Windows Character Support and Limitations

For Asian Language Encoding

This document is relevant only for customers using Asian character sets (e.g., CJK characters, Hangul). Customers using standard English or Latin-based character sets are not affected by these encoding requirements.

Encoding Requirements

For full compatibility, Endpoint Backup requires filenames to be UTF-8 encoded. Filenames using other encodings (e.g., ISO-8859-1, Shift JIS) may not display correctly or could cause access issues. UTF-8 is recommended for any non-ASCII characters.

Character Limits

  • Filename Length: NTFS allows up to 255 characters per filename. This limit applies to UTF-8 characters, even though multibyte characters may consume additional storage.

  • Path Length: The full path length (folder structure + filename) must be under 32,767 characters.

Unicode and Special Character Notes

Endpoint Backup generally supports Unicode characters, including Hangul and most CJK characters. However, some rare Unicode characters that use surrogate pairs or exceed UTF-16 encoding may not be fully compatible.

Best Practices for Compatibility

To ensure reliable backup and restore:

  • Use UTF-8 encoding for filenames.
  • Keep filenames under 255 characters.