If you have ever used Linux, you would know that you can save a file or a folder with Case Sensitive characters. But the sad part is that if using Windows 11 or Windows 10 OS, you cannot use Case Sensitive Attribute for Folders. Let me explain what this means. If you use Linux, you can save file and folders names in a common location as File.txt, file.txt, FILE.txt, FilE.txt, and so on. But in Windows, if you try it, it gives an error message – There is already a file with the same name in this location.
I know, you might be thinking that by using Windows Subsystem For Linux terminal, you might be able to do so. But let me remind you that at the end of the day, Windows will be handling this file naming integration. So, that does not make any sense at all.
Case sensitivity for folder names on Windows 10 can be enabled on a per-directory basis thanks to the NTFS system feature. You can enable Case Sensitive Attribute for Folders in Windows 10. This post shows how to enable or disable Case Sensitive Attributes and check if is active in a location.
Enable Case Sensitive Attribute for Folders in Windows
This will work from Windows 11 and Windows 10. Microsoft introduced a new way to enable NTFS support to treat files and folders as case sensitive and that too on a per-folder basis.
In simple words, we will not receive any error as shown in the picture above and we will be able to save files and folders by names like File.txt, file.txt, FILE.txt, FilE.txt, etc. in a common location. To make the changes we use a built-in utility called FSUTIL.exe.
1. Query Case Sensitive Attribute of a Folder
First of all, start by opening a Command Prompt with Administrator level privileges. To do that, Press WINKEY + X button combo or right-click on the Start button and click on Command Prompt (Admin). Click on Yes for the UAC or User Account Control prompt that you get.
Now, type in the following command and hit Enter.
fsutil.exe file setCaseSensitiveInfo “<PATH>”
Make sure that you replace <PATH> with the actual location on the folder you want to make this work on.
This will tell you if the Case Sensitive Attribute is enabled or disabled on the location.
2. Enable Case Sensitive Attribute of a Folder
Press WINKEY + X button combo or right-click on the Start button and click on Command Prompt (Admin).
Now, type in the following command and hit Enter.
fsutil.exe file setCaseSensitiveInfo “<PATH> enable”
Make sure that you replace <PATH> with the actual location on the folder you want to make this work on.
This will enable the Case Sensitive Attribute of a Folder on your used path.
3. Disable Case Sensitive Attribute of a Folder
Press WINKEY + X button combo or right-click on the Start button and click on Command Prompt (Admin).
Now, type in the following command and hit Enter.
fsutil.exe file setCaseSensitiveInfo “<PATH> disable”
Make sure that you replace <PATH> with the actual location on the folder you want to make this work on.
This will disable the Case Sensitive Attribute of a Folder on your used path.
All the best!
