Windows 10: Exclude folder form Symbolic link ?

Discus and support Exclude folder form Symbolic link ? in Windows 10 Support to solve the problem; Can I use Xcopy / Robocopy to create not only a symbolic link but exclude a folder from the symbolic link creation ? 80242 Discussion in 'Windows 10 Support' started by JerometheGiraff, Mar 25, 2017.

  1. Exclude folder form Symbolic link ?


    Can I use Xcopy / Robocopy to create not only a symbolic link but exclude a folder from the symbolic link creation ?

    :)
     
    JerometheGiraff, Mar 25, 2017
    #1
  2. FP521 Win User

    Problem: Symbolic link to file is a folder

    I need to place a Firefox file named places.sqlite -- containing bookmarks -- to the OneDrive and create a symbolic link to it. But the link created is a folder link rather than a file link. This defeats the link from working -- Firefox does not find the
    file.

    Does this happen because of the .SQLITE in the name? Is there any way around this problem?

    Thanks.
     
    FP521, Mar 25, 2017
    #2
  3. Problem: Symbolic link to file is a folder

    What's the command you're using?
     
    RobertJWin, Mar 25, 2017
    #3
  4. bro67 Win User

    Exclude folder form Symbolic link ?

    bro67, Mar 25, 2017
    #4
  5. Bree New Member
    Xcopy and Robocopy are not third party apps - they are Windows 10 command line utilities, presumably being used here to make backup copies of user files. I wrote my own .bat file using Robocopy that does full or incremental backups of my user folder to an external or network drive of my choice. I very soon learned the perils of Robocopy and symbolic links...
    The dangers of robocopy and symbolic links

    The switch I had to use for Robocopy is:
    /XJD :: eXclude Junction points for Directories.

    This one may be of use to @JerometheGiraff:
    /SL :: copy symbolic links versus the target.

    You could try combining that with...
    /XD dirs [dirs]... :: eXclude Directories matching given names/paths.
    ...but I'm not sure if that applies to symbolic links.

    Get to Know Robocopy for More Powerful File Management
    Robocopy and a Few Examples
    Type Robocopy /? in a command prompt for the full list of options or see:
    https://technet.microsoft.com/en-gb/...mands/robocopy

    Xcopy is far older than Robocopy and dates back to DOS 3.2. It supports the options:

    /EXCLUDE:file1[+file2][+file3]...
    Specifies a list of files containing strings. Each string should be in a separate line in the files. When any of the
    strings match any part of the absolute path of the file to be copied, that file will be excluded from being copied. For example, specifying a string like \obj\ or .obj will exclude all files underneath the directory obj or all files with the .obj extension respectively.
    ....
    /B Copies the Symbolic Link itself versus the target of the link.

    Type Xcopy /? for the full list.
     
  6. What does the following mean with regards to Robocopy; Is it simply re-phrasing what symbolic links create in general ?
     
    JerometheGiraff, Mar 25, 2017
    #6
  7. Bree New Member
    I read...
    ...as:

    /SL :: copy the symbolic links as symbolic links versus copying the target files/directories that the links point to

    ...but it's not something I've tried yet so can't be sure.
     
  8. Exclude folder form Symbolic link ?

    The above minus the folder\directory names is the command I tried to create a symbolic link but exclude a sub-directory\folder from the source directory\folder. Instead I got an Error3 (0x00000003) from Robocopy ?
     
    JerometheGiraff, Mar 25, 2017
    #8
  9. Bree New Member
    Error 3 is 'system cannot find path specified'. You appear to have put your destination at the end of the command (as you would for Xcopy).
    Get to Know Robocopy for More Powerful File Management

    That is not the correct order for Robocopy - it's 'source' 'destination' 'files' 'switches'.

    You may also find it useful to set retries to zero with /r:0 (in case of locked files) otherwise the default is 1 million retries (with a 30 second wait between each) *Smile
     
  10. Using this command Robocopy did work, although not in the way I wanted it to work.

    "C:\<sourceFolderPath>" "C:\<folderA>" /sl /xd

    Two things;
    a) Symbolic link wasn't created which linked the source to the new target
    b) Sub-folder I specified wasn't excluded from being included in the Symbolic link creation *Sad *Smile
     
    JerometheGiraff, Mar 26, 2017
    #10
  11. Bree New Member
    I'm afraid we're fast approaching (exceeded?) the limits of my knowledge/experience. Hopefully someone else may be along to help.
     
Thema:

Exclude folder form Symbolic link ?

Loading...
  1. Exclude folder form Symbolic link ? - Similar Threads - Exclude folder form

  2. Symbolic links/Folder links

    in Windows 10 Network and Sharing
    Symbolic links/Folder links: Apologies for the long introcution first; I have read a number of questions and answers relating to symbolic links with interest, and have noted that del, rmdir mklink, file explorer are all dangerous tools to use in order to remove a symbolic link. I had a PC with several...
  3. Symbolic links/Folder links

    in Windows 10 Gaming
    Symbolic links/Folder links: Apologies for the long introcution first; I have read a number of questions and answers relating to symbolic links with interest, and have noted that del, rmdir mklink, file explorer are all dangerous tools to use in order to remove a symbolic link. I had a PC with several...
  4. Symbolic links/Folder links

    in Windows 10 Software and Apps
    Symbolic links/Folder links: Apologies for the long introcution first; I have read a number of questions and answers relating to symbolic links with interest, and have noted that del, rmdir mklink, file explorer are all dangerous tools to use in order to remove a symbolic link. I had a PC with several...
  5. Files, Folder or Registry Entry to be exclude form Shadow Defender for UWP Application

    in Windows 10 Gaming
    Files, Folder or Registry Entry to be exclude form Shadow Defender for UWP Application: I installed my windows 11 with Shadow Defender. I wish to be able to be able to keep my Windows Core file intact, but able to enable Apps download from Microsoft Store to be updated as needed and activities in the application saved, while in Shadow mode.Deep Shadow have the...
  6. Syncing folders using symbolic links

    in Windows 10 Network and Sharing
    Syncing folders using symbolic links: Hi everyone! I have a question about symbolic links on Windows 10. How can I sync folders using the function "mklink" CMD, and point to a folder which already exists, without creating a new folder? is it even possible? Because when I create a symbolic link in that way, it...
  7. Exclude Folder.

    in Windows 10 Network and Sharing
    Exclude Folder.: Hey guys, I have a folder in my Windoes 10 Explorer that I want to exclude from media scanning, so it won't appear in anywhere except Explorer. Does anybody know how to make the equivalent of .NOMEDIA folder like the one in Android. Thank you very much....
  8. Windows indexing is not excluding folders that are excluded

    in Windows 10 Network and Sharing
    Windows indexing is not excluding folders that are excluded: Hello, My Windows start menu Windows search is showing results from the AppData folder despite the AppData folder being set as an excluded folder. My Windows 10 "Searching Windows" setting is set to classic and the excluded folder is clearly shown on the list. The issue...
  9. Symbolic links inside linked folder

    in Windows 10 Network and Sharing
    Symbolic links inside linked folder: Hi I'm creating symbolic links of one folder (Missions folder) to server so that the server can load the missions from the linked folder and this works. But the problem is that when I create symbolic links inside the sub folders (of Missions folder) then the server fails to...
  10. Symbolic Links (Soft Links)

    in Windows 10 Support
    Symbolic Links (Soft Links): Greetings, I have a large number of symbolic links (soft links) on my PC that I want to migrate to a new machine with an identical directory structure. When I use various backup or copy programs that clone files (bit copy), the symbolic links do not work on the target...