standard way to convert to short path in .net

Question

looking for the standard bug-proofed way to convert \"long names\" such as \"C:\\Documents and settings\" to their equivalent \"short names\" \"C:\\DOCUME~1\"

I need

Answer 1

Does the external process fail even if you enclose the long file paths in quotes? That may be a simpler method, if the external app supports it.

e.g.

myExternalApp "C:\Documents And Settings\myUser\SomeData.file"