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Short name creation options

Verified with Windows 11 25H2 — updated on July 30, 2026

Windows 11 25H2

Supported on: At least Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7

Path in the GPO console

Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\System\File System\NTFS

Description

These settings provide control over whether or not short names are generated during file creation. Some applications require short names for compatibility, but short names have a negative performance impact on the system. If you enable short names on all volumes then short names will always be generated. If you disable them on all volumes then they will never be generated. If you set short name creation to be configurable on a per volume basis then an on-disk flag will determine whether or not short names are created on a given volume. If you disable short name creation on all data volumes then short names will only be generated for files created on the system volume.

Registry

HKLM System\CurrentControlSet\Policies

More options available

Options

Short name creation options
NtfsDisable8dot3NameCreation enum
  • Enable on all volumes -> 0
  • Disable on all volumes -> 1
  • Enable / disable on a per volume basis -> 2 (default)
  • Disable on all data volumes -> 3

MDM / Intune (CSP)

./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_FileSys/ShortNameCreationSettings
Device Since Windows 10, version 2004 with KB5005101 [10.0.19041.1202] and later | Windows 10, version 20H2 with KB5005101 [10.0.19042.1202] and later | Windows 10, version 21H1 with KB5005101 [10.0.19043.1202] and later | Windows 11, version 21H2 [10.0.22000] and later Official mapping (Microsoft Learn)

Microsoft Learn documentation Mapping data: Microsoft Learn (CC BY 4.0)

Export Builder

BETA

Configure the state, scope and options, then generate .reg, PowerShell, Intune and SCCM outputs — or add the setting to a multi-setting collection.

These exports write the registry — this is not a managed GPO.

.reg file

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

; Exported from gporais.com
; Policy: Short name creation options
; State: Enabled
; Supported on: At least Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Policies]
"NtfsDisable8dot3NameCreation"=dword:00000002
More formats (PowerShell, Intune, SCCM)

PowerShell

# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Short name creation options
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7

$path = 'HKLM:\System\CurrentControlSet\Policies'
New-Item -Path $path -Force | Out-Null
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name 'NtfsDisable8dot3NameCreation' -Value 2 -Type DWord

Building a multi-setting collection? Add this setting and generate combined .reg / PowerShell / GPO scripts.

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