Aliases and Symbolic Links

An alias is a file that is a pointer to a real file (called the original) located somewhere else. Thus, when you double-click an alias, the other (original) file opens. No matter how big the original file is, its alias is never more than about 4K to 50K in size. By using aliases, you can list the same file in many locations without needing real copies in each location. This provides flexibility in organizing files on your drive without wasting disk space by duplicating the full-size files.

For example, suppose you have a collection of applications at various locations on your drive, and you want to bring them together in the same folder for a specific task. However, you also want to retain them in their original locations. ...

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