Windows – How To Rename A File To Start With A Dot

While working in Windows there may be situations that you need to create or rename a file or folder to start with a dot and not have a file extension. This often happens if you are developing a website locally on a Windows PC and uploading the website to a Linux web server. In Linux, it is common to have files or folders that start with a dot. Files and folders that start with a dot in Linux are hidden. Examples of these filenames are .htaccess, .gitignore, and .gitkeep.

In Windows, if you try to rename a file to start with a dot a “You must type a file name” error will be displayed.

To rename the file to start with a dot put a dot at the beginning and the end of the file name. After clicking enter the dot at the beginning of the filename will remain and the dot at the end of the filename will be removed.

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