# 8+3 File Name

It is a standard of a filename used by FAT system.

Filenames are limited to **at most** 8 characters, followed by file extension of a period '.' and **at most** 3 characters.

In the Dir Entry header, it is defined as:

```c
#define MSDOS_NAME      11      /* maximum name length */
__u8    name[MSDOS_NAME];/* name and extension */
```

That's mean the size of the filename array is 11. Here are some examples of 8+3 filenames that stored inside the array.

![](https://2015623591-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-Lp-5TQpuuM0wVgRDmqL%2F-Lp-5WZ7mVLwEZ2xvCJW%2F-Lp-6LxygkIJoBF1nL4e%2F8.3.png?generation=1568738740147956\&alt=media)

## File Deletion and File name <a href="#file-deletion-and-file-name" id="file-deletion-and-file-name"></a>

In FAT32, deleting a file does not mean to **remove** from the filesystem. It only deallocates the space that the file originally occupied and deletion is marked. In this case, the first character of the filename is marked with a special`0xe5`.