So I like to move my big folders from the home folder on the macOS System SSD to a hard drive and keep the SSD mainly for the system files and apps, a fairly common practice.
Problem is when I want to access the home folder over a network, if I use aliases I get..
Foo can't be open because the original item can't be found.
Or for symlinks..
The operation can’t be completed because the original item for “Bar” can’t be found.
Alas hard links don't appear to be usable for directories.
But once when doing this I appear to have stumbled upon a method of linking that did resolve over a network, but I don't have that install anymore so can't check.
Is there a way to move and link folders that will resolve when accessing said folders from another Mac on the same network?
It's also no fun that if these are added back to the sidebar as aliases, files can't be dragged into them.
Best Answer
So the answer is that both aliases and symlinks are both respected over network so long as the a share is mounted that contains the path to the original file in Finder i.e now has an eject button.
In my case I'd symlinked from an SSD to a HD, and while the SSD share folder was mounted, I had not yet browsed to any place on the HD so it was not mounted.