limit.
- Technical write-upWindows 8.3 Short Path Names — a reproducible demonstration of the dialog substituting short names, including the "Copy as path" check.
- Industry exampleGoldFynch: Browser-based errors while uploading on Windows — the same symptom documented by a legal document platform, showing this affects all browser uploads on Windows.