For a long path aware process on Windows 10, I'm trying to understand what the argument restrictions are when using the windows shell method PathRelativePathTo.
In my example below, I'm using C# via pinvoke to call the method.
I've given multiple examples below and their output. Note:
- All of the examples give directory paths for "from" and file paths for "to" (none of these paths actually exist on disk)
- My observations are that
- Paths under the "short" MAX_PATH length (260) return success with the expected result.
- Some paths over the "short" MAX_PATH return success with the correct result.
- Some paths over the "short" MAX_PATH return success with the wrong answer (yikes!)
- Some much longer paths return an Error. However, it is not at some fixed max length.
Source:
class Program
{
static class Native
{
// https://www.pinvoke.net/default.aspx/shlwapi.pathrelativepathto
// https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/api/shlwapi/nf-shlwapi-pathrelativepathtoa
[DllImport("shlwapi.dll", SetLastError = true, CharSet = CharSet.Auto)]
[return: MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.Bool)]
internal static extern bool PathRelativePathTo([Out] StringBuilder pszPath, [In] string pszFrom, [In] int dwAttrFrom, [In] string pszTo, [In] int dwAttrTo);
}
static void Main(string[] args)
{
string pszFrom, pszTo;
int i = 0;
// #1 At "short" max path (259)
// Succeeds with right answer
pszFrom = @"c:\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCD123456789";
pszTo = @"c:\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCD123456789\abcdefghijklmnop.txt";
TestPathRelativePathTo(++i, pszFrom, pszTo);
// #2 One over "short" max path
// Succeeds with right answer
pszFrom = @"c:\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCD1234567890";
pszTo = @"c:\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCD1234567890\abcdefghijklmnop.txt";
TestPathRelativePathTo(++i, pszFrom, pszTo);
// #3 Shortest path (by experiment) that returned the wrong answer
pszFrom = @"c:\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRS\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCD1234567890";
pszTo = @"c:\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRS\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCD1234567890\b.txt";
TestPathRelativePathTo(++i, pszFrom, pszTo);
// #4: Long path that errors out
// Errors out
pszFrom = @"c:\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZABCDEFGH\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890";
pszTo = @"c:\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZABCDEFGH\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\b.txt";
TestPathRelativePathTo(++i, pszFrom, pszTo);
// #5: Same as previous except one character removed from beginning of first folder
// Succeeds, but wrong return result
pszFrom = @"c:\BCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZABCDEFGH\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890";
pszTo = @"c:\BCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZABCDEFGH\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\b.txt";
TestPathRelativePathTo(++i, pszFrom, pszTo);
// #6: Same as previous except 3 characters added to filename.
// Succeeds, but wrong return result
pszFrom = @"c:\BCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZABCDEFGH\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890";
pszTo = @"c:\BCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZABCDEFGH\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\b123.txt";
TestPathRelativePathTo(++i, pszFrom, pszTo);
}
static void TestPathRelativePathTo(int i, string pszFromDir, string pszToFile)
{
int maxResult = 10000;
StringBuilder result = new StringBuilder(maxResult);
Console.WriteLine($"#{i}: Calling PathRelativePathTo(...): pszFrom.Length: {pszFromDir.Length}; pszTo.Length {pszToFile.Length} ");
bool bRet = Native.PathRelativePathTo(result, pszFromDir, (int)FileAttributes.Directory, pszToFile, (int)FileAttributes.Normal);
if (!bRet)
{
// *Edit*: As pointed out in the comments, PathRelativePathTo does not set last error, so this part of the code is incorrect, it should really just print out that the method returned false.
// https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/shawnfa/2004/09/10/formatmessage-shortcut-for-win32-error-codes/
int currentError = Marshal.GetLastWin32Error();
var errorMessage = new Win32Exception(currentError).Message;
Console.WriteLine($" Error: {errorMessage}");
}
else
{
Console.WriteLine($" Result: {result}");
}
}
}
Output:
#1: Calling PathRelativePathTo(...): pszFrom.Length: 238; pszTo.Length 259
Result: .\abcdefghijklmnop.txt
#2: Calling PathRelativePathTo(...): pszFrom.Length: 239; pszTo.Length 260
Result: .\abcdefghijklmnop.txt
#3: Calling PathRelativePathTo(...): pszFrom.Length: 259; pszTo.Length 265
Result: ..\ABCD1234567890\b.txt
#4: Calling PathRelativePathTo(...): pszFrom.Length: 481; pszTo.Length 487
Error: The system cannot find the file specified
#5: Calling PathRelativePathTo(...): pszFrom.Length: 480; pszTo.Length 486
Result: .\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\b.txt
#6: Calling PathRelativePathTo(...): pszFrom.Length: 480; pszTo.Length 489
Result: .\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\b123.txt
Questions:
- What is the expected behavior of
PathRelativePathTowith respect to the above? - Is it only expected to work properly with paths under the "short" MAX_PATH limit (and the rest of the behavior is undefined)?
- Is there something else in the .net framework I can use instead (Note: I see that .NET Core has Path.GetRelativePath, but I can't (yet) use that)?
