Add a post covering long-path support

Author: akkornel

_posts/2025-06-19-gcp-windows-max-path.md

@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+---
+layout:  post
+news: true
+toc: false
+title:       Windows users, update Globus Connect Personal for long-path support.
+excerpt:     Windows has issues with long file paths, and that causes issues with Globus, until now!  Read on for information on how to enable long-path support.
+---
+
+On Windows, most operations on files have a limitation known as "MAX\_PATH":
+Windows paths have a long-standing maximum length of 260 characters, measured
+from the start of the path (`C:\`, `D:\`, etc.), up to and including the file
+extension.
+
+Most users do not encounter problems with MAX\_PATH limits.  But for folks
+working with large data sets—particularly in areas like genomics—you may have
+experenced MAX\_PATH issues.
+
+In Globus, MAX\_PATH issues do not show up directly in error messages.
+Instead, Globus will report file-not-found, not-a-directory, or checksum-failed
+errors.  In all cases, the file path will be very long, indicating the problem
+is likely due to the MAX\_PATH limit.
+
+As of Globus Connect Personal 3.2.7, **this limit can now be increased**,
+supporting paths up to 4,096 characters in length.  To enable long-path
+support, do two things:
+
+First, **Upgrade Globus Connect Personal**.  Right-click on the Globus toolbar
+icon, and select "Check for Updates".  If 3.2.7 is not installed, you will be
+prompted to upgrade.
+
+{% include hero-image.html
+   src="/assets/client/GlobusConnectPersonalToolbarPop-Up.png"
+   alt="The pop-up menu that appears when right-clicking on the Globus icon in the toolbar"
+   caption-overlay=true
+   caption-header="Globus Connect Personal toolbar pop-up"
+   caption-text=""
+%}
+
+Next, [follow the instructions]({{ "/client/install.html" | relative_url }}) to
+configure your machine for long-path support.
+
+{% include info-box.html
+   icon="sticky-note"
+   header="This update is Windows only!"
+   content="On macOS and Linux, Globus Connect Personal already has the longer path limit.  So if you are on macOS or Windows, congraulations: You don't need to do anything!"
+%}