Windows, like any other operating system, allows us to create new directories, what we know as folders, to organize and save the data we want. The operating system allows us to give these folders the name that we want. However, Windows does not allow us to use certain characters when creating the new folder, nor does it allow us, for example, to start the name of the new folder with a period . Although this last limitation can be skipped with relative ease.
In Linux, a dot at the beginning of a file or folder means that the folder or file is hidden. However, in Windows it does nothing.
Microsoft does allow a point to be used when naming operating system files or folders, but the only condition is that there be text before and after that point. Therefore, under normal conditions, a file or folder name can neither start on point nor end on point. This is because Microsoft generally interprets the period as part of a file extension.
If we try to create a new folder this way, Windows 10 will automatically rename the folder to remove the dots if they don’t meet the above condition. Luckily, if we have a basic knowledge of CMD, we can easily create a folder (or a file) with the points we want.
Advantages and disadvantages
The truth is that this trick does not provide great advantages when using the operating system. The main advantage that we can get from placing directories and files that start with period is that, when they are ordered by name in the browser, they will come out first. This will help us to have our most important folders always at hand. Also, there are some programs (like GIMP) that when bringing a legacy Linux programming, their own directories use period in the names. Therefore, for some programs to work correctly we may have to resort to this technique.
However, we may also have to face some inconveniences. If Windows applies these limitations to the names of the files and directories for something will be. Most likely, nothing will happen and everything will work normally. However, some programs may not be able to correctly access these types of folders. And in that case, we won’t be able to do anything.
Create new folder starting with period in Windows 10
To create this folder, the first thing we must do is open a CMD window . Administrator permissions are not mandatory, as long as the folder where we are going to create it does not require such permissions. To do this, we will press the keyboard shortcut Windows + R, and we will execute the command “cmd” in the window that will appear.
Once this folder is opened, the next step will be to use the “cd” command to navigate to the directory where we are going to create this new folder. And once there we will execute the following command:
mkdir .NombreCarpeta
The new folder is already created. Now we simply have to go to the folder where we have placed ourselves in CMD to create the folder and we will be able to see this new folder, whose name begins with a period, among the others.
We can now use this folder for whatever we want.
Another way to name a folder starting with period
If we don’t want to resort to CMD to do this, there is a second trick (although it doesn’t work 100% of the time) for this very thing. This trick is faster and easier, and all we have to do is create a new folder, as always, but when giving it the name we want we must start and end the name by point .
For example, in our case the folder should be called “.ITIGIC.”.
When we click outside to apply the new name, Windows will delete the point on the right but leave the point on the left, so we would have the same folder as with the previous process.
And the files?
We may need a file (not a folder) to start with a period. When naming files, Windows uses the same rules. In other words, it does not allow that they begin or end by a point. However, the previous trick does not help us, since we are not creating a new file nor can we use the colon trick when having the file extension.
What we must do in this case is to use CMD to rename the file . We open a CMD window, place ourselves in the file directory using the “cd” command and execute the following command:
ren archivos.extension .archivo.extension
Automatically the file (no matter the type) will change its name to start with period.
PowerShell allows us to create files and folders that start with period
PowerShell is the advanced Windows 10 console. With it we can do the same as we can with CMD, and much more. Therefore, as is obvious, this console also allows us to create files and folders whose name begins with a period. Although the commands are somewhat different.
For this, what we must do is open a PowerShell window in Windows, place ourselves in the directory where we want to create the folder or file, and execute the following command (changing “foldername” by the name we want to give to the new folder) :
New-Item .nombrecarpeta -type directory
And the same to create new files. We will execute the command in the following way (changing the “filename” by the name we want to give to the new file:
New-Item .nombrearchivo -type file
Ready. We will already have a new file or new directory whose names begin with period.