There are several characters in file/folder names which are handled specially when uploading or downloading. These are 9 ASCII characters, which have a special meaning for UNIX file names.
Even on Mac or Windows clients, not all of them can be used in file names.
| Hexadecimal | Usual representation |
| 22 | " |
| 2a | * |
| 2f | / |
| 3c | < |
| 3e | > |
| 3f | ? |
| 5c | \ |
| 5e | ^ |
| 7c | | |
When uploading a file with a name containing a character from this list, the file name stored in the server file system will not be represented with the original character. Instead, it is represented with a “^” followed by the hexadecimal encoding of the character. This encoding is also used by EtherShare.
For example, the Mac OS file name “4*4 yields 16” will be stored as the file name “4^2a4 yields 16” in the server file system. Similarly, when uploading a Zip archive containing a file or folder with a name containing a character from this list, the file name in the file system will contain the “^xy” representation.
When downloading a file with a name containing a quoted character from this list, it will NOT be translated to its unquoted form. Instead the representation will be the same. For example, a UNIX file name “4^2a4 yields 16” will be downloaded unchanged.
Similarly, when downloading multiple files, the Zip archive containing a file or folder with a name containing a quoted character from this list, the file name in the Zip archive will contain the “^xy” representation.
The above mentioned escape rules for special characters are for internal handling only. In the GUI and in the file browser the WebShare Web Server will display the unescaped character.