How to get a file in Windows with a colon in the filename?

windows unix filenames colon
David picture David · Apr 30, 2012 · Viewed 74.6k times · Source

I am getting errors from customers who are uploading files with a colon in the file name, i.e. C:/uploads/test : doc.html

I assume that some Unix or Linux system is generating the file but I'm not sure how the users are saving them with the invalid filename. I have coded a piece that should rename the document on upload. My problem is that I can't test it because I can't get a file on Windows that has a colon in the filename.

Answer

Jack picture Jack · Aug 25, 2014

I found a very similar character to a colon, "꞉" it is a unicode character called a Modifier Letter Colon. This has no space like the fullwidth colon and is pretty much exactly the same as a regular colon but the symbol works. You can either copy and paste it from above or you can use the code point, U+A789

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