spaces at ends of filenames or directory names on Win32

[rtilley]

# Spaces are present before and after the XXX
filename = ' XXX '

new_filename = filename.strip()

if new_filename != filename:
     print filename

Macs allow these spaces in file and folder names. Which is OK. The 
problem arises when the file or folder is copied to a PC running Windows 
from a Mac. Windows allows the Mac to copy the file to it, but when 
Windows itself attempts to do anything with the file it strips the 
spaces and then tries to move it, copy it, etc and complains that the 
file isn't there!

I can rectify this by striping the spaces from the files and folders on 
the Mac before they are copied to the PC or mounting the Windows share 
from the Mac and running a recursive strip program I wrote, but Windows 
will not allow the whitespace removal directly from within Windows.... 
how annoying!

For example... tell windows to move a file named ' XXX ' (one space 
before and one space after the filename). Windows will complain that 
file 'XXX' does not exist. It's correct of course, 'XXX' does not exist, 
but ' XXX ' does indeed exist.

Can anyone rescue me from this madness :(

Many Thanks,
Brad