Create a symbolic link in the Mac OS X Finder

Question

Is there a way to get the same functionality as the unix command ln -s in the Mac OS X Finder (OS 10.5)? I want to be able to create symbolic links while working in Finder windows without opening the Terminal.

Note that the Make Alias command in Finder is not what I want because those aliases cannot be navigated in the Terminal (but links created with ln -s can be navigated by both the Terminal and Finder).

Answer 1

What about that creating symbolic links in the Finder via AppleScript ?

Here's the most relevant script in that link:

on run
    open {choose file with prompt "Choose a file to create a symbolic link:" without invisibles}
end run

on open the_files
    repeat with i from 1 to (count the_files)
        try
            set posix_path to POSIX path of (item i of the_files)
            if posix_path ends with "/" then set posix_path to text 1 thru -2 of posix_path
            do shell script "ln -s " & quoted form of posix_path & " " & quoted form of (posix_path & ".sym")
        end try
    end repeat
end open

Just paste it into AppleScript Editor and save it as an application. Then you can drag it over your finder's toolbar or link it on the dock.

Answer 2

SymbolicLinker will do exactly what you're looking for, and it's free.

Answer 3

An applescript at the link provided by user nuc answered my question. Here is the applescript reproduced in case that link disappears.

I preferred the script given by the commenter jonn8n, which was also reproduced as Macworld article.

on run
    open {choose file with prompt ¬
        "Choose a file to create a symbolic link:" without invisibles}
end run
on open the_files
    repeat with i from 1 to (count the_files)
        try
            set posix_path to POSIX path of (item i of the_files)
            if posix_path ends with "/" then set posix_path to ¬
                text 1 thru -2 of posix_path
            do shell script "ln -s " & quoted form of posix_path ¬
                & " " & quoted form of (posix_path & ".sym")
        end try
    end repeat
end open

I saved this as an application using Script Editor and dragged the application to the Finder sidebar so I can now create symbolic links by dragging files or folders onto the application icon.

Answer 4

Use Automator.app to create a Service that executes a bash script. This is simpler than AppleScript and more reliable than installing third-party software.

for f in "$@"
do
    ln -s "$f" "$f.symlink"
done

Then you can access the Make Symbolic Link command under the Services menu:

The result:

Answer 5

Path Finder adds this to your Finder, and adds a lot more features.

Answer 6

A possible improvement on this script would be changing the run handler to use the currently selected files from the Finder, as so:

on run
    tell application "Finder" to set sel to selection
    open sel
end run
on open the_files
    repeat with i from 1 to (count the_files)
        try
            set posix_path to POSIX path of (item i of the_files as alias)
            if posix_path ends with "/" then set posix_path to ¬
                text 1 thru -2 of posix_path
            try
                do shell script "ln -s " & quoted form of posix_path ¬
                    & " " & quoted form of (posix_path & ".sym")
            on error
                try
                    do shell script "ln -s " & quoted form of posix_path ¬
                        & " " & quoted form of (posix_path & ".sym") with administrator privileges

                end try
            end try
        end try
    end repeat
end open

You could also edit [application]/Contents/Info.plist to add

<key>LSUIElement</key>
<true/>

Just before the last </dict>. This would mean the app would run in the background, and wouldn't come to the front when you clicked on it.

Answer 7

One more AS:

tell application "Finder"
    repeat with f in (get selection)
        set p to POSIX path of (f as text)
        set p2 to POSIX path of (desktop as text) & name of f
        do shell script "ln -s " & quoted form of p & " " & quoted form of p2
    end repeat
end tell

Answer 8

Also, in Snow Leopard where SymbolicLinker doesn't work, you can create a Service with Automator to do either the Terminal command or AppleScript to create a symbolic link.

Answer 9

Try looking here : http://www.techiecorner.com/528/how-to-create-shortcut-in-mac-os-x/

This is built into OSX already if you press the control key when you click on something.