New FREEWARE from Bitsum - JunctionMaster - Move and Link in one step

Jeremy Collake · December 03, 2010, 02:59:58 AM

For more info: http://www.bitsum.com/junctionmaster.php

UPDATE: Download pending as I make sure it works. Coming very soon though. Our SHJunc utility would allow creation of the link. This is an easy one-step solution. We may rename it MoveAndLink, in fact.

TfH · December 03, 2010, 10:51:43 AM

Cool!

That is really useful and very much needed application.

Thanks

Jeremy Collake · December 03, 2010, 08:58:45 PM

I did a few updates yesterday, a couple more needed for truly easy use. I'm curious to hear if it works for people other than me, though I did throw some scary warnings out there, lol. I also need an application icon ;o.

TfH · December 04, 2010, 12:06:39 AM

Being tired makes testing more fun, feel free to laugh at this "attempt" for giving idea for possible icon

EDIT: changed icon URL

Jeremy Collake · December 08, 2010, 10:53:01 AM

I removed the download links temporarily while I do some retooling. My initial method didn't seem as effective as I'd hoped, or there is a bug somewhere. I am also adding a 'safety reversion' feature so if the file moves fail at any point, everything is moved back. This all must be done to 'do it right'. I wish I had more time.

I wonder how much interest there is in this. As most users know, it can be done manually by moving the folder, then creating a new junction. I've always found it a bit tedious and a 'one click move and link' is something I've always desired.

Anyway, when it passes my QA I will release again. I just wish I had more time. To really do it 100% right you'd also want to add more in-depth shell integration to help protect against accidental user deletions (where user deletes the junction folder in Explorer, not realizing that will delete the contents as well). Only Windows Vista+ is somewhat junction aware, but support has always been in the file system ever since W2K and WXP.

I wrote SHJunc long ago, and this utility was based largely on it -- with lots of improvements. NTFSLink is a good utility, and if it has this one additional feature would be perfect. I am not sure the status of it though, as with many F/OSS projects (and some commercial projects) their development depends on the time and interest of the developers. This is particularly a problem with F/OSS projects because they don't typically 'pay the rent' ;o.

Jeremy Collake · December 14, 2010, 11:50:14 PM

Uploaded new 0.05 build to correct some anomalies. It *should* generally work now. I also added the icon contributed by TinFoil Hat

TfH · December 15, 2010, 10:32:21 AM

Quote from: jeremy.collake on December 14, 2010, 11:50:14 PM
I also added the icon contributed by TinFoil Hat

OMG, that's awesome

Thanks!

newuser · December 16, 2010, 11:29:57 AM

Any commandline option in this tool?

And can this be use in map drives?
Example, map a drive E from server, with a pathname and folder "e:\My Documents" I junction link it to the client computer Default "My Documents" folder, this way, the actual files will be situated in E:\My Documents instead of the default "My Documents" folder for client computers. I have some use for this if its possible especially using commandline to initiate this function instead of installing junctionmaster into all client computers, I'll need to call it using commandline when I need to use it. Thanks.

Jeremy Collake · December 20, 2010, 02:39:14 PM

Quote from: newuser on December 16, 2010, 11:29:57 AM
Any commandline option in this tool?

And can this be use in map drives?
Example, map a drive E from server, with a pathname and folder "e:\My Documents" I junction link it to the client computer Default "My Documents" folder, this way, the actual files will be situated in E:\My Documents instead of the default "My Documents" folder for client computers. I have some use for this if its possible especially using commandline to initiate this function instead of installing junctionmaster into all client computers, I'll need to call it using commandline when I need to use it. Thanks.

There are already command line tools to do this. SysInternals authors one I believe (junction.exe or something like that). Microsoft includes one in Windows Vista+. You can't create a junction to a network mapped drive, if that is your question... though I need to verify that.

PROROOTECT · February 07, 2011, 06:37:54 AM

Hello all,

I have linked JunctionMaster on the VOP VoiceOfThePublic site here: http://forums.voiceofthepublic.com/smf2/index.php?topic=165.msg1639#msg1639

PROROOTECT

Jeremy Collake · February 08, 2011, 10:37:30 PM

I am debating as to whether I should just make JunctionMaster an extension of the old SHJunc utility. That is probably the best route. They are one and the same, on the inside. If I'm going to limit the capabilities of JunctionMaster, then I should call it MoveAndLink - simplicity.

I've had a chance to use my own software a bit more and know of some improvements that need to be made. I'll work on those as soon as I can.

Thanks to all those that support this little project, one of many amongst this company of mine

Jeremy Collake · February 16, 2011, 05:06:38 AM

v0.07 ALPHA released, as I continue to debate on how to best go about this project, and how fully to commit. User support has strongly encouraged me to take interest in this project. Remember, if you have troubles with JunctionMaster, you may want to try its parent, SHJunc. The only issue with SHJunc is that it was pre-Vista, so you'll need to right-click and 'Run as Administrator'.

