Create a link back to an original document?

[Ambrosia7177]

Hi. I am wondering if there is a way to create a link back to an original document? (Almost like a "shortcut".)

Let me explain more...

I do research for my business, and currently have hundreds of thousands of news articles (PDFs) and videos (MP4s) on my Mac. Each file starts with a timestamp (e.g. "20251014_Chicago Protests Grow More Heated.pdf").

As part of my research, I want to take an article/video like above, and have two copies of it...

1.) The original file would be placed in a master directory called "NEWS (By Date)", and then
2.) A copy of the original file would be placed in another master directory called "NEWS (By Topic)".

Normally, I would just make a copy of the file and place it in two places, but considering that I have close to 3 Terabytes of files, I am not very motivated to double the amount of storage I need!

So is there a way to make a "link" or "shortcut" or "permalink" (Have heard that term but not sure what it is?) or something?

One KEY requirement, is that I need the shortcut/link to ALWAYS point back to the original file - even if I move the original file around on my local hard-drive.

Even better, if I moved the original file to another hard-drive - plus the shortcut/link - then it would be nice if things till worked. (For example, if I move the "NEWS (By Date)" folder to another hard-drive, and then I also copied the "NEWS (By Topic)" folder to that same new hard-drive, then it would be nice if the shortcuts/links still worked - since from a relative standpoint, they are in the same place as when on my Mac.

ALSO, I am open to other suggestions of how to tackle this problem and avoid having to DOUBLE my storage needs - as a 4TB SSD is pretty pricey!

In the end, I need every article/video to be in two separate directories because sometimes I need these articles/videos to be ordered BY DATE and other times I need them BY TOPIC, but I need them listed in both ways, and since I have THOUSANDS of directories, this is NOT as simple as merely having ONE FOLDER and sorting the files as needed - plus there isn't a way to sort "By Topic" in macOS.

Thanks!

 

[aperfectcircle]

Aliases are what you’re looking for.

Create and remove aliases on Mac

In the Finder on your Mac, create an alias to represent a file, folder, app or disk. Put the alias in a convenient, easy-to-find location.

support.apple.com

 

[Ambrosia7177]

Aliases are what you’re looking for.

Create and remove aliases on Mac

In the Finder on your Mac, create an alias to represent a file, folder, app or disk. Put the alias in a convenient, easy-to-find location.

support.apple.com

Is there any downside to using aliases?

 

[Bigwaff]

ALSO, I am open to other suggestions of how to tackle this problem and avoid having to DOUBLE my storage needs - as a 4TB SSD is pretty pricey!

The APFS files system natively handles duplicate files in such a way that the duplicate takes up no space. Only when you edit the original or duplicate is the file data truly duplicated.

Should you remove duplicate files?

Save space on your storage and backups by removing all copies. But does it work if they’re APFS clone files? And does that housekeeping utility detect clones for you?

eclecticlight.co

 

[jennyp]

I'd be interested myself to see what ideas people come up with for this.

I can think of just duplicated files (which don't take up more space unless they're edited), or aliases, or DEVONthink replicants (though a DEVONthink database has size limits), or Hookmark?

 

[BrianBaughn]

Even better, if I moved the original file to another hard-drive - plus the shortcut/link - then it would be nice if things till worked. (For example, if I move the "NEWS (By Date)" folder to another hard-drive, and then I also copied the "NEWS (By Topic)" folder to that same new hard-drive, then it would be nice if the shortcuts/links still worked - since from a relative standpoint, they are in the same place as when on my Mac.

This part doesn't seem to work with aliases. "Moving" a file to another drive creates a copy. A new alias would have to be made. Moving both original and alias to a new drive results in the alias copy pointing back to the file on the old drive if it's still there. Delete the original on the previous drive and the alias is orphaned.

I don't think it works with "symbolic" links either.

I'm not sure what the results are with "hard" links but I think there might be file permissions to overcome.

 

[Ambrosia7177]

This part doesn't seem to work with aliases. "Moving" a file to another drive creates a copy. A new alias would have to be made. Moving both original and alias to a new drive results in the alias copy pointing back to the file on the old drive if it's still there. Delete the original on the previous drive and the alias is orphaned.

