Windows – How to copy MS Windows symlink files as is

mklinksymbolic-linkwindowswindows-explorer

I made some symlinks in MS Windows using mklink /D command.
But when copy it, Windows Explorer always perform deep copy instead copying symlink itself.
How can I just copy the link? I need to send these links to other users on other machine.

Best Answer

A tool answer: LinkShellExtension allows you to do this and much more. If you're working with soft/hard links in Windows at all, it's an enormously helpful tool.

In this case, you probably want to choose its 'Splice' behaviour in copying Symlinks.

Related Solutions

Symlink to a URL

It's not possible to create a symlink to an URL. If you can make executables and the target OS is Linux-alike, you can create a file which opens the URL as in:

#!/bin/sh
x-www-browser 'http://example.com/your/link'

Windows – How to start an application via a Windows symlink

Let me illustrate the problem with an example. I created a simple one-line batch file Test.bat in C:\Program Files with the following contents:

@echo Batch dir = "%~dp0"

Now from D:\ if I invoke the batch file with C:\Program Files\Test, it says:

Batch dir = "C:\Program Files\"

If I modify the PATH using set path=%path%;C:\Program Files and invoke the batch file with a simple Test, it says:

Batch dir = "C:\Program Files\"

Finally if I create a symlink using mklink Test.bat "C:\Program Files\Test.bat" and invoke it with a simple Test, it says:

Batch dir = "D:\"

As you can see the current working directory is different in this case. No wonder your apps are complaining about files they expect in the executable's directory being missing.

If you don't want to add lots of directories to the PATH just add one that contains batch files for each of your apps.

Best Answer

Related Solutions

Symlink to a URL

Windows – How to start an application via a Windows symlink

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