Shortcuts, Links and Junctions
A folder shortcut is a special file that contains the full path of a folder, for example C:\Program Files\File Downloader\My Downloads. When you run (e.g. by double-clicking) this shortcut, you are taken to that folder. If you look at the address bar of your file browser, you will see that you are in C:\Program Files\File Downloader\My Downloads.
A link, on the other hand, is a folder which is an alias for another folder. If you have a link named "My Downloads" in C:\ to C:\Program Files\File Downloader\My Downloads, the address bar will say C:\My Downloads but show the contents of C:\Program Files\File Downloader\My Downloads.
Junctions are a bit different - junctions allow you to create hardlinks between directories.
Example use: when a drive is nearly full
Your main hard drive (C:) is nearly full, and while your secondary hard drive (D:) has plenty space you have something new that will need to be on C:. There are no files that you can move to D without breaking something, especially programs. But with a Junction, a special kind of link, you can move programs to D: and have windows think that it's still on C:. Start by creating a new folder named "Program Files" in D:\. Move your C:\Program Files\OldProgram to D:\Program Files\, then create a junction called "OldProgram" in C:\Program Files that points to D:\Program Files\OldProgram. Now, that program actually resides on the D: drive but it still looks as though it's still in its original location.
Junctions (a.k.a. Junction Points or Reparse Points), for most intents and purposes, are invisible to Windows. Virtually all programs, including Windows Explorer in certain cases, will interpret the linked folder as though it were the target folder. This makes Junctions dangerous because deleting the link in a non-junction-aware program such as Explorer may cause a recursive delete, deleting the contents of the target folder as well as the link.
So be careful - best deleted with a utility that knows about junctions, like Winbolic or Junction Link Magic -
http://www.rekenwonder.com/linkmagic.htm - or Hardlink Shell Extension -
http://schinagl.priv.at/nt/hardlinks...kshellext.html
The truth of the matter is that I like poking around operating systems (DOS, BeOS, Unix, Windows, Linux etc.) and finding neat utilities that are bound to be useful "someday" - junk collection really, but every now and then I find something really useful.
I've got a some hardlinks and two junctions set up just for fun (one of them is actually useful) - I'm sure one day I'll find a situation whwn I absolutely HAVE to have this...and maybe some stymied PPRuNer will too - at least he/she will find the info somewhere.
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"Bother," said Pooh as he struggled with /etc/sendmail.cf, "it never does quite what I want. I wish Christopher Robin was here."