how to allow files starting with period and no extension in windows 2003 server? [closed]

Question

How can I create this file in a directory in windows 2003 SP2:

.hgignore

I get error: You must type a file name.

Poulos

This is not related to software development? How to make an ignore file on windows server for mercurial? What is it related to, then, masonry and plumbing? – Poulos

Relevant: blog.stackoverflow.com/2013/06/the-war-of-the-closes I mean, a more helpful way to deal with this issue would have been to migrate the question to Super User. Anyway, I found the question and answer useful, so I gave them upvotes. – Ileus

Related post on the desired forum - Create/rename a file/folder that begins with a dot in Windows? – Dam

Answer 1

That's a "feature" of Windows Explorer. Try to create your files from a command line (or from a batch/program you wrote) and it should work fine. Try this from a dos prompt:

echo Hello there! > .hgignore

Numismatist

You CAN. Just type another dot at the end. Type the name as .hgignore. – Summand

That works, but only on Vista or later. – Numismatist

The MSWindows command line interface is not a "DOS prompt" in NT-based OS versions. – Malenamalet

@Malenamalet I will never not ridicule the tacked-on, inferior and clunky DOS prompt of Windows by not calling it a DOS prompt. (:-P) – Numismatist

Answer 2

By the way Raymond Chen had a blog post about this topic a while back:

Why doesn't Explorer let you create a file whose name begins with a dot? (archive.org link with comments: https://web.archive.org/web/20100305064616/http://blogs.msdn.com/oldnewthing/archive/2008/04/14/8389268.aspx)

In which he mentions

You can do it from the command line or use your favorite file management tool.

Nab

'or use your favorite file management tool' # Useful, I thought Explorer was a 'file management tool' – Pasticcio