Jeremy Collake · February 16, 2011, 05:39:29 AM

I updated it a couple times after release, within minutes. Anyway, this version should be pretty good. I think it will work well.

One note: After the initial move, it will look like the folder is gone. You have to refresh the listing to see the new linked folder.

Jeremy Collake · February 17, 2011, 04:19:57 AM

The more I play with this release, the more confident I am in it. It needs polishing, but seems to work very well in Windows 7 x64 (other platforms not tested as extensively yet). Donors to this project are the ones you can thank for the continued development.

The next thing I plan to add is a quick recursive check to ensure all files are move-able prior to trying the move. This will let you know exactly what file(s) are complicating the situation, and I might even identify the owner of the process holding the handle (if it is a sharing violation).

JunctionMaster - Move and Link - may turn out better than expected. The real shame is that Windows itself doesn't make better use of Junctions, especially while we are in this state of having multiple HDDs and/or SSDs (most of us). Also, a lot of OEM machines come with the OS installed on one partition, and the rest of the drive allocated to another partition. This leaves you with a partition to fill up quickly, and one hardly used (by the layman). Now you can link and use transparently

.

I could really go all out on this utility in many ways. I'll do what I can, as I personally have a use for this utility

TfH · February 17, 2011, 11:00:49 AM

I say thanks to all donators too for supporting this awesome project

My current setup is really complicated, without JM my daily "routines" wouldn't be possible.

Jeremy Collake · February 17, 2011, 06:54:12 PM

Quote from: Tinfoil Hat on February 17, 2011, 11:00:49 AM
My current setup is really complicated, without JM my daily "routines" wouldn't be possible.

Yes, indeed thanks to those donors

. I honestly did not expect a dime, but people apparently like the idea. The implementation is still crude, though better than ever. I will keep improving it, a little more time and it is 'perfect' as a 'move and link'.

Jeremy Collake · February 18, 2011, 03:47:11 PM

I wrote JunctionMaster so that it is impossible for IT to ever be the cause of file deletion
In a worst case scenario (maybe) files can be relocated somewhere unexpected
Only a confused user can delete files

Well, now that I already have a person blaming ME for losing all his photos (naturally he doesn't make backups and that didn't occur to him before, or during, any of this).

So is it worth it? I don't know. Maybe I'll pull it. No matter how many warnings I plaster, no matter what I say, some less than smart users are going to screw things up and blame me, which I don't need.

This may be the end of JunctionMaster. I just can't have stupid users doing stupid things. And WHY does nobody backup their critical stuff? WTF?!? I mean, this isn't 1986, where PCs are new. Hasn't anybody learned to backup? I have 4 redundant backup mechanisms.

TfH · February 19, 2011, 12:00:16 AM

Quote from: jeremy.collake on February 18, 2011, 03:47:11 PMThis may be the end of JunctionMaster.

No, don't do it! Sadly there is always someone messing something, no matter what.. JM is very much needed and highly usable and valuable software. I've hard linked stuff over 6 different HDD:s and not an single problem, i could say that i've been using JM from the day one. There is nothing wrong in it. And peoples should remember that in every software, no matter what it is (alpha, beta, RC, been evolving for years etc), there is always possibility that something don't work like it was ment to be. And that's why you take regular backups.

If, and i mean if you remove JM downloads (i hope you don't do that), could you consider developing it no matter what and giving donators access for downloading? I'm sure that peoples who have donated to JM project truly have need for it and they know what they are doing with it.

Quote from: jeremy.collake on February 18, 2011, 03:47:11 PMWHY does nobody backup their critical stuff? WTF?!? I mean, this isn't 1986, where PCs are new. Hasn't anybody learned to backup?

I wonder that same. I think the basic thinking "model" is: nothing bad happens to my system ever.. *sigh*

Hotrod · February 19, 2011, 02:09:12 PM

I have been working on computers since the early 80's. Remember the 8088 and the monochrome monitors?? How about DOS 3 ?? The number one first rule you learn is to make a backup file before making any change to ANYTHING!! I actually have some backups that go back to 1994 still on my system. This person simply needs an education. Don't stop making valuable software just because somebody has no common sense. I've always thought that term should be "UN-common sense" since so few people actually seem to have it.

Jeremy Collake · February 19, 2011, 02:34:24 PM

This person made a suggestion that it be made incompatible with XP. Has anyone done halfway extensive use in XP and had fine results? I've not tried myself, yet. The code upon which it is built works. XP pre-SP2 and W2K are not supported only because I used the newer CRT. However, XP SP2+ should be fine.

Jeremy Collake · February 19, 2011, 03:18:56 PM

New v0.10 alpha restricts usage to Vista+, until I ensure things are working right in XP. I have to be as safe as possible. Probably I shouldn't have even released an alpha version, and didn't mean for it to get that much attention. I mostly wrote it for myself, but thought maybe others would find it useful. It seems some have, despite its imperfections.

hanemach_gt · February 22, 2011, 04:19:47 AM

You'd better don't restrict usage to Vista+, simply place MessageBox with warning. I believe there will be more lamers who will lead to crash even on Vista or 7 by experimenting. And, please don't worry about few accidents, there are thousands of people you helped. Please don't abandon JunctionMaster

.

