You save a photo or document, you want to add a colon or semi-colon; like I just did. What's the big deal and why can't it be saved?
Why does it tell you to rename it and when you delete said little fucking colon it’s fine.
What’s the technical reason the almighty PC technology can’t get over this little colon?
Just curious.
(Plainspeak only; real techies talking pc language need not apply here – or at least google translate the mumbo jumbo for me – thanks!)
JK. ~
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12 Answers
You can’t use a colon in a file name on Mac either, but you can use a semi-colon. Slashes don’t work either. My guess is because they have other functions and putting them in names of files is misleading to the way the computer works. Slashes are usually used to signify folders and files within other folders and colons are used in URLs and such. Just like in Windows, you can’t call anything “con”. Try it; it won’t work.
Simply put: That’s the way it is. It’s gotten better in XP and now you can use ~ and / but still some you can’t use. Technically someone told me that some symbols screw up the programs.
@DominicX I think I can use a slash for dates, but maybe I use a hyphen…hmmm….
i just checked and I use hyphens…sorry for the mis info above…I suck
I use the period.
11.31.2002Payrole
like the others already said, underneath your nice windowed interface lies the dark and scary CLI (command line interface) which uses those symbols for it’s cataloging, and using those symbols inside a file name is like wri.tin.ga.sen,!tenc.es’lik.e/th\is see, you can’t read it (okay, we can but a computer is not that smart)
Common decency forbids it; the colon is better kept hidden. Would you like your colonoscopy televised?
those symbols are reserved for use by the system itself; hence, the user can’t use them.
Anyone old enough to remember when you couldn’t use any spaces or symbols in a file name? And they had to be 8 characters or less.
@ratboy – i got it heheheh, I’m not going to try to be nice and discuss colonoscopies with you.
@DominicX – slashes work on my mac, I just tried it in text edit.
But yep, no colon and I have to agree with @ratboy on this one, it is probably for the best.
Colonoscopies are a delicate subject, so to speak. See my “I have hemorroids – there I’ve said it” question, to add insult to injury. He he.
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