Windows 8.1 - mklink to a folder with files in it

I tried `mklink /D (or /J) dir1 dir2`

I have a directory 'dir1' with some files in it and a directory 'dir2' where I'll add some files.

You have the directories the wrong way around. You also need to remove dir2 before creating the link.

The syntax for mklink is:

MKLINK [[/D] | [/H] | [/J]] Link Target

Note:

mklink creates the link so dir2 should not exist before you run the command.

In your case dir2 will be the new link and dir1 will be the target, so you need to use:

rd dir2

Followed by:

mklink /d dir2 dir1

Or:

mklink /j dir2 dir1

Now `dir2` has the files of `dir1` (In other words `dir2` is `dir1`). I don't want that.

That's what directory links are designed to do.

You need to rethink.

One option is to add the files to dir2 and then when in dir1 create symbolic link to the files in dir2. You can do this with:

cd dir1
mklink file \full\path\to\dir2\file

You have to do this for every new file added to dir2.

@JohnGRThess That's what directory links are designed to do. You need to rethink. One option is to add the files to dir2 and then when in dir1 create links to the files in dir2. You can do this with mklink file \full\path\to\dir2\file. You have to do this for every new file added to dir2. Answer updated. – DavidPostill – 2016-07-05T19:39:52.700