Softlink Software Download
Sanny Olafeso
Background: There're some apps and games I have "temporarily" installed, but not stored in my sys-backup. They're are installed on a 2nd SSD, but because apps etc. even in 2015 are not able to store their settings in their own or a user-specified folder (not to mention the missing backup/restore like DO), they will be stored in local, locallow, roaming or programdata. So I backuped them manually and on a restore I used a button which automatically copied them back.
But it would be faster and easier just to symlink them with a button, which automatically selects all existing folders (amount varies, because subfolders will be added/removed) and creates a symlink for each to the specified folder (e.g. all folders in "Copy-Of-Roaming" to "Roaming").
Another advantage using symlinks is that I wouldn't need to backup existing settings before restoring sys. And I don't want to symlink Roaming etc. itself (like some people do), because I want to keep it clear and on a fresh install you could run into problems.
Seems easier to include your whole profile folder in the backup. You're bound to miss something otherwise. (OTOH, there's a lot of large stuff in the profile you might not want to backup, but maybe it's easier to symlink those folders out rather than everything else in? Excluding a few large things you don't want is safer than not remembering to include something you do want.)
I won't miss anything, because I know which app needs which folder (also sometimes regs are requiered). You may need to know, I never create a backup from running sys. I install a sys, include the necessary stuff and configure everything, than create a backup. A restore is just to have a clean sys again and/or to add changes/updates and then backup again. And for the additional apps (which I don't use everyday) I just want a comfortable way to create the symlinks. I can't forget anything, because for each app it's necessary to find these things out (btw. it's not only for private fun, on customers installations I don't want to configure the same settings hundred of times!).
I don't know why we need to discuss things which a) I want and b) perfectly works over years w/o any problems? I just want to know how to create such a button, because coding is simply not my fav thing.
How often do you do this that the extra second it takes to enter the folder and push Ctrl-A matters? A script to avoid that is possible, but it seems like it would take more time to write than the time it would save, if it's something done once per machine setup. Maybe I have misunderstood, in which case if I tried writing the script for you I'd probably write the wrong thing.
Often enough . There're some more steps I do on a restore or installation (which are already automated), so having one button doing all these things automatically simply saves time (and avoids errors, e.g. when jumping around all these folders this also could end in copying from/to wrong folder). The command could be also useful for other things for me.
So let's say we have the original folders in "D:\Settings\Roaming". Now the command should create symlinks for each folder, which are included in "D:\Settings\Roaming", and link them to "C:\Users...\Appdata\Roaming" (or %Appdata%).
In case you want to apply this to all the folders currently in the filedisplay and not just for the selected ones add "SELECT ALL" at the top. If you want those symlinks to be created in a special place, add "TO="C:\myplace" to the copy command.
PS: Whenever somebody needs a button, I assume it shall affect items in the lister. I read through all the posts again and I think it's hard to read out that important information. Anyway, we're getting there it seems! o)
I thought it was clear that I want some kind of automation. I also wrote that I want "doing all these things automatically" and also that I don't want to switch through x folders to create the softlinks manually (and avoid mistakes)! See also Leo's second answer.
yes it works with makelink at first, tested 2 times. But found out, that if a symlink already exists, there will be copies with "(1)". It's not important, because I only press the buttons once after a restore, but maybe you have a fast solution, that a symlink will not be created if it already exists.
The softlink can also be used to link reserve bridles to harnesses, provided necessary steps are taken to ensure that friction damage will not occur in a shock opening. This can be done by locking the parts in place with O-Rings, or with Silicone Tape. We recommend using it in triple looped configuration for reserve bridles where possible.
Then for each SoftLink in the collection, I can obtain a link to the referenced content for blocks and pages as follows (sl is an instance of SoftLink) (UrlResolver.Current.GetUrl(sl.ReferencedContentLink) always returns null for blocks, but works for media and pages):
The SoftLink's Url property now points to the current page which is correct as this is now the 'source' of the softlink, but now I can't get the URL for blocks, as UrlResolver.Current.GetUrl doesn't work for block content references.
