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SharePoint Online: Find All Files Exceeding the Maximum URL Length Limitation using PowerShell

Salaudeen Rajack 10 Comments

Microsoft Office Excel files stored in deep Folders, sub-folder structures with long names often result in an error when they exceed the maximum file URL length of 218 characters, as in my other article SharePoint Online: URL Length Limitation of 218 Characters in Excel Files. So, we wanted to proactively scan the entire SharePoint Online environment for Excel files with long URLs.

Find Files Exceeding Maximum URL Length Limitation in SharePoint Online using PowerShell

PowerShell to Get All Excel Files that Exceed the Maximum Character Limit URL

This PowerShell script scans Excel files in all document libraries in a given site collection, checks if any file URL length exceeds the given limit, and exports the output report to a CSV format.

Import-Module Microsoft.Online.SharePoint.PowerShell -DisableNameChecking
 
#Function to scan all files with long file names in a site
Function Scan-SPOLongFilePath($SiteURL)
{   
    Try {
        #Setup the context
        $Ctx = New-Object Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.ClientContext($SiteURL)
        $Ctx.Credentials = New-Object Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.SharePointOnlineCredentials($Cred.UserName,$Cred.Password)
  
        #Get the web from given URL and its subsites
        $Web = $Ctx.web
        $Ctx.Load($Web)
        $Ctx.Load($Web.Lists)
        $Ctx.Load($web.Webs)
        $Ctx.executeQuery()
          
        #Arry to Skip System Lists and Libraries
        $SystemLists = @("Converted Forms", "Master Page Gallery", "Customized Reports", "Form Templates", "List Template Gallery", "Theme Gallery",
                            "Reporting Templates", "Solution Gallery", "Style Library", "Web Part Gallery","Site Assets", "wfpub", "Site Pages", "Images")
      
        Write-host -f Yellow "Processing Site: $SiteURL"
  
        #Prepare the CAML query
        $Query = New-Object Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.CamlQuery
        $Query.ViewXml = "@
        <View Scope='RecursiveAll'>
            <Query>
                <OrderBy><FieldRef Name='ID' Ascending='TRUE'/></OrderBy>
            </Query>
            <RowLimit Paged='TRUE'>2000</RowLimit>
        </View>"

        #Filter Document Libraries to Scan 
        $Lists = $Web.Lists | Where {$_.BaseType -eq "DocumentLibrary" -and $_.Hidden -eq $false -and $SystemLists -notcontains $_.Title}
        
        #Loop through each document library
        Foreach ($List in $Lists)
        {
            $Counter=1
            #Batch Process List items 
            Do {
                $ListItems = $List.GetItems($Query)
                $Ctx.Load($ListItems)
                $Ctx.ExecuteQuery() 
                $Query.ListItemCollectionPosition = $ListItems.ListItemCollectionPosition
             
                If($ListItems.count -gt 0)
                {
                    Write-host -f Cyan "`t Processing Document Library: '$($List.Title)', Auditing $($ListItems.Count) Item(s)"
  
                    $DocumentInventory = @()
                    #Iterate through each file and get data
                    Foreach($Item in $ListItems | Where {$_.FileSystemObjectType -eq "File"})
                    {
                        #Display a Progress bar
                        Write-Progress -Activity "Scanning Files in the Library" -Status "Testing if the file has long URL '$($Item.FieldValues.FileRef)' ($Counter of $($List.ItemCount))" -PercentComplete (($Counter / $List.ItemCount) * 100) 

                        $File = $Item.File
                        $Ctx.Load($File)
                        $Ctx.ExecuteQuery()
 
                        #calculate the Absolute encoded URL of the File
                        If($Web.ServerRelativeUrl -eq "/")
                        {
                            $AbsoluteURL=  $("{0}{1}" -f $Web.Url, $ListItem.FieldValues["FileRef"])
                        }
                        else
                        {
                            $AbsoluteURL=  $("{0}{1}" -f $Web.Url.Replace($Web.ServerRelativeUrl,''), $Item.FieldValues["FileRef"])
                        }
                        $AbsoluteURL = [uri]::EscapeUriString($AbsoluteURL)
 
