
You can list all symbolic links on a disk using this command: There are no built-in tools in Windows to view and manage all symlinks on a disk. RD c:\ps\downloads How to Find All Symbolic Links on a Windows Drive? To remove symlinks, the usual commands are used (like you do for files): Windows will automatically change the settings of the symlinks so that they point to the correct targets. You can work with symbolic links in the same way as with ordinary file system objects: move, rename, or delete them. To enable symbolic links to remote resources, run the following commands:įsutil behavior set SymlinkEvaluation R2R:1įsutil behavior set SymlinkEvaluation R2L:1 Remote to remote symbolic links are disabled. Remote to local symbolic links are disabled. Local to remote symbolic links are enabled. If you see the following error when accessing a share using a symlink: The symbolic link cannot be followed because its type is disabled.Ĭheck the allowed ways of using symbolic links on your computer:įsutil behavior query SymlinkEvaluation Local to local symbolic links are enabled.

To create symbolic or hard links in Windows, you can use the built-in mklink tool or PowerShell.įor example, let’s connect the administrative share C$ on a remote computer using its IP address: How to Create a Symbolic Link in Windows?

In most cases, you can use a symlink for most tasks when you need to create a reference to an object. Symbolic Links (soft link, symlink) can point to a local file, folder, or network share on a remote computer (by the UNC path).Junction Points (Directory Hard Link) can only point to a directory (on the same or another volume).

It has the same size and properties as the source file (but it does not take up real space on the drive) A hard link is a file link to another file on the same volume without duplicating the file. Hard Links can only point to a local file, but not to a folder.

The three types of file links available in Windows for NTFS volumes: hard links, soft links (symlinks), and Junction Points. You can use symlinks on your SMB file server when directories located in different LUNs must be available in a single entry point. You may use them when you need to move large files to another disk and Windows must consider that they are still located in the original directory (for example, when you want to save space on an SSD by moving some directories to a slower and larger HDD without disrupting programs). Symbolic links are quite often used in Windows for system files and directories.
