Just a small application I made to simplify the process of creating symbolic and hard links in Windows 7 and Windows 8 (likely Vista too).

It is a GUI for the MKLINK command in Windows, which makes creating the links much easier.

The program requires administrator permissions due to use of the command prompt, so you should run it as an administrator if you experience any problems.

Note: It is not possible to create a hard link from a network share. You must use a symbolic link instead.

Warning:

If you incorrectly specify the destination path, such as having the destination and source paths backwards,

it will delete the file/folder you are presumably trying to create a symlink from.

You will be presented with a confirmation prompt that shows you which folder will be replaced/deleted.

It is always a good idea to test this app on empty files or folders.

Features

Can create symbolic link or a hard link automatically.
Provides the CMD command if manual execution is desired.

http://downloads.sourceforge.net/project/symlink-creator/Symlink%20Creator%201.3/SymlinkCreator.exe

Windows Symbolic Link Maker

Description

This is a GUI interface to make symbolic link for windows vista(or up)

Does exactly what it states. Supports both file links (with hard links) and directory links.

No fuss, no .net required, no install needed.

I used to use DirLinker but it does not work anymore, this does. Just what I needed.

NTFS Link Ext

Description

This is a spin-off from Michael Elsdoerfer's original NTFS Link (hosted at Novell Forge) to incorporate some fixes and extended features.

NTFS Links

Features

Alax.Info NTFS Links extends Microsoft Windows XP operating system shell by adding additional features related to soft and hard links supported by NTFS file system. The description of the features is provided below.

Shell Extensions

The shell is extended with the following new interface items:

Additional user interface commands:
- new item to directory context menus to accept dropped directories as soft links
- new item to directory context menus to paste copied to clipboard directories as soft links
- new item to directory context menus to accept dropped files as hard links
- new item to directory context menus to paste copied to clipboard files as hard links
- new directory column to display soft linked directory’s link target directory
- new directory column to display file’s number of hard links
- new info tip item to soft linked directories to display link target
- new info tip item to display file’s number of hard links
- icon overlay to display soft linked directories with a shortcut image
Shell operation changes:
- an option to create move a soft link when a soft linked directory is being moved
- an option to create a soft link when a directory is being copied
- an option to copy a soft link when a soft linked directory is being copied
- an option to delete link when a soft linked directory is being deleted

Download

Current version of Alax.Info NTFS Links can be downloaded from:

AlaxInfoNtfsLinksSetup.msi – Version 1.1.5, 32-bit
AlaxInfoNtfsLinksSetup-x64.msi – Version 1.1.5, 64-bit (x64)

Alax.Info NTFS Links is free to use.

NTFS links 的使用是这样的，安装后，右键拖动任何文件/文件夹，在右键菜单中有 Creat Soft Link Here 选项，

选中后就会出现一个名为 Soft Link to XXX 的文件，查看属性，大小也与原文件相同。

但这个 Soft Link to XXX 是个虚拟文件，你在这里的所有操作都会被继承到原文件中，

包括改名，删除。而在原文件中的操作也同样会继承到虚拟文件中。

你说的这个链接，NTFS5 有类似的实现，但是要比 Linux 下面的 soft link/hard link 要差一些

把一个目录指向另一个目录，可以使用 NTFS 的 directory junction point 功能，

这个功能微软只提供了 API 但在explorer.exe/cmd.exe 里面没有提供直接支持，

你可以下载sysinternals 写的命令行工具 junction.exe，注意 rmdir junction point 时会删除实际的目录！

如果只想删除 junction point 的话，要用junction -d

如果是 Vista 的话，微软提供了一个命令 mklink，使用方法可见这里

如果喜欢图形界面的话，可以考虑开源的 ntfslinkext，或者免费的NTFS links。(NTFS links 网页有个 Similar Tools，下面还有几个)

WinLink

Description

A software that support creating (directory) symlink, hardlink, and NTFS junctions.

Very simple, all you need is administrative rights.

I am sure everyone knows how to use it. 2.x is developed with Delphi (faster than VB.NET).

HardlinkGUI

Description

If you don't know how command line works or too lazy to open command prompt and want to create a hard link, use this tool.

