How to create symbolic link in windows 7

June 2nd, 2009

To create symbolic link in windows 7,then easiest way is to use command mklink.

C:\Windows\system32>mklink
Creates a symbolic link.
 
MKLINK [[/D] | [/H] | [/J]] Link Target
 
/D      Creates a directory symbolic link.  Default is a file
symbolic link.
/H      Creates a hard link instead of a symbolic link.
/J      Creates a Directory Junction.
Link    specifies the new symbolic link name.
Target  specifies the path (relative or absolute) that the new link
refers to.

Normally,we can use the option /D to create symbolic link.
Note:You need the admin privileges to run this command
runcmdasadmin

Example:

To create a symbolic link named MyDocs from the root directory to the \Users\User1\Documents directory, type:

mklink /D \MyDocs \Users\User1\Documents

Also we can use junction.exe or linkd.exe to create symbolic link in windows 7,you can  try them after put them to C:\windows\system32  if you have the interest.

3 Responses to “How to create symbolic link in windows 7”

  1. Don Williams says:
    November 3, 2009 at 8:05 pm

    What is the difference between:
    1. directory symbolic link
    2. symbolic link
    3. hard link
    4. directory junction

  2. Don Williams says:
    November 3, 2009 at 8:05 pm

    What is the difference between:
    1. directory symbolic link
    2. symbolic link
    3. hard link
    4. directory junction

  3. Tom says:
    February 12, 2010 at 9:03 am

    There is a little utility I discovered for creating sybolic directory links in Windows 7 that works great

    dirlinker.codeplex.com

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