One key characteristic of blocks is that they have no public URL (that is a key difference between pages and blocks) meaning they can not be rendered on its own, instead are they rendered as parts of other content e.g. when used in a contentarea.
I believe there might be an issue with the xmltv setup not being under hts. Also I've read that my softlink may not be configured properly - although that's way over my linux understanding. Any suggestions on how to remove what's there and reinstall properly would be much appreciated. Here's what the link says.
If the uploaded filename is not known in advance, you must softlink the entire directory. To do that, you must move away (or unmount if necessary) the current /stage directory. With soft links, it does not matter if the link and target are in different filesystems or VGs.
Filesystems can only be mounted on top of directories, so if /stage was a mountpoint, there will be a directory named /stage left after the "umount /stage" command. Before creating the softlink, this directory needs to be moved away or deleted.
In Linux, /proc/mounts offers much the same thing and it can even be used as a replacement of /etc/mtab, but in some situations the mount command stores some extra data in /etc/mtab which is not available through /proc/mounts (mainly when you're using the "user" mount option to allow non-root users to mount/unmount things).
One of the most important aspects about learning a new technology or tool is understanding its terminology. The Linux operating system is no different. Full of terms and phrases, learning to use the OSis made even more challenging by the fact that some of its words it borrows from other systems, while others apply only to Linux. Hard links and soft links are particular to Linux and other Unix-like OSs, but understanding them can help you navigate the filesystems of the Linux operating system. Soft links, hard links, and more are covered in our Linux training module.
Quick definition: In Linux, a soft link, also known as a symbolic link, is a special sort of file that points at a different file. In Windows vocabulary, you could think of it like a shortcut. Because the connection is a logical one, and not a duplication, soft links can point at entire directories or link to files on remote computers. Hard links cannot do this.
In this video, Shawn Powers covers the difference between hard links and soft (or symbolic) links on a Linux OS 10 operating system. These are essentially two different ways that files are referenced on a hard drive, with the former pointing to the file itself and the latter directed towards the name of the file.
Hard links and soft links are terms used in Linux and OS10 operating systems. Both soft links and hard links point to files, but there's a key difference between them. The difference comes down to what they're referencing: hard links refer to the data itself, soft links point to the path to the data.
Understanding the difference between a hard link and a soft link takes zooming in on a hard drive as far down as we can go. In Linux systems, the data structure that does the actual storing of information is called an Inode. A hard link is a file all its own, and the file references or points to the exact spot on a hard drive where the Inode stores the data. A soft link isn't a separate file, it points to the name of the original file, rather than to a spot on the hard drive.
Effectively, a hard link gives you two, separate files that behave like different files. But it's better that you don't think of a hard link as a copy. Because there's an exception to the idea that they behave like separate files: if you make a change to File 1, File 2 will automatically be edited. That happens because they're two separate files, but they're pointing to the exact same spot on the hard drive.
So, what does that mean? It means that File 2 takes up almost no space because it's nothing more than a pointer that goes to the original file. File 1 can be a 5TB file, but if you create a symbolic link (File 3) it'll only point to that 5TB file, while remaining quite small.
But there's a very important functional difference between soft links and hard links. Because a soft link points to the original file, if you delete File 1, File 2 will be completely useless, because it's going to be pointing to something that doesn't exist.
On the contrary, if you're working with hard links, which act as separate files that point to the same data on the hard drive and delete the original File 1, File 2 is still perfectly viable. File 2 keeps on pointing to the same spot on the hard drive where the data is stored.
Now that we've got a conceptual understanding of hard links and soft links, let's get into a tangible understanding of them. If you have access to a Linux command line, we're going to walk through the commands for creating hard links and soft links. After we've created one of each, you'll probably see they're not terribly confusing once you see what's actually going on.
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