So aliases would work IF I never have to migrate to a new drive - which is very unlikely.

I don't think it works with "symbolic" links either.

I'm not sure what the results are with "hard" links but I think there might be file permissions to overcome.

What is a "symbolic link"?

What is a "hard link"?

Thanks for the suggestion, @aperfectcircle , but I am wondering if using aliases would be more trouble than it is worth?

*******
Like so many "projects" that I get into, this one is complicated...

If I take a news article, and file it into a complex filing structure with literally thousands of folders and sub-folders, and then have an alias in my accompanying "junk drawer" master folder "NEWS (by Date)", then it would take an INSANE EFFORT to have to drill down into thousands of fodlers to re-link things if say, I migrate to a new drive, larger drive, re-organize things more, have to fork my data becaues of the sheer size, etc.

This is why man created databases - so you don't have redundant data/files!!

In my next lifetime, it would be cool to program my own system to manage things exactly as I want, but for now, there is a lot to be said fro old-school files - plus the physicality of actual files is WAY SAFER than (apparently) aliases or a database that could become corrupt.

If this was just for news articles, having copies might not be so bad. But the bigger issue is that "ideally" I want to do this for my videos, and that is where I am literally adding on TERABYTES of storage.

One idea I had in the past was to just file away the ORIGINAL news article or video into my "NEWS (by Topic) filing structure, and then in my "NEWS (by Date)" just have a TEXT FILE with an identical name.

Things wouldn't be linked that way, BUT I could always search for a file that way if I needed the actual file (e.g. to create video). And then I wouldn't double my storage needs, and things would not break if I migrate or re-organzie things.

I am more likely to need files BY TOPIC versus BY DATE, but you never know.

As always, I am open to suggestions...

 

[Ambrosia7177]

The APFS files system natively handles duplicate files in such a way that the duplicate takes up no space. Only when you edit the original or duplicate is the file data truly duplicated.

Should you remove duplicate files?

Save space on your storage and backups by removing all copies. But does it work if they’re APFS clone files? And does that housekeeping utility detect clones for you?

eclecticlight.co

I tried that but didn't see the results it claims.

When I did a similar test, the size of my volume increased.

(I have so many things open on my Mac, maybe there are temp or swap files coming and going which messed up the results?)

At any rate, it's an interesting article, but not sure I believe ir or believe it would help in my situation.

Thanks though!

 

[Ambrosia7177]

This part doesn't seem to work with aliases. "Moving" a file to another drive creates a copy. A new alias would have to be made. Moving both original and alias to a new drive results in the alias copy pointing back to the file on the old drive if it's still there. Delete the original on the previous drive and the alias is orphaned.

I don't think it works with "symbolic" links either.

I'm not sure what the results are with "hard" links but I think there might be file permissions to overcome.

@BrianBaughn,

Just did some tests, and *my* results were (positively) surprising...

Alias in Same Folder:
- On my MacBook Pro, I created a folder called "TEST_alias" in "Documents"
- Then downloaded a music video from YouTube (.mp4)
- Placed the video in "TEST_alias"
- Next created an alias to said music video in same folder
- Tap on alias with spacebar, and the music video plays (as expected)

Copy Directory (with Alias) to External Drive:
- Next, copied the "TEST_alias" folder to an external drive
- Opened the "TEST_alias" folder
- Tap on alias with spacebar, and the music video plays (as I expected)

Move Alias outside of Original Folder:
- Next, moved the alias **outside** of "TEST_alias" folder on external drive. (Hint: "MOVE" and not a "copy".)
- Tap on alias with spacebar, and the music video plays (as I expected)

Move Alias outside of Original Folder and to Another Folder:
- Next, on external drive, I created a new folder called "ANOTHER FOLDER"
- Then MOVED the alias to that folder - with music video still on external drive in "TEST_alias"
- Tap on alias with spacebar, and the music video plays (somewhat as I expected)

Move Alias from Orig Folder on External Drive to New Folder on MacBook Pro:
- Next, on my MBP, I created a new folder called "TEST_x" in "Documents"
- Then MOVED the alias from "TEST_alias" folder on external drive to "TEST_x_ folder on MacBook Pro.
- Tap on alias with spacebar, and the music video plays (to my surprise!!)

