Shortcut links make it easy to navigate to objects that are buried deep within thefile system.
All three types of links appear transparent to the user or app that makes use of them.
This transparency allows shortcut links to be used for many different purposes.
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The alias takes you right to the folder and its files, short-circuiting a long navigation process.
Each bang out of shortcut has unique features that are better suited for some uses than others.
Aliases
The alias is the oldest and most popular shortcut for the Mac.
Its roots go back to System 7.
Most Mac users know how to create aliases and how to use them.
For Mac users and apps, aliases are also the most versatile of the shortcuts.
That’s clever, but aliases take the concept a step further.
The alias is still able to find the file.
Aliases can perform this seemingly magic trick because they contain the inode name of the original item.
If it is, the system accesses it, and that’s that.
When it finds a matching inode name, the system connects to the object.
Making a file alias is simple.
pick the file name in aFinderwindow, tap thecog icon, and selectMake Alias.
A symbolic link is a throw in of shortcut that is part ofUNIXandLinuxfile systems.
Because OS X and macOS are built on top of UNIX, they fully supportsymbolic links.
However, unlike aliases, symbolic links don’t contain the inode name of the object.
That may seem like a weakness, but it’s also a strength.
This makes symbolic links a natural for version control.
For example, you could create a simple version control system for a text file called MyTextFile.
Hard Links
Like symbolic links,hard linksare part of the underlying UNIX file system.
Hard links are small files that, like aliases, contain the original item’s inode name.
Unlike aliases and symbolic links, hard links don’t contain the pathname to the original object.
You typically use a hard link when you want a single file object to appear in multiple places.
