Windows Compatibility Fix

By Dave Jesch

Site Administration & Utilities / URL Redirects & 301 Management

Windows Compatibility Fix Review - In-Depth Analysis

Fixes long filename problems on Windows systems during updates from EDD sites. Ensures smooth updates by shortening file names.

Performance Overview

WPS Score

6.94/10

User Rating

5/5 (based on 8+ reviews)

Active Installations

1,000+

Update Frequency

Below Average It is calculated using the weighted average of same category plugins.

Security Score

1 / 10 (Very Low Risk) It is calculated using the weighted average of all versions.

What It Does

This plugin will fix long filename problems on Windows systems when doing updates from third-party plugin repositories, such as updating from Easy Digital Downloads (EDD) sites.

We have found that users on Windows systems that are upgrading themes and plugins from a third-party repository, such as an Easy Digital Downloads (EDD) site have problems. They will see an error message of 'Update Failed: Could not create directory'. The reason for this is that during the update process, the file name requested from the EDD site has the product name, user name and other information encoded within it so that EDD knows who is requesting the file. This results in a very long file name. This is not necessarily a problem WordPress itself, or even EDD, as this works on non-Windows systems. But if you are running WordPress on Windows and see this error, it is because of the long file name requested.

If you are using DesktopServer for your local development on Windows and would like to use the Windows Compatibility Fix plugin as a Design Time plugin, you can install this in your C:\xampplite\ds-plugings directory and it can then be automatically activated and used with all of your local development web sites. This allows you to use the plugin in your local environment, where it is needed and not to deploy it to your live environment where it may not be needed. For more information on DesktopServer and local development tools, please visit our web site.

Because this fix is only needed on Windows systems, the plugin checks the operating system on which it is running and does not initialize itself. If you are having problems with the update process on non-Windows systems, it is more likely an issue with directory permissions.

The Windows Compatibility Fix plugin uses a couple of WordPress filters employed during the update process. It modifies the name of the file that is downloaded to your system, shortening it to just a few characters. This allows WordPress's update process to work correctly on Windows systems by not creating the long file name in the first place.

We are happy to provide support and help troubleshoot issues. Users should know however, that we check the WordPress.org support forums once a week on Wednesdays from 6pm to 8pm PST (UTC -8).

ServerPress, LLC is not responsible for any loss of data that may occur as a result of using this tool. We strongly recommend performing a site and database backup before testing and using this tool.

Comparing to Alternatives

Windows Compatibility Fix is a specialized plugin designed to address compatibility issues on Windows servers. Compared to other plugins, it focuses narrowly on this niche, offering targeted fixes.

Top alternatives