This only work on Windows 2000 and later with NTFS file system

[Vista] 符号连结(Symbolic/Soft Link)、永久连结(Hard Link)与连接点(Junction Point)

Vista强化了类似Unix的符号连结(Symbolic Link，又称Soft Link)与永久连结(Hard Link)的概念，

由于我参考的网路资源大都语焉不详，让人越看越糊涂，因此试着以我的理解呈现出来，若有谬误还请读者们指正。

我们由图形来对照不同连结的观念。在作业系统里要开启任何档案都必须先由档案配置表

(File Allocation Table，FAT，Vista里不清楚有无别的名词来表示)里找到档案项目(Entry)，

再由该项目查出相关属性后，再连结到实体的内容磁区，就能读取其档案内容。

如果我们建立一个永久连结，在FAT里新建的连结档名同样会连结到内容磁区(红线)。

如果OldFileName被删除，但因为NewHardLink仍然存在，因此其内容仍会保留在系统里。
如果修改OldFileName的内容，则因为NewHardLink也指向同一个内容磁区，因此其内容也同步变动了
OldFileName与NewHardLink都删除，内容磁区才会被清除

而符号连结则只是存在于FAT里的一个项目而已，亦即NewSoftLink是一个指向OldFileName项目的指标(蓝线)，
如果OldFileName被改名或删除，则NewSoftLink就找不到内容了。
观念清楚后，再来看Vista里建立连结的指令。
Vista里用来建立连结的指令是mklink.exe(Make Link)，使用语法如下：

：要建立的连结名称(图形里的NewHardLink与NewSoftLink)
：被连结的目标，可以是实体目录或档案的完整或部份路径(图形里的OldFileName)

范例：

上列指令执行后的结果：永久连结和档案符号连结建立了两个档案(红框)，目录符号连结和连接点是两个目录，再加上目前目录的点( . )和代表上层目录的两个点( .. )总共四个目录(浅蓝框)。

由档案总管理无法很清楚的看出各种连结的类型，在DOS视窗使用dir /aL命令才能很清楚的看到、等类型。以下是使用dir /s /aL c: 列出Vista输出的内容。由其内容可以看出几个重点：

为了和Windows以前版本相容，C:\Documents and Settings是新建的连接点，连接目标是C:\Users
连接点大量用来建立指向同一个目录的多个名称

Mklink is a MS Windows command line utility that you can use to create symbolic links or symlinks and hard links in MS Windows. Mklink is a nice tool for troubleshooting file system problems. Mklink requires administrative privileges.

This page relates to explaining the difference between symbolic links and hard links on the Difference between symbolic link and hard link page.

First, let's introduce the mklink command. You can see it in the following print screen:

It is pretty self-explanatory. Now, let's take a look at an example.

Mklink example

The print screen shown below demonstrates creating symbolic links, hard links, and shortcuts in MS Windows and how they differ.

Symbolic link:

Created as mklink link_name target_name
The icon next to the link is the same like that of a shortcut
Occupies zero space in the system
It is not a separate file in the file system
Interpreted at the operating system level
If the original file is deleted, the link is useless
Removing the original file does not remove the symbolic link
Removing the symbolic link does not remove the original file

Hard link:

Created as mklink /H link_name target_name
The space it occupies equals the size of the original file, but refers to the same object in the system (not a copy)
Interpreted at the operating system level
The icon next to the hard link is different from the other objects
Removing the original file does not remove the hard link
Removing the hard link does not remove the original file
If the original file is deleted, its content is still available through the hard link
Making a change to the hard link propagates all changes to the original file

Shortcut:

Created by right clicking the original file and selecting action from the drop down menu
A file in the system that is completely separate from the original file
Only those programs that know the concept of shortcuts understand them
If the original file is deleted, the link is useless
Removing the original file does not remove the shortcut
Removing the shortcut does not remove the original file

The print screen below shows these concepts.

Linux uses a similar command called ln.

Mklink in Windows versus Ln in Linux

Note, the mklink syntax is a bit different from the Linux ln syntax (ln is used in Linux to create links).

Mklink: The name of the link is followed by the name of the target in the mklink command syntax. If you do not specify any flag, the mklink utility creates a symbolic link by default.

