&(ampersand) (and) (parenthesis)

-(minus sign or hyphen)

[ and ]

(brackets)

-(underline character)

The following are examples of allowable filenames:

JANUARY

CHAPTER.001

MEMO.APR

M A Y S A L E S . % & $

$$.SALES.OCT

These filenames are valid because none of them are too long, and only legal characters have been used. The following are examples of illegal filenames, along with an explanation:

3RDQUARTER.SALES

This is too long. MS-DOS will accept this filename, but it will be shortened to fit the size limits. The altered filename would read 3RDQUART.SAL. As you can see, both the filename and its extension have been shortened to the legal length.

CHAPTER/4

The slash ( / ) is an illegal filename character. MS-DOS will reject the filename and ask for another.

4-22 Using MS-DOS With Your Computer