                        If($AbsoluteURL.length -gt $MaxUrlLength)
                        {
                            Write-host "`t`tFound a Long File URL at '$AbsoluteURL'" -f Green
                            #Collect document data
                            $DocumentData = New-Object PSObject
                            $DocumentData | Add-Member NoteProperty SiteURL($SiteURL)
                            $DocumentData | Add-Member NoteProperty DocLibraryName($List.Title)
                            $DocumentData | Add-Member NoteProperty FileName($File.Name)
                            $DocumentData | Add-Member NoteProperty FileURL($AbsoluteURL)
                            $DocumentData | Add-Member NoteProperty CreatedBy($Item["Author"].Email)
                            $DocumentData | Add-Member NoteProperty CreatedOn($File.TimeCreated)
                            $DocumentData | Add-Member NoteProperty ModifiedBy($Item["Editor"].Email)
                            $DocumentData | Add-Member NoteProperty LastModifiedOn($File.TimeLastModified)
                            $DocumentData | Add-Member NoteProperty Size-KB([math]::Round($File.Length/1KB))
 
                            #Add the result to an Array
                            $DocumentInventory += $DocumentData
                        }
                        $Counter++
                    }
                }
            }While($Query.ListItemCollectionPosition -ne $Null)
                
            #Export the result to CSV file
            $DocumentInventory | Export-CSV $ReportOutput -NoTypeInformation -Append
        }
        #Iterate through all subsites of the current site
        ForEach ($Subweb in $Web.Webs)
        {
            #Call the function recursively
            Scan-SPOLongFilePath($Subweb.url)
        }
    }
    Catch {
        write-host -f Red "Error Scaning Document Library Inventory!" $_.Exception.Message
    }
}

#Set Parameters
$SiteURL= "https://crescent.sharepoint.com/sites/Marketing"
$ReportOutput="C:\temp\LongFileNames.csv"
$FileExtension = "xlsx"
$MaxUrlLength = 259
 
#Get Credentials to connect
$Cred = Get-Credential
 
#Delete the Output Report if exists
If (Test-Path $ReportOutput) { Remove-Item $ReportOutput }
 
#Call the function 
Scan-SPOLongFilePath $SiteURL

For lists and libraries with < 5000 items, this script works fine. Let’s re-code in PnP PowerShell to handle bigger document libraries.

PnP PowerShell to Audit SharePoint Online Site Collection for Long URLs

This PnP PowerShell script scans the given site collection for long files and folders and exports its findings to a CSV file.

#Parameters
$SiteURL = "https://crescent.SharePoint.com/sites/Marketing"
$MaxUrlLength = 218
$CSVPath = "C:\Temp\LongURLInventory.csv"
$global:LongURLInventory = @()
$Pagesize = 2000 
 
#Function to scan and collect long files
Function Get-PnPLongURLInventory
{
    [cmdletbinding()]
    param([parameter(Mandatory = $true, ValueFromPipeline = $true)] $Web)
 
    Write-host "Scanning Files with Long URL in Site '$($Web.URL)'" -f Yellow
    If($Web.ServerRelativeUrl -eq "/")
    {
        $TenantURL= $Web.Url
    }
    Else
    {
        $TenantURL= $Web.Url.Replace($Web.ServerRelativeUrl,'')
    }
    
    #Get All Large Lists from the Web - Exclude Hidden and certain lists
    $ExcludedLists = @("Form Templates", "Preservation Hold Library","Site Assets", "Pages", "Site Pages", "Images",
                            "Site Collection Documents", "Site Collection Images","Style Library") 
                             
    #Get All Document Libraries from the Web
    $Lists= Get-PnPProperty -ClientObject $Web -Property Lists
    $Lists | Where-Object {$_.BaseType -eq "DocumentLibrary" -and $_.Hidden -eq $false -and $_.Title -notin $ExcludedLists -and $_.ItemCount -gt 0} -PipelineVariable List | ForEach-Object {
        #Get Items from List   
        $global:counter = 0;
        $ListItems = Get-PnPListItem -List $_ -PageSize $Pagesize -Fields Author, Created, File_x0020_Type -ScriptBlock { Param($items) $global:counter += $items.Count; Write-Progress -PercentComplete ($global:Counter / ($_.ItemCount) * 100) -Activity "Getting List Items of '$($_.Title)'" -Status "Processing Items $global:Counter to $($_.ItemCount)";}
        $LongListItems = $ListItems | Where { ([uri]::EscapeUriString($_.FieldValues.FileRef).Length + $TenantURL.Length ) -gt $MaxUrlLength }
        Write-Progress -Activity "Completed Retrieving Items from List $($List.Title)" -Completed
                
        If($LongListItems.count -gt 0)
        {
            #Get Root folder of the List
            $Folder = Get-PnPProperty -ClientObject $_ -Property RootFolder
            Write-host "`tFound '$($LongListItems.count)' Items with Long URLs at '$($Folder.ServerRelativeURL)'" -f Green