Ln: The name of the target is followed by the name of the link. If you want to create a symlink, you have to specifically include the -s flag.

Difference between symbolic link and hard link

What is the difference between symbolic link and hard link? Explaining the difference between a symbolic link or asymlink and a hard link is easy and vital to knowing about how Linux/Unix environments work.

Understanding the difference between a symbolic link and a hard link is also important for web server maintenance and understanding how modern websites work.

What is symbolic link or symlink?

Symbolic link, often called symlink or softlink, is very similar to what we know from Windows - a shortcut. They are kind of shortcuts in the Linux/Unix world. Well, symbolic link can exist in the Windows world too, but for the simplicity of our explanation, let's just work with the comparison that symlink is kind of a shortcut for now. We will get into more details later. Symbolic link contains information about the destination of the target file.

What is hard link?

Hard link (often also called hardlink) is a bit different object when compared to a symlink. Hard link is a directory reference or pointer to a file. Hardlink is a label stored in a directory structure that refers the operating system to the file data when it is accessed. The important part is that hard link is closely tied together with its originating file. If you make changes to a hard link, you automatically make changes to the underlying file that the hardlink is attached to.

Hard link can only refer to data that exists on the same file system.

Many of us are used to Windows where files live in folders. Files in Linux/Unix are not stored in directories. Files in Linux are assigned an inode number which Linux uses to locate files. Each file can have multiple hard links which are located in various directories. A file does not get deleted until there are no remaining hard links to it.

Differences between symbolic link and hard link

Let's summarize our findings. The list bellow summarizes some differences between symlink and hard link:

Hardlink or hardlinks cannot be created for directories (folders). Hard link can only be created for a file.
Symbolic links or symlinks can link to a directory (folder).
Removing the original file that your hard link points to does not remove the hardlink itself; the hardlink still provides the content of the underlying file.
If you remove the hard link or the symlink itself, the original file will stay intact.
Removing the original file does not remove the attached symbolic link or symlink, but without the original file, the symlink is useless (the same concept like Windows shortcut).

In case you are interested getting to know even more details, this list is expanded more on the the Mklink page. The concept is simply that hard links are tied to their sources more rigidly.

What is the difference between symlink and shortcut?

We mentioned that symlinks are like shortcuts. They are like shortcuts but with some small differences. Symbolic links are automatically resolved by the file system. Any software programs, upon accessing a symbolic link, will see the target instead, whether the program is aware of symbolic links or not. On the other hand, shortcuts are treated like ordinary files by the files system and by software programs that are not aware of them. Only software programs that understand shortcuts (such as Windows) treat shortcuts as references to other files. Shortcuts can point to files or directories that exist in another file system or on the network. The difference between symbolic link and shortcut is clearer from the example mentioned at the bottom of this article, respectively as shown in the big print screen on theMklink page.

How to create a hard link or hardlink?

In Linux, you would use the ln command to create a hard link.

$ ln fileA fileB

where fileA is the original file and fileB is the name you want to give to the hardlink. Let's do some research now. You have the original file and one hard link that is attached to it. Now, you look at these two objects with the ls command:

$ ls -il fileA fileB

You can see in the output of this command that both files fileA and fileB have the same inode number (the first number on the line). In addition to having the same inode, both files have the same file permissions and the samesize. Because that size is reported for the same inode, we can see that a hard link does not occupy any extra space on your space.

If you now remove the original file and open the hard link, you will still be able to see the content of the original file.

Note, hard link cannot be created to a folder. If you try creating a hard link to a folder, you will get "Access denied."

How to create a symlink?

Let's demonstrate this with an example. When talking about Linux, you would use the ln command with the -sparameter. You would do something like:

$ ln -s fileA fileB

where fileA is the original file and fileB is the name you want to give to the symbolic link. Now, let's take a look at these two objects with the ls command again:

$ ls -il fileA fileB

You can see that you get different result as compared to when we displayed the hard link. The first difference between symlink and the original file is the inode number. The inode is different for the original file and for the symbolic link. Next, you can also notice that there is the pipe symbol "l" before the permissions on the symlink line. Also, the symbolic link has different permissions than the original file (because it is just a symbolic link). The content of the symlink is just a string pointing to the original file. The size of the symlink is not the same as the size of the original file. The symbolic link is a separate entity and as such occupies some space on your hard drive. You can see at the end of the line where the symlink points to.

