virtual file allocation table (VFAT)

The virtual file allocation table (VFAT) is an extension of the file allocation table( FAT) for long file names.

VFAT was introduced with Windows 95 and supports partitions of over 2 gigabytes( GB). With VFAT a short and a long file name are registered for each directory entry. When programs are called, both file names are given to the program. The long file name is distributed to different directories. The VFAT format, which uses the Unicode, can process file names with 255 characters.

Virtual File Allocation Table (VFAT) is integrated in FAT32 and is not an independent file system but a driver.