Symbolic Links Quick Reference

Introduction

symbolic link, also termed a soft link, is a special kind of file or folder that points to another file or folder, much like a shortcut in Windows or a Macintosh alias. Unlike a hard link, a symbolic link does not contain the data in the target file. It simply points to another entry somewhere in the file system.

This reference only deals with folder symbolic links like a 'photos' folder link that, when you open it, appears to contain all the directories and files of the real target folder somewhere else on the system. And changes made here are reflected in the real folder. The icon for a folder symbolic link looks like a folder with a little arrow on it.

Important: This will be obvious to some, but still bears repeating. For those who would consolidate all their media folders under a master folder like exhibits, both in the remote location and in the TNG root, there only needs to be a single directory symbolic link -- exhibits -- in the TNG root which points to the remote folder. With that one link, all the real folders and files in the remote folder will be available in the TNG root just as if all the content were still in the root. On the other hand, if one moves each media folder (photos, documents, etc.) to separate remote locations, then they will need a directory symbolic link in the TNG root for each one of them.

Below we provide the syntax or code for creating a folder symbolic link on Windows 10, Linux and on your shared hosting website.

Windows 10 Command Line

• Type cmd in the search box.
• Right-click on Command Prompt
• Select Run as administrator.

• Navigate to directory where you want to create the symbolic link.

Syntax

mklink /D link_name real_target_folder

/D creates a directory symbolic link named "link_name" in current directory. It will point the "real_target_folder".

Example

D:\documents> mklink /D symlink_folder "..\real_folder"

• Note the quotes around the target path.
• We are in the directory (documents) where we want to place the symbolic link.
• We use the command mklink /D so we will be creating a directory symbolic link.
• symlink_folder is the name of the directory symbolic link to create.
• ../real_folder is the target folder whose contents will appear when you open symlink_folder.

Linux Terminal Command Line

Open a console window and navigate to the folder where the directory link is to be created.

Syntax

ln -s -d target symlink_name (command is lower case LN)

note: this opposite to the arguments in windows mklink where symlink_name comes first

-s creates symbolic link as opposed to hard link -d creates a directory link (a file link is default)

Example

To create a folder -- exhibits -- in current directory pointing to a real folder of the same name above the document root:

ln -s -d /home/rick/bfam/exhibits exhibits

Shared Hosting Website

In this example we will create a directory symbolic link in the document root named symfolder and point it to real_folder located in the private area above the document root.

Use the following as a guide, create a php file and drop it into you site, then run it from the browser. Adjust the path values to match your own site's path, and change the real_folder and symfolder names to suit your needs.

<?php
if( !symlink( “/home/rick/real_folder”, “/home/rick/public_html/symfolder” ) {
    echo “Cannot create link!”;
    exit;
}
else {
    echo “Symbolic link created!”;
    exit;
}
?>

Related Links

• Symbolic Links an in depth discussion of symbolic links
• The Complete Guide to Creating Symbolic Links (aka Symlinks) on Windows
• How to Create and Use Symbolic Links (aka Symlinks) on a Mac