You can access the content of the original file directly by calling the original file or by calling the symbolic link. You will see the same result.

Now if you remove the original file, the symlink will still be there. If you try to access the content of the original file through the symbolic link after removing the original file, you will get a message saying there is no such file or directory.

Can I make a symlink to a hard link?

Yes. The hard link functions the same way like the original file; therefore, you can make symlinks to it. You would use in our example the following command:

$ ln -s fileB fileC

where fileB would be the name of the hard link, and fileC would be the name of your new symlink.

Difference between symlink and hard link in Windows?

There are not many differences between symbolic link and hard link in the concept; the concept is the same whether we are working with Linux or Windows; the difference between symlink and hardlink is in how you create them. When talking about MS Windows, you can create three things:

shortcut
hard link / hardlink
symbolic link / symlink

See the following example. The example shown on the next page (click the thumbnail) explains how you can create shortcut, hard link, and symbolic link in Windows and how they differ.

How to Create and Use Links with MKLINK in Windows

Information

As so many other things in computing, Windows Links seem more complicated to understand and use than what they really are in reality.

This tutorial will tell you how to create and use links using MKLINK to redirect system queries made to a local or network storage location to another location.

In this tutorial we will concentrate on the most important link type, a Directory Junction. A junction is a very practical way to customize your file handling and procedures.

A Link is basically nothing more than a shortcut. Its purpose is to get Windows to think that a file or folder which is physically located in folder Real on drive A is in fact in folder Fake on drive B by creating a link betweenB:\Fake (a link or junction) and A:\Real (a target folder). Opening the link for instance in Explorer shows contents of target, saving a document to link actually saves it on target.

As Windows now gets a query from user to open B:\Fake this query is sent to A:\Real. In reality the location B:\Fake does not exist but system answers this query as it was a real folder instead of just a symbolic link and presents user the contents of A:\Real as if it was contents of B:\Fake. Sounds complicated? Don’t worry, it’s quite easy in fact.

Part 1: What is a Link?

Note

A Link in Windows is a virtual object that points to a real physical location. It can be compared to Windows desktop shortcut, doing essentially the same thing in redirecting user to a physical storage location.

A Link can be so called Hard Link linking one file to a target file, or a Soft Link linking a folder to a target folder. Soft Links are also called Symbolic Links. Third link type is Junction, basically a hard link but as hard links can only link files we need to use junctions to link folders.

If you are using Windows Vista or later you have most probably used links without ever noticing it. In Windows XP all user data was saved in a folder called C:\Documents and Settings (default name and location). Windows Vista changed this; instead of Documents and Settings the data was divided between two system folders, C:\Users for user specific application data and personal files and folders, andC:\ProgramData for all users shared application data. To allow backwards compatibility all Windows versions since Vista have a linkC:\Documents and Settings with two target folders, ProgramData and Users.

You can check this by yourself by allowing protected system files and folders to be shown and opening C: drive on Explorer:

(Please notice, screenshots from Windows 8 but links work the same way on Windows 7. Highlighted with yellow = visible system folders created by Windows installation, red = hidden or protected system folders.)

If you try to open Documents and Settings you get an "Access Denied" message. It does not exist, there is no such folder on your C: drive but it is needed for legacy software.

An example: You want to install Microsoft Office XP on your Windows 7. As Office XP was published for Windows XP long before Vista it uses the XP system folder Documents and Settings to store user data. Vista and later Windows do no longer have this folder so a link is needed. Office XP setup thinks it is creating files and folders normally in Documents and Settings but actually your Windows 7 is lying to Office XP setup, not telling it those files and folders are in fact created in Users and ProgramData. Office XP setup does not notice this deception, installation works and later when user works with Office XP it still thinks the Documents and Settings folder is there, never learning the fact that all queries to that folder are sent further and returned as if they really came from Documents and Settings.