Forgot this scenario...

Move Original File to New Folder on External Drive, yet Alias remains in Same Folder on MacBook Pro:
- Next, on my external drive, I created a new folder called "TEST_alias_new"
- Then MOVED the music video to that new folder on my external drive
- The alias remained in its latest location in "TEST_x" on my MacBook Pro.
- Tap on alias with spacebar, and the music video plays (to my surprise!!)


So, based on my testing, the alias seems really RUGGED! (As in, it points to the original file regardless of where you move the alias OR the original file.)

If I right-click on the alias, and choose "Get Info" you see a field called "Original" which is where the file is located and then a button called "Select New Original..."

So it appears you can 1.) Create an Alias, and then 2.) Move the Original File, or 3.) Move the Alias around and the Alias will keep pointing to the Original File - even if you do this across drives.

Am curious if there is a way to "break" this connection accidentally?

I would REALLY appreciate it if some other members can comment on my tests, and even better, it would be super helpful if some other people here could try these tests and see if you can re-create my end-results.

It appears that using an alias would accomplish what I want - and save me Terabytes of storage space - but I am still a little UNSURE if this will really work. (Maybe I am not seeing a flaw in my tests??) :-/

This almost seems to be "too good to be true"...

Thanks!

 

[BrianBaughn]

This almost seems to be "too good to be true"...

Did you try this?:

1. Have a file on the macOS internal drive.
2. Create an alias of that file on the internal drive.
3. Move (copy) the file and the alias to an external drive.
4. Delete the original file on the macOS internal drive.
5. Try to open the alias on the external drive.

 

[Ambrosia7177]

Did you try this?:

1. Have a file on the macOS internal drive.
2. Create an alias of that file on the internal drive.
3. Move (copy) the file and the alias to an external drive.
4. Delete the original file on the macOS internal drive.
5. Try to open the alias on the external drive.

I'm confused by your use of the term "Move".

A "move" is NOT a "copy".

A "move" is a "move".

A 'copy" is a "copy".

 

[gilby101]

What is a "hard link"?

With a hard link, two (or more) "files" point to the SAME storage blocks (on the same volume). Edit one file, they all change. Delete one, the remaining links continue to exist. Only when you delete all the hard linked files is the storage released.

But copy to another volume, new storage is assigned on the other drive and the file has a future life (modification, deletion, etc.) totally separate to the original files on the first drive.

Fair to say, that most users don't have a need to explicitly create hard linked files, though macOS or apps may sometimes create them. They were used heavily by Time Machine (including hard linked directories) when its backup drive was an HFS+ format.

What is a "symbolic link"?

They are like a simple alias. It points to the other file by inode, not file path. Take less storage than an alias, but are more easily broken by moving files and don't work in any way between volumes.

An alias is more robust because it contains file path information.

At any rate, it's an interesting article, but not sure I believe ir or believe it would help in my situation.

Howard Oakley a very knowledgable writer. Anything on the eclectic blog can be taken as true (after allowing for changes over the years). Discussion of clones is related to what you are doing, but (I agree) not directly helpful to you.

More useful to your understanding are the results of symlink and alias search. You should read https://eclecticlight.co/2023/04/28/apfs-hard-links-symlinks-aliases-and-clone-files-a-summary and https://eclecticlight.co/2025/07/28/links-and-aliases-which-are-best/ to get an authoritative description of the different types of link. That is, much better than my rather sketchy words above!

 

[tonmischa]

As part of my research, I want to take an article/video like above, and have two copies of it...

Is having two copies an absolute necessity? Or is this just your way of being able to categorize an article by date AND by topic?
In the latter case, you might want to look into macOS tags.

Use tags to organize files on Mac

In the Finder on your Mac, tag files and folders with color or text to make them easier to find, group, and sort.

support.apple.com

Use the date in the filename to sort/search by date.
Assign custom-named tags to every article and use those to categorize/search by topic. (Which would also have the benefit of being able to assign several different topics to one article.)

 

[BrianBaughn]

I'm confused by your use of the term "Move".

A "move" is NOT a "copy".

A "move" is a "move".

A 'copy" is a "copy".

