Naming Rules for Files on the S-Drive

Some files that are available to you on the S-drive when you access the drive via our network (on-campus using the "S:" drive on "My Computer") may not available over the Internet. This is due to the security restrictions placed on the the web server to protect the server against web viruses or unauthorized access.

When placing files on the S-Drive to access over the Internet, you should follow some specific naming conventions. All directory and file names on the S: drive should follow these naming rules:

• Names should not contain special characters, i.e. &, %, $, #, @, (, ), /, \, >, <, ~, !, ?, +. The most common problem is the use of the "&" symbol on file or directory names, for example "Cash values & reserves" is an invalid file name, try renaming the file/directory to "Cash values and reserves".
• Names should not have multiple periods (.) or commas(,), i.e. Fall . Semester 92.ppt.
• Names should not contain many spaces. Use underscore ("_") and dashes ("-") instead.
• Executable file name extensions are not allowed (*.exe or *.com) over the Internet. If you have executables in your folders, such files will not be available over the Internet. As an alternative you could zip the files or rename the extensions to something like *.ex_ or *.co_ .

If you don't follow these rules, some files won't be accessible over the Internet with a web browser.

The above restrictions only apply when accessing the files over the Internet. All files will be available over our local area network ("S:" drive on "My Computer").