I am a Mac/unix lover in a Windows world. So, while I have my Macs able to authenticate against a Windows 2000 Active Directory system, I still run into some squirrelly problems from time to time. The latest was trying to get OpenOffice to open documents on a user's Windows server share, and wanting to store the user's email on the server. To make life easier for the user, I decided to add an alias/link from her desktop to a folder in her Windows share. The problem was, OpenOffice does not understand MacOS links. To solve the problem, I went to the Terminal window, used df
We're going to copy those save files to Dropbox, then create a symbolic link that points to Dropbox from the original save folder. That way, when your game goes looking for a save, it gets. To view the symbolic links in a directory: Open a terminal and move to that directory. Type the command: ls -la This shall long list all the files in the directory even if they are hidden. The files that start with l are your symbolic link files. Symbolic links are similar to aliases, in the sense that they are shortcuts that link to a specific file or folder. But symbolic links are often more useful than aliases: For example, if you put an alias in your Dropbox folder, it will sync just the alias file; put a sym link in that folder.
to find the correct path to her network directory and used ln -sSymbolic Link For Games In Mac Pro
to create the link. For example, starting with the df output (trimmed for display width): I know that the directory I want is /Volumes -> users -> someusername -> sourcedirectory, so the ln command I used was: This puts a link named importantdirectory-shortcutHard Link Vs Symbolic Link
on the user's desktop that takes them to /Volumes -> users -> someusersname -> importantdirectory. OpenOffice, understands and follows this link.Symbolic Link For Games In Mac Computer
This works well because /Volumes -> users -> someusername is always mounted from the server, because OS X understand the directives from Active Directory to mount network drives when someone logs in. I extended this use of links to the user's Mail.app support directory under the user's Library folder, too.
I set up the user with her mail account. Then I quit Mail.app. I then went to /Users -> someusername -> Library. In that directory is a folder named Mail. I used the Finder to drag and drop a copy to her Windows share at /Volumes -> users -> someusername. I renamed the ~someusername -> Library -> Mail directory to 'save.Mail' for safekeeping, and then, once again, made a symbolic link using: This now puts a link in the Library folder to the network folder. Voila, if her Mac craps out for some reason, all her email is still saved on the network and available from another Mac, in an emergency. The added benefit is that the server gets backed up every evening.
I am thinking about moving her complete /Users -> someusername -> Library directory to the server. What would be really cool if someone who is more familiar with login hooks could help me do this automatically for all users who log in.
[robg adds: An earlier hint (the comments, in particular) has further discussion on the differences between symbolic links and aliases...]