Correct.

When you said, "Move Original File to New Folder on External Drive, yet Alias remains in Same Folder on MacBook Pro:", how did you "move" the original file?

 

[Ambrosia7177]

Howard Oakley a very knowledgable writer. Anything on the eclectic blog can be taken as true (after allowing for changes over the years). Discussion of clones is related to what you are doing, but (I agree) not directly helpful to you.

I agree, just couldn't re-create what he talked about in the original article, and don't think that article maps to what I am doing.

More useful to your understanding are the results of symlink and alias search. You should read https://eclecticlight.co/2023/04/28/apfs-hard-links-symlinks-aliases-and-clone-files-a-summary and https://eclecticlight.co/2025/07/28/links-and-aliases-which-are-best/ to get an authoritative description of the different types of link. That is, much better than my rather sketchy words above!

Thank you. Will try and read those when I have time.

 

[Ambrosia7177]

Is having two copies an absolute necessity? Or is this just your way of being able to categorize an article by date AND by topic?

More an organization thing.

In the latter case, you might want to look into macOS tags.

Use tags to organize files on Mac

In the Finder on your Mac, tag files and folders with color or text to make them easier to find, group, and sort.

support.apple.com

Yeah, I realize that most "normal" people use such things. I am just very "wired" into doing everything working with directories and files and file explorers like (Windows Explorer and Finder).

I think more like a Unix guy...

Use the date in the filename to sort/search by date.
Assign custom-named tags to every article and use those to categorize/search by topic. (Which would also have the benefit of being able to assign several different topics to one article.)

That is a good idea for a simple file/data-set, but that wouldn't work for my situation.

I can easily have 10 levels deep in directory structures - maybe more when I am doing organizing my data.

Fwiw, I am heavily reporting on Trump and politics, so just imagine how complex things can be?!

Or even on my main topics of Privacy and Security, those are also very large subject areas.

But thank you for the suggestion - maybe I can use tags more in the future at the end of my tree-structure?

 

[Ambrosia7177]

Correct.

When you said, "Move Original File to New Folder on External Drive, yet Alias remains in Same Folder on MacBook Pro:", how did you "move" the original file?

A little foggy on what I did, but believe I misspoke above.

Copy MOVED Directory (with Alias) to External Drive:
- Next, copied moved the "TEST_alias" folder to an external drive
- Opened the "TEST_alias" folder
- Tap on alias with spacebar, and the music video plays (as I expected)

Then this correction...

Moved Video File from Original Folder on External Drive to New Folder on External Drive, yet Alias remains in Same Folder on MacBook Pro:
Move Original File to New Folder on External Drive, yet Alias remains in Same Folder on MacBook Pro:
- Next, on my external drive, I created a new folder called "TEST_alias_new"
- Then MOVED the music video to that new folder on my external drive from the "TEST_alias" folder on the external drive.
- The alias remained in its latest location in "TEST_x" on my MacBook Pro.
- Tap on alias with spacebar, and the music video plays (to my surprise!!)

I hope that is clearer - and is what I actually did sonce it was a day ago.

Does that make sense?

When you said, "Move Original File to New Folder on External Drive, yet Alias remains in Same Folder on MacBook Pro:", how did you "move" the original file?

I was unclear above - see corrections.

- Video and alias were originally in "TEST_alias" on my MacBook Pro
- The "TEST_alias" folder was MOVED to an external drive - via CUT and PASTE (i.e. "move")

After trying different scenarios...

- Video was moved from EXTERNAL-DRIVE > TEST_alias to EXTERNAL-DRIVE > TEST_alias_new - via a DRAG and DROP (i.e. "move").

- The alias remained in its latest location at MACBOK-PRO > DOCUMENTS > TEST_x
- Tap on alias with spacebar, and the music video plays (to my surprise!!)


Hopefully that represents what I did a day or two ago, and it answers your question?


To be clear...

CUT-AND-PASTE in same volume = "move"
DRAG-AND-DROP in same volume = "move"
COPY-AND-PASTE in same volume = "copy"

CUT-AND-PASTE to another volume = "move"
DRAG-AND-DROP to another volume = "copy"
COPY-AND-PASTE to another volume = "copy"