private static extern int GetLongPathName(

The GetLongPathName API call is only available on Windows 98/ME and Windows 2000/XP. It is not available on Windows 95 & NT.

    internal static string GetLongPathName(string shortPath)

    int result = GetLongPathName(shortPath, builder, builder.Capacity);

        result = GetLongPathName(shortPath, builder, builder.Capacity);

The short name can be used without problem to open files so the only time you would need to use GetLongPathName is if you want to display the path or want to display the file name.