$sfn function

$sfn(path)

The $sfn function returns the Short File Name (8.3) version of the passed-in path. If path is empty or refers to a non-existing file or folder, the result is an empty string. The function can be used for both folder and file paths.

Windows Installer does not support symbolic functions; if you use this function during an MSI build, you will get diagnostic message BLD:U0010 and the result is undefined.

Parameters

All parameters may contain symbolic references; these are resolved before the function is applied. See Examples below.

path

File or folder path to convert to SFN format.

Examples

Here are some usage examples for this function:

<$sfn(C:\Program Files\Tarma ExpertInstall\Bin\Tin.exe)>

Returns C:\PROGRA~1\TARMAI~1\Bin\Tin.exe from the literal path.

<$sfn(<INSTALLDIR>\Bin\Tin.exe)>

Returns C:\PROGRA~1\TARMAI~1\Bin\Tin.exe from the symbolic path, assuming that <INSTALLDIR> resolves to the appropriate folder path.

<$sfn(<#Tin_alias>)>

Returns C:\PROGRA~1\TARMAI~1\Bin\Tin.exe from the file alias path, assuming that Tin_alias is the file alias for the Tin.exe executable.

<$sfn(<$fdir(<#Tin_alias>)>)>

Returns C:\PROGRA~1\TARMAI~1\Bin from the folder path that is extracted from the file alias path by the $fdir function, assuming that Tin_alias is the file alias for the Tin.exe executable.