Fail to preview files with long path

Describe the bug

Quicklook

msedge

Copy file path in context menu(ctrl+shift+c)

To Reproduce
Steps to reproduce the behavior:

run these command in cmd

cd /d D:\
set dir_name="这是一个名字很长的的文件夹，但其还不会超出MAX_PATH(256)_this is a folder with long name, but its path would not exceed MAX_PATH____________________________________________________________"
set file_name="这是一个名字很长的文件，若和上面的folder同级仍可正常预览，但移动到folder内后就不行了_this is a file with long name. When placed in the same level with folder above, it can be previewed normally. But when placed in the folder above, it cannot.html"

mkdir %dir_name%
echo "content of html" > %file_name%
move %file_name% %dir_name%

preview the file

Expected behavior
preview work with long path

Desktop (please complete the following information):
win10 22H2

Fix long path issue #1643

You can check it after version 4.0.1-20 (QuickLook-4.0.1-20-geff9d79.msi)

https://github.com/QL-Win/QuickLook/releases/tag/latest

If there are any questions, please continue to comment.

I install the v4.0.2-1-gd20eb71. It failed still. I think it will be nice to translate the long path to the short one before passing the path, like what ctrl+shift+c do.

I'll keep track of the problem.

Is there any good news?

@emako

@emako 大佬, 什么时候把这个bug修修

Since this involves the underlying codebase architecture, it can be considered a relatively low priority.

😥

测试下来edge（以及WebView2）本身就没法支持路径大于260字符，因此File not found是符合预期的

After testing, edge (and WebView2) cannot support paths greater than 260 characters, so File not found is as expected.

You've correctly identified the issue. WebView2, like Edge, is limited by the legacy MAX_PATH (260 characters) constraint and fails to load files when this limit is exceeded.

Windows Explorer works around this by converting long paths to their 8.3 short-path equivalent before passing them to other applications. We need to replicate this exact behavior.

The solution is to preprocess file paths before they are passed to WebView2. If a path exceeds the MAX_PATH limit, we must first convert it to its short name alias.

Recommended API
To achieve this, use the GetShortPathNameW Win32 API. This function directly converts a long file path into its 8.3 equivalent.

C/C++ Signature:

DWORD GetShortPathNameW(
  [in]  LPCWSTR lpszLongPath,
  [out] LPWSTR  lpszShortPath,
  [in]  DWORD   cchBuffer
);

By implementing this, WebView2 will receive a compliant path (e.g., D:\THISIS~~1\FILE~~1.HTM) and render the file correctly, mimicking Explorer's functionality.

For example:

Original Long Path:
D:\这是一个名字很长的的文件夹...\这是一个名字很长的文件....html

Should be converted to:
D:\THISIS~1\THISIS~1.HTM (Note: The short name is system-generated)

I thought about it and found a solution.

Fix long path handling issue in HtmlViewer #1643

Done in 78843d8 and you can try it in preview version
https://github.com/QL-Win/QuickLook/releases/tag/latest

Nice job. It works now.👍

Fix long path issue QL-Win#1643

Fix long path handling issue in HtmlViewer QL-Win#1643

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Fail to preview files with long path #1643

Quicklook

msedge

Copy file path in context menu(ctrl+shift+c)

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Fail to preview files with long path #1643

Description

Quicklook

msedge

Copy file path in context menu(ctrl+shift+c)

Activity

emako commented on May 23, 2025

emako commented on May 23, 2025

1821746019 commented on May 24, 2025

emako commented on May 24, 2025

1821746019 commented on Jun 4, 2025

1821746019 commented on Oct 1, 2025

emako commented on Oct 1, 2025

1821746019 commented on Oct 2, 2025

emako commented on Oct 6, 2025

1821746019 commented on Oct 7, 2025

emako commented on Oct 7, 2025

emako commented on Oct 7, 2025

1821746019 commented on Oct 8, 2025

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