Hard Links and Junctions | Microsoft DocsĪ symbolic link can be helpful if say you wanted to sync a folder for a program.Symbolic Links - Windows applications | Microsoft Docs.Junction points will have a shortcut arrow icon on them.ĭeleting anything in the link/junction or target (source) folder will delete it in both folders.ĭeleting the hard link, symbolic link, or junction point itself will not delete anything in the target (source) folder. Junction points do not support UNC paths (network paths that begin with \). Junction points make it appear as though folder (directory) actually exists at the location of the junction point, and your app won’t know any better. Junctions (Directory Junction) are soft links that can only be created to a local folder (directory) path. Symbolic links will have a shortcut arrow icon on them. When you open a symbolic link, you will be redirected to the target source. Symbolic links do support UNC paths (network paths that begin with \). You can create a symbolic link to a local or remote file, folder, or shares path, and that link will appear to be the same as the target source. Symbolic Links are soft links that are basically advanced shortcuts. Hard links to a file will not have a shortcut arrow icon on them. Hard links do not support UNC paths (network paths that begin with \). Any changes to that file are instantly visible to applications that access it through the hard links that reference it. Hard Links can only be created for files. There are three types of file links supported in the NTFS file system: hard links, junctions, and symbolic links.

How to Create Soft and Hard Symbolic Links in Windows

Create symlink for google drive windows