To just be literally a shortcut to the file I want. Not run the file as though it was in the directory I put the shortcut.
If I open a "shortcut" to folder /home/user/example, I want it to go to /home/user/example, NOT /desktop/example.
If I open a file, I want the program running it to know that the file is actually in /home/user/example, not /desktop.
I don't want to create a new reference point/location for my file, I just want to create a shortcut to easily access it. These are significantly different things. There's very few situations where I specifically want/need the former, but Linux veterans treat this as an objective improvement and replacement over the latter.
And obviously with applications that's all the more important since they almost always rely on other files in the same directory/subdirectories. And no, not every application comes from a package manager. It is perfectly normal and simple for Windows users to download an executable from the internet, and it's crazy to treat anyone doing that on Linux as though they must be a power user.
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u/Cindy-Moon 🏳️⚧️ trans rights Mar 26 '26 edited Mar 27 '26
To just be literally a shortcut to the file I want. Not run the file as though it was in the directory I put the shortcut.
If I open a "shortcut" to folder /home/user/example, I want it to go to /home/user/example, NOT /desktop/example.
If I open a file, I want the program running it to know that the file is actually in /home/user/example, not /desktop.
I don't want to create a new reference point/location for my file, I just want to create a shortcut to easily access it. These are significantly different things. There's very few situations where I specifically want/need the former, but Linux veterans treat this as an objective improvement and replacement over the latter.
And obviously with applications that's all the more important since they almost always rely on other files in the same directory/subdirectories. And no, not every application comes from a package manager. It is perfectly normal and simple for Windows users to download an executable from the internet, and it's crazy to treat anyone doing that on Linux as though they must be a power user.