Define the actual folders hidden behind shortcuts

From Vista onwards, specifi c
folders seem exist for the sake of
compatibility, but actually redirect
to other real folders. This messes up
scripts and batch files you’ve written
yourself.

Backward compatibility is maintained through

logical shortcuts called Junction Points.

These shortcuts, called junction
points, exist throughout Windows.
For example, programs can try to
save data to the old ‘Documents and
Settings’ folder, but will be seamlessly
redirected to the applicable new ‘Users’
folder. The operating system however
hides this persistently. Attempts to
access the junction points directly
(Windows displays them if you enable
the display of the system fi les via the
folder options) are aborted with an
error message. And another stumbling
block is that real folder names need
to be used in scripts or batch files.
Else, they hang during execution.
The free tool NTFSLinks-View provides
help. It lists the active junctions in the
system. Download the program from
www.nirsoft.net/utils/ntfs_links_view.
html. The tool ‘nftslinksview.exe’ can
immediately be started. The program lists
all active junctions in the folder of your
user profi le.
In the ‘Target Path’ column, it displays
the relevant real folder which the junction
controls in the ‘Full Path’ column. Right
click an entry and select the context
command ‘Open Target Path’ to open
this target folder in Explorer.
In order to check other directories,
enter the folder in the input fi eld, e.g. ‘C’
and click ‘Go’. Use the key combination
[Ctrl]+[A] to select all entries and then
‘Save’ them to a text fi le using ‘File I Save
selected items’.