            #Iterate through each long url item and collect data           
            ForEach($ListItem in $LongListItems)
            {
                #Calculate Encoded Full URL of the File
                $AbsoluteURL =  "$TenantURL$($ListItem.FieldValues.FileRef)"
                $EncodedURL = [uri]::EscapeUriString($AbsoluteURL)
 
                    #Collect document data
                    $global:LongURLInventory += New-Object PSObject -Property ([ordered]@{
                        SiteName  = $Web.Title
                        SiteURL  = $Web.URL
                        LibraryName = $List.Title
                        LibraryURL = $Folder.ServerRelativeURL
                        ItemName = $ListItem.FieldValues.FileLeafRef
                        Type = $ListItem.FileSystemObjectType
                        FileType = $ListItem.FieldValues.File_x0020_Type
                        AbsoluteURL = $AbsoluteURL
                        EncodedURL = $EncodedURL
                        UrlLength = $EncodedURL.Length                      
                        CreatedBy = $ListItem.FieldValues.Author.LookupValue
                        CreatedByEmail  = $ListItem.FieldValues.Author.Email
                        CreatedAt = $ListItem.FieldValues.Created
                        ModifiedBy = $ListItem.FieldValues.Editor.LookupValue
                        ModifiedByEmail = $ListItem.FieldValues.Editor.Email
                        ModifiedAt = $ListItem.FieldValues.Modified                        
                    })
                }
            }
        }
}

#Connect to Site collection
Connect-PnPOnline -Url $SiteURL -Interactive
  
#Call the Function for all Webs
Get-PnPSubWeb -Recurse -IncludeRootWeb | ForEach-Object { Get-PnPLongURLInventory $_ }
 
#Export Documents Inventory to CSV
$Global:LongURLInventory | Export-Csv $CSVPath -NoTypeInformation
Write-host "Report has been Exported to '$CSVPath'"  -f Magenta

How about getting this inventory for the Entire SharePoint Online Tenant?

This time, let’s scan all files across all site collections in the entire tenant for all files with long file URLs.

Make sure you have Admin rights to all site collections in the tenant prior to executing this script. Otherwise, you’ll get access denied “The remote server returned an error: (403) Forbidden” Error! How to Add Site Collection Administrator to All Sites in SharePoint Online Tenant?
#Parameters
$Domain =  "crescent" #Domain Name in SharePoint Online. E.g. https://Crescent.SharePoint.com
$MaxUrlLength = 218
$CSVFile = "C:\Temp\LongURLInventory.csv"
$Pagesize = 2000
 
#Frame Tenant URL and Tenant Admin URL
$TenantURL = "https://$Domain.SharePoint.com"
$TenantAdminURL = "https://$Domain-Admin.SharePoint.com"
   
#Function to scan and collect long files
Function Get-PnPLongURLInventory
{
    [cmdletbinding()]
    param([parameter(Mandatory = $true, ValueFromPipeline = $true)] $Web)
  
    Write-host "Scanning Files with Long URL in Site '$($Web.URL)'" -f Yellow
 
    #Get All Large Lists from the Web - Exclude Hidden and certain lists
    $ExcludedLists = @("Form Templates", "Preservation Hold Library","Site Assets", "Pages", "Site Pages", "Images",
                            "Site Collection Documents", "Site Collection Images","Style Library") 
                              
    #Get All Document Libraries from the Web
    $Lists= Get-PnPProperty -ClientObject $Web -Property Lists
    $Lists | Where-Object {$_.BaseType -eq "DocumentLibrary" -and $_.Hidden -eq $false -and $_.Title -notin $ExcludedLists -and $_.ItemCount -gt 0} -PipelineVariable List | ForEach-Object {
        #Get Items from List   
        $global:counter = 0;
        $LongURLInventory = @()
        $ListItems = Get-PnPListItem -List $_ -PageSize $Pagesize -Fields Author, Created, File_x0020_Type -ScriptBlock { Param($items) $global:counter += $items.Count; Write-Progress -PercentComplete ($global:Counter / ($_.ItemCount) * 100) -Activity "Getting List Items of '$($_.Title)'" -Status "Processing Items $global:Counter to $($_.ItemCount)";}
        $LongListItems = $ListItems | Where { ([uri]::EscapeUriString($_.FieldValues.FileRef).Length + $TenantURL.Length ) -gt $MaxUrlLength }                
        If($LongListItems.count -gt 0)
        {
            #Get Root folder of the List
            $Folder = Get-PnPProperty -ClientObject $_ -Property RootFolder
            Write-host "`tFound '$($LongListItems.count)' Item(s) with Long URLs at '$($Folder.ServerRelativeURL)'" -f Green
 
