> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.hex-rays.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.hex-rays.com/ida-9.5/core/user-interface/concepts/configuration-files/legacy-name-character-restrictions.md).

# Restricting name characters (legacy)

{% hint style="info" %}
This is a legacy behavior. By default IDA keeps names as they come from symbols, demanglers and debug information. You only need this page if you deliberately want to restore the old behavior, where names were forced into a restricted character set.
{% endhint %}

Historically, IDA replaced any character that was not part of a configured character set with `_` before storing or displaying a name. This is governed by settings in the [configuration file](/ida-9.5/core/user-interface/concepts/configuration-files.md) `IDA.CFG`:

* `GarbleNames` — a bitmask selecting which names are restricted (bit `0x1`: symbol names in storage; bit `0x2`: symbol names when displayed). The default `0` keeps names verbatim. This is a property of the database: it is frozen when the database is created and the configuration only seeds newly created databases.
* `NameChars` — the characters allowed in user-defined (symbol) names.
* `MangleChars` — the characters allowed in mangled names.
* `TypeNameChars` — the characters allowed in type names.

See the comment next to each setting in `IDA.CFG` for the exact syntax.


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