File System Operations
Operations with Robocopy
These policies apply to Copy with robocopy and Move with robocopy. Built-in F5/F6 are unchanged.
- Folders: Merge existing folders. Keep unrelated destination entries.
- Overwrites: Older sources can replace newer files. No built-in Copy conflict prompts.
- Skips: Matching size/time may skip files without comparing bytes. Move can leave these sources behind.
- Source links: Selected symlinks/junctions are refused; nested ones are excluded. Built-in Copy can recreate file symlinks.
- Destination links: May redirect writes or change hard-link aliases. Built-in Copy refuses known linked overwrites and directory-link merges.
- Interruption: Can leave partial destination files. Built-in Copy stages regular files before replacement. Neither mode rolls back completed items.
- Same-volume moves: Robocopy copies then removes sources. Built-in Move can rename directly.
- Named streams: Robocopy copies source streams. Built-in Copy does not; it preserves existing destination streams.
See usage and a screenshot or the advanced guide.
File System Links
NTFS and ReFS support hard links, directory junctions and symbolic links. A
Windows .lnk shortcut is an ordinary file, not a file system link.
Link Types
| Property | Hard link | Junction | Symbolic link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essence | Another name for one file | Directory redirection | Stored path to a target |
| Can represent | File | Directory | File or directory |
| Target scope | Same volume | Local volumes | Local volumes or UNC paths |
| Relative target | Not applicable | No | Yes |
| Can become broken | No, while a name remains | Yes | Yes |
| Delete the selected link | Removes one name | Removes junction only | Removes symbolic link only |
| NTFS support | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| ReFS support | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Creation privilege | Normal directory permissions | Normal directory permissions | Create symbolic links right, or Developer Mode with supported applications |
Hard-linked names are peers, not a link and an original. Changes through one name are visible through every name. Windows reclaims the data after the last name and open handle are gone.
Creation
| Type | Command Prompt |
|---|---|
| Hard link | mklink /H LinkName TargetFile |
| Junction | mklink /J LinkName TargetDirectory |
| File symbolic link | mklink LinkName TargetFile |
| Directory symbolic link | mklink /D LinkName TargetDirectory |
All operations require normal directory permissions. Symbolic-link creation also normally requires the Create symbolic links right; Developer Mode allows supported applications to request unprivileged creation.
Reparse points can represent other features too, including volume mount points and cloud placeholders. A reparse point is not automatically a junction or symbolic link.
Windows File Explorer Behavior
These are File Explorer defaults. Permissions, unavailable targets, cloud providers and other reparse types can change or refuse an operation.
| Operation in File Explorer | Hard link | Junction | Symbolic link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open or edit | Opens the shared file | Opens the target directory | Opens the target file or directory |
| Copy and paste | Creates an independent file copy | Copies the target tree as a normal directory | Copies target data as a normal file or directory |
| Delete or Shift+Delete | Removes the selected name | Removes the junction, not its target | Removes the symbolic link, not its target |
| Move on the same volume | Renames or relocates the selected name | Moves the junction object | Moves the symbolic link object |
| Move to another volume | Copies an independent file, then removes the source name | Copies the target tree, then removes the source junction | Copies target data, then removes the source symbolic link |
Copying a directory link can copy much more data than the link itself occupies.
Relative Symbolic Links
| Operation | Result |
|---|---|
| Copy and paste | Explorer follows the link and creates an ordinary copy of the target data. |
| Same-volume move | Explorer moves the link object and preserves its target text. The new location can change what the relative path resolves to or leave it broken. |
| Cross-volume move | Explorer performs copy followed by delete, so the destination is normally an ordinary copy of the target data. |
robocopy has options to preserve links instead of following them; its behavior
is not the File Explorer default.
Chained Links
Windows resolves each junction or symbolic link in sequence. Each relative symbolic link is resolved from its own containing directory.
| Operation | File Explorer behavior |
|---|---|
| Open or edit | Follows the chain to the final target. |
| Copy and paste | Follows the chain and copies the final target data as an ordinary file or directory. |
| Chain mixing absolute and relative links | Resolves each relative target from the directory containing that link; an absolute target starts the next hop from its absolute path. |
| Delete the outer link | Removes only that link; inner links and the final target remain. |
| Same-volume move of a relative link | Moves only that link and does not rewrite its target text, so that hop can resolve elsewhere or break. |
| Broken chain, loop or excessive depth | Fails instead of repairing or rewriting the chain. |
For example, C:\Links\Outer -> ..\Shared\Inner resolves first to
C:\Shared\Inner. If Inner -> ..\Data\File.txt, the final target is
C:\Data\File.txt, because the second relative path starts from C:\Shared.
Hard links do not form chains; their names identify the same file directly. Windows permits at most 63 reparse points on one path, reduced in some cases such as fully qualified targets.
Microsoft References
- Hard Links and Junctions.
- Symbolic Links.
- Symbolic Link Effects on File System Functions.
- Reparse Points
- ReFS Feature Comparison.
Royi File Manager Behavior
These are the built-in operations, not Robocopy. They refuse ambiguous link operations rather than risk changing a target or alias.
Differences from File Explorer
| Case | File Explorer | RoyiFileManager |
|---|---|---|
| Copy a file symbolic link to an unused name | Copies target data into a regular file | Recreates the symbolic link with the same stored target |
| Copy over a symbolic link | May write through the link to its target | Refuses; link and target are retained |
| Copy over a known hard-linked file | Overwrites the shared file; aliases see the new data | Refuses; other aliases are protected |
| Merge through a source or destination directory link | Follows and merges the target tree | Refuses before traversing the link |
| Move a symbolic link or junction to another volume | Copies target data, then removes the source link | Refuses and retains the source link |
What a Refusal Does
| Refusal point | Cases | Result for the batch |
|---|---|---|
| While gathering | Directory-link merge or cross-volume link move | Stops the whole selected batch before any queued copy or move runs. |
| While executing an item | Symbolic-link or known hard-link overwrite | The item fails. If later items remain, choose whether to continue or abort. |
Completed items are retained; a later refusal does not roll them back.
Rename refuses symbolic links, junctions and files with multiple hard links. Batch File Renamer rejects such selections before opening its preview. Select actual files instead; sparse files and cloud placeholders remain supported. Same-volume Move retains its link-object behavior.
Other Operations
| Operation | RoyiFileManager behavior |
|---|---|
| Open a directory link | Navigates into its target |
| Copy a directory link to an unused name | Follows the target and creates a normal directory tree, like Explorer |
| Copy a hard link to an unused name | Creates an independent regular file, like Explorer |
| Same-volume move | Moves the selected name or link object without rewriting a relative target |
| Permanent Delete | Removes the selected name, symbolic link or junction, not another target path |
| Move to Recycle Bin | Delegates to Windows Recycle Bin handling |
| Create symbolic link | Shift+F5 creates an absolute link in the other local pane; existing destinations are retained |
Symbolic-link creation uses the current Windows permissions. RoyiFileManager does not elevate or change system policy.
Archive operations do not promise to preserve file system links. Moving local entries into an archive is disabled; use Copy, verify the archive, and remove the source explicitly. Directory Size does not follow links, and Find Files leaves Follow links off by default.