How do you make a Win10 Quick Access link to a symlink without it translating it to the original directory?

Scenario:

  1. Create SymLink: C:\Data\workspaces --> C:\Users\****\Documents\workspaces
  2. Navigate to C:\Data\Workspaces in explorer
  3. Click and drag the the path from the address bar onto "Quick Access" in the navigation pane.

Expected Result:

  • Clicking on the shortcut takes you to C:\Data\workspaces

Actual Result:

  • Clicking on the shortcut takes you to C:\Users\****\Documents\workspaces

How do you make it so that the shortcut points to the correct path. (the SymLink)

Command Used to create the SymLink:

mklink /D C:\Data\workspaces C:\Users\****\Documents\workspaces

Updated with pictures:

Please note the workspaces symlink inside C:\Data:

enter image description here

When I double-click on the symlink it works correctly. (note the address bar.

enter image description here

When i pin it to the Quick access bar, however, it uses the address that the symlink points to and NOT the symlink address.

enter image description here


To prevent a symbolic link from being translated, you have to trick Windows by first pinning a regular folder to Quick Access, and then replacing it with a symbolic link.

mkdir symlink

then pin this to quick access using File explorer

rmdir symlink
mklink /d symlink "\\host\path\to\directory"

Partly copied from my blog: https://coertvonk.com/hw/logic/quartus-cycloneiv-de0nano-15932