Part 2: Working with Directory Junctions

(1.) Command Syntax

Links are created wit command mklink, short from Make Link. Typing mklink /? on Command Prompt you get the command syntax and options:

Code:

MKLINK [[/D] | [/H] | [/J]] Link Target
 
        /D      Creates a directory symbolic link.  Default is a file symbolic link.
       /H      Creates a hard link instead of a symbolic link.
        /J   Creates a Directory Junction.
        Link    specifies the new symbolic link name.
        Target  specifies the path (relative or absolute) that the new link refers to.

(2.) Use an Elevated Command Prompt

You must use elevated command prompt to work with links.

(3.) Create a Link or a Junction

Creating a directory junction D:\Docs with target E:\Users\Kari\Documents:

Code:

mklink /j D:\Docs E:\Users\Kari\Documents

Windows tells you clearly if the creating of junction has succeeded:

(4.) Main principles when creating a link or a junction

A file or a folder with the name of the intended Link name may not exist. The link file or folder name must be free to use, not reserved by an existing file or folder. If the name is reserved you get an error message. My D: drive already has a folder Test, this is what happens when trying to create a junction with D:\Test (already an existing folder) as link and E:\Users as target:

Notice that command prompt is telling about a file already existing instead of a folder. This is because the system sees links as shortcuts (files) and not as folders.
Target folder may but must not exist. If it does not exist at the time when a link is created it must be created before you can use the link:
Target can be another Link. Above in (3.) we created a junction D:\Docs with target E:\Users\Kari\Documents. Following command would now create a link C:\Docs with target D:\Docs:
Code:
```
mklink /j C:\Docs D:\Docs
```
In fact Windows sees no difference if the target is a real physical folder location or just another link. In this case all queries toC:\Docs would be sent to D:\Docs which would send them further to E:\Users\Kari\Documents. If a user now opens C:\Docsin Explorer, it shows the contents of E:\Users\Kari\Documents:

Noticed something interesting in screenshot above? The target folder is called Documents but Explorer shows it as My Documents. This is because those "My ..." folders in your user profile folder are actually not real folders. They are directory links:My Videos is simply a link with target Videos and so on.

(5.) Remove or rename a link

Links and junctions can be renamed and removed as any real folders. System automatically modifies registry and sets the target to be the same for a renamed link as it was on the original link.

This is because even not really existing, the system handles links as if they were real existing folders. This is what Explorer shows when asked for Properties for our example junction D:\Docs:

Only way to really see it is in fact a junction is to get directory listing in command prompt:

The listing not only shows it is a junction but also its target folder.

Part 3: Practical Examples

A typical situation: You have bought a game that must be installed on root level folder C:\Games. Your C: drive is becoming full, so you decide to move the whole C:\Games folder to D:, delete now empty C:\Games (remember, link folder may not exist) and create a junction:

Code:

mklink /j C:\Games D:\Games

When launching the game it still assumes it is located on C: although you, me and Windows know better : it's "secretly" residing on D: but still using the old address on C:.

Another situation: You want to work with some pics from last Christmas, to edit them to be ready to be published on that website of yours. Pics are currently located in X:\Backups\Pictures\My Pictures\Holidays\Christmas 2012.

You can create a junction X:\Pics, and now whenever you want to work with those pics you just type X:\Pics to Run dialog to open the correct folder:

Code:

mklink /j X:\Pics "X:\Backups\Pictures\My Pictures\Holidays\Christmas 2012"

Notice that if a path contains spaces it must be set in between quotation marks as in above target path.

That's about it. Any feedback welcome.

Kari

WINDOWS 的 MKLINK : 硬链接，符号链接 : 文件符号链接, 目录符号链接 : 目录联接...

玩转WIN7的MKLINK

引言：

symlinker

Symlink Creator

Program to create symlinks. Provides the CMD command as well.

Description

Features

Windows Symbolic Link Maker

Description

NTFS Link Ext

Description

NTFS Links

WinLink

Description

HardlinkGUI

Description

[Vista] 符号连结(Symbolic/Soft Link)、永久连结(Hard Link)与连接点(Junction Point)

Mklink example

Mklink in Windows versus Ln in Linux

Difference between symbolic link and hard link

What is symbolic link or symlink?

What is hard link?

Differences between symbolic link and hard link

What is the difference between symlink and shortcut?

How to create a hard link or hardlink?

How to create a symlink?

Can I make a symlink to a hard link?

Difference between symlink and hard link in Windows?

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