Allowed characters in non Mac file names

Allowed characters in _non-Mac_ file names?

I've discovered the Mac application PDF Shrink [1] for shrinking the 
file size of PDF files before emailing them or putting them on the web.  

When I do this I sometimes want to keep both the original and the 
"shrunken" copy of the file on my HD, and my query is, what's a single 
non-alphameric character that I might append to the file name (prior to 
the ".pdf" suffix) to identify the shrunken copy -- like a tilde, maybe 
-- without causing problems for people who will receive and use the file 
on Windows or Unix systems?

What other characters or symbols, besides just English letters and 
numbers, are generally acceptable for use in file names on most widely 
used computers or operating system?

Thanks for any info.

----------

[1]  Just for info, PDF Shrink is not a file compression program; rather 
it removes more detailed PDF coding that won't be needed by people who 
are just going to print or view the file on screen; down-sizes the 
resolution of images whose resolution as embedded in the PDF is a lot 
larger than is needed for on-screen display; and so on.

I realize that Preview can also do some of this also, for free, but 
based on initial testing I like this program a lot: quick and easy to 
use, has flexible options to control different levels of shrinking, and 
seems quite reliable.  [No personal connection to the vendor.]

Re: Allowed characters in _non-Mac_ file names?

In article <siegman-0ED7A4.09083407112008@news.stanford.edu>,
 AES <siegman@stanford.edu> wrote:

> I've discovered the Mac application PDF Shrink [1] for shrinking the 
> file size of PDF files before emailing them or putting them on the web.  
> 
> When I do this I sometimes want to keep both the original and the 
> "shrunken" copy of the file on my HD, and my query is, what's a single 
> non-alphameric character that I might append to the file name (prior to 
> the ".pdf" suffix) to identify the shrunken copy -- like a tilde, maybe 
> -- without causing problems for people who will receive and use the file 
> on Windows or Unix systems?
> 
> What other characters or symbols, besides just English letters and 
> numbers, are generally acceptable for use in file names on most widely 
> used computers or operating system?

Srictly speaking the character limitations are imposed by the file 
system rather than the OS, and you can't always predict what FS people 
are going to be using. That said, it's unlikely you'll run across 
anything more restrictive than FAT. FAT disallows "+,./:;<=>[\]| and 
you'll note that that set includes the path separators used by common 
Mac and UNIX file systems. You should be able to use just about anything 
else safely.

But.

How many times are you willing to answer the question when people come 
back to you and ask what that goofy tilde (or whatever) is doing at the 
end of every PDF file you give them? I might recommend that a more 
sensible option than a little secret code is to be explicit. Add the 
word 'original' or 'unshrunk' or something to your original copy and 
then they can sit right next to each other for as long as you want.

G

-- 
"Harry?" Ron's voice was a mere whisper. "Do you smell something ... burning?"
   - Harry Potter and the Odor of the Phoenix

Allowed characters in _non-Mac_ file names?

I've discovered the Mac application PDF Shrink [1] for shrinking the 
file size of PDF files before emailing them or putting them on the web.  

When I do this I sometimes want to keep both the original and the 
"shrunken" copy of the file on my HD, and my query is, what's a single 
non-alphameric character that I might append to the file name (prior to 
the ".pdf" suffix) to identify the shrunken copy -- like a tilde, maybe 
-- without causing problems for people who will receive and use the file 
on Windows or Unix systems?

What other characters or symbols, besides just English letters and 
numbers, are generally acceptable for use in file names on most widely 
used computers or operating system?

Thanks for any info.

----------

[1]  Just for info, PDF Shrink is not a file compression program; rather 
it removes more detailed PDF coding that won't be needed by people who 
are just going to print or view the file on screen; down-sizes the 
resolution of images whose resolution as embedded in the PDF is a lot 
larger than is needed for on-screen display; and so on.

I realize that Preview can also do some of this also, for free, but 
based on initial testing I like this program a lot: quick and easy to 
use, has flexible options to control different levels of shrinking, and 
seems quite reliable.  [No personal connection to the vendor.]

Re: Allowed characters in _non-Mac_ file names?

In article <siegman-0ED7A4.09083407112008@news.stanford.edu>,
 AES <siegman@stanford.edu> wrote:

> I've discovered the Mac application PDF Shrink [1] for shrinking the 
> file size of PDF files before emailing them or putting them on the web.  
> 
> When I do this I sometimes want to keep both the original and the 
> "shrunken" copy of the file on my HD, and my query is, what's a single 
> non-alphameric character that I might append to the file name (prior to 
> the ".pdf" suffix) to identify the shrunken copy -- like a tilde, maybe 
> -- without causing problems for people who will receive and use the file 
> on Windows or Unix systems?
> 
> What other characters or symbols, besides just English letters and 
> numbers, are generally acceptable for use in file names on most widely 
> used computers or operating system?

Srictly speaking the character limitations are imposed by the file 
system rather than the OS, and you can't always predict what FS people 
are going to be using. That said, it's unlikely you'll run across 
anything more restrictive than FAT. FAT disallows "+,./:;<=>[\]| and 
you'll note that that set includes the path separators used by common 
Mac and UNIX file systems. You should be able to use just about anything 
else safely.

But.

How many times are you willing to answer the question when people come 
back to you and ask what that goofy tilde (or whatever) is doing at the 
end of every PDF file you give them? I might recommend that a more 
sensible option than a little secret code is to be explicit. Add the 
word 'original' or 'unshrunk' or something to your original copy and 
then they can sit right next to each other for as long as you want.

G

-- 
"Harry?" Ron's voice was a mere whisper. "Do you smell something ... burning?"
   - Harry Potter and the Odor of the Phoenix