            #Iterate through each long url item and collect data           
            ForEach($ListItem in $LongListItems)
            {
                #Calculate Encoded Full URL of the File
                $AbsoluteURL =  "$TenantURL$($ListItem.FieldValues.FileRef)"
                $EncodedURL = [uri]::EscapeUriString($AbsoluteURL)
  
                    #Collect document data
                    $LongURLInventory += New-Object PSObject -Property ([ordered]@{
                        SiteName  = $Web.Title
                        SiteURL  = $Web.URL
                        LibraryName = $List.Title
                        LibraryURL = $Folder.ServerRelativeURL
                        ItemName = $ListItem.FieldValues.FileLeafRef
                        Type = $ListItem.FileSystemObjectType
                        FileType = $ListItem.FieldValues.File_x0020_Type
                        AbsoluteURL = $AbsoluteURL
                        EncodedURL = $EncodedURL
                        UrlLength = $EncodedURL.Length                      
                        CreatedBy = $ListItem.FieldValues.Author.LookupValue
                        CreatedByEmail  = $ListItem.FieldValues.Author.Email
                        CreatedAt = $ListItem.FieldValues.Created
                        ModifiedBy = $ListItem.FieldValues.Editor.LookupValue
                        ModifiedByEmail = $ListItem.FieldValues.Editor.Email
                        ModifiedAt = $ListItem.FieldValues.Modified                        
                    })
                }
                #Export Documents Inventory to CSV
                $LongURLInventory | Export-Csv $CSVFile -NoTypeInformation -Append
            }
            Write-Progress -Activity "Completed Exporting Long URL Items from List $($_.Title)" -Completed
        }
}
 
#Connect to Admin Center
Connect-PnPOnline -Url $TenantAdminURL -Interactive
 
#Delete the Output report file if exists
If (Test-Path $CSVFile) { Remove-Item $CSVFile }
 
#Get All Site collections - Filter BOT and MySite Host
$Sites = Get-PnPTenantSite -Filter "Url -like '$TenantURL'"
   
#Iterate through all site collections
$Sites | ForEach-Object {
    #Connect to each site collection
    Connect-PnPOnline -Url $_.URL -Interactive

    #Call the Function for Webs
    Get-PnPSubWeb -Recurse -IncludeRootWeb | ForEach-Object { Get-PnPLongURLInventory $_ }
}

Please note, Although the Microsoft documentation says it’s 218 characters, I found up to 259 works fine!

Salaudeen Rajack

Salaudeen Rajack - Information Technology Expert with Two decades of hands-on experience, specializing in SharePoint, PowerShell, Microsoft 365, and related products. Passionate about sharing the deep technical knowledge and experience to help others, through the real-world articles!

10 thoughts on “SharePoint Online: Find All Files Exceeding the Maximum URL Length Limitation using PowerShell”

  • Hey mate,
    Thanks for those scripts, do you have scripts for finding long path but on the on-prem file share server ?

    Reply

  • I have a large data contend in a Library, but I need filter only in a folder recursivelly in a specific library, How I can to do that?
    I try filter with -FolderServerRelativeUrl but isn’t works
    Can you tell me other way to search on for example https://site.sharepoint.com/sites/test/FolderX
    Recurselly

    Thanks a lot.

    Reply

    • The “-FolderServerRelativeUrl” doesn’t work with Larger lists and Libraries! Use:

      #Get all files from folder
Get-PnPListItem -List $ListName -PageSize 2000 | Where {$_.FieldValues.FileRef -like $FolderServerRelativePath -and $_.FileSystemObjectType -eq "File" } | ForEach-Object {
   Write-host $_.FieldValues.FileRef
}
      Reply

  • Help! Error Scaning Document Library Inventory! Exception calling “ExecuteQuery” with “0” argument(s): “The attempted operation is prohibited because it exceeds the list view threshold.”

    Reply

  • Perhaps I have the site name incorrect, but when I run this against my sharepoint, it asks for credentials, I type them in, then it says Processing Site: etc etc, then it goes directly to PS C:\Windows\system32 and no output file is generated?

    Reply

    • The data should be exported to the file specified in $CSVFile variable. So, set this variable with the path to your CSV.

      Reply

  • is this script gets the word files details as well ??

    Reply

  • hi its observed then when i upload files and folders with deep urls they fail in Powershell… I understand the reason, but is there a way out that you know of?

    Reply

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