Jeremy Collake · February 22, 2011, 06:18:40 AM

Quote from: michal.hanebach on February 22, 2011, 04:19:47 AM
You'd better don't restrict usage to Vista+, simply place MessageBox with warning. I believe there will be more lamers who will lead to crash even on Vista or 7 by experimenting. And, please don't worry about few accidents, there are thousands of people you helped. Please don't abandon JunctionMaster .

I am not going to abandon it, but it does need some more work. I experienced errors (correctly handled, and nothing lost) in XP and want to investigate further before I re-release. I believe it was simply a parsing problem on the path I tested upon, but have to look further into it. The next version will restore usage in XP, and continue to show the warning that has always been shown.

Thanks

.

Jeremy Collake · April 14, 2011, 10:31:08 AM

Well, it has been a couple months since I pulled JunctionMaster from the shelves. I am working to re-release it, but am changing strategies a bit to provide safer user data. Apparently this little utility is in quite high demand, so I'm going to try to get this done today. I had a new idea for it yesterday (finally). Please give me some time and I'll see what I can do

Jeremy Collake · April 14, 2011, 11:05:32 AM

I made some quick patches and believe the new version is operating again, though perhaps only as well as the oldest version (ironically). It works great for me. There are a couple keys though:

REMEMBER, since these folders are linked you must NOT delete files from EITHER folder, as it will delete BOTH instances of the files
Be careful when moving system files or other programs in use. Although there are some protections to help with this, in a worst case scenario you may have to copy/move back some of the files from the new location back to the old location

Jeremy Collake · April 14, 2011, 12:42:30 PM

I've done more work and released another build. This build does a scan of the source directory first to make sure there are no move problems. The previous build tried to ascertain this through other methods. This method is more reliable. Please let me know of any troubles. It appears to work BETTER THAN EVER at this point.

Jeremy Collake · April 14, 2011, 08:03:17 PM

JunctionMaster is now renamed to MoveAndLink. I believe this name will be a bit more descriptive of exactly what it does. I have thus far been pleased with the latest alpha. It is not perfect, or complete, but it works pretty well in my tests. I am eager to hear user feedback. Usually not hearing anything is a *good thing*

Jeremy Collake · April 20, 2011, 11:49:20 PM

More good news. I am continuing development and have some good ideas for the final polishing of this small FREEWARE application.

ElectricMessiah · January 05, 2012, 12:35:00 PM

Hello.

I'd like to first say that I've discovered your company and utilities via your Giveawayoftheday Process Lasso Pro 5.1 contribution. Thank You!

Question about using Move and Link with Steam. FYI, Steam is a digital gaming download and DRM gaming application.
http://store.steampowered.com/about/?snr=1_4_4__10

Q: Would Move and Link be a good choice to make Steam on D: recognize a game dir moved to C/SSD? The SSD is obviously desired for some high performance games. The game I'm wanting to do this first is The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim.

There is a junction creation utility called Steam Mover (See Below). How would Move and Link compare for my needs/Scenario (See Below)?

Scenario: I have 2 HD, a SSD 128GB C: and HD D:. I've installed Steam on my D: Drive to conserve space on C:. Steam requires/insists on installing all games in the same directory as the Steam installation.

A helpful post on the Steam Forums links to many utilities, one being Steam Mover by Traynier.com.
http://www.traynier.com/software/steammover "[...] a little app to make moving the files and creating the junction points much much easier!"

Thanks
-EM
cc: Emailed since - "Warning: this topic has not been posted in for at least 180 days.
Unless you're sure you want to reply, please consider starting a new topic. "

PS: If your utility is good for linking Steam games, I HIGHLY suggest you advertise it in some fashion on the Steam forums (not spam). I'd think you would get many more users and potential donations.

Jeremy Collake · January 09, 2012, 01:33:24 AM

I do not think it would fool any copy protection schemes, but it depends on the scheme. Usually these games have such, and mandate keeping the optical media in the drive while playing. For most applications, including Steam, there is absolutely *no* awareness that the folder and files are actually stored elsewhere. These junction points are done at the file system level. Steam runs above that, so doesn't care what is at "c:\hello", so long as the filesystem responds to it. That said, it may very well check to see if it is a junction point, and refuse to run if so.

I also agree this utility has a very high level of potential, if properly developed. I hope to complete such in the future. The audience is small, but in need

. However, it must be developed with care.

Jeremy Collake · January 30, 2012, 02:47:07 AM

I've had to let this utility sit in the background a while, but I'm beginning work on it again. I believe it to be an important part of our utility selection.

As such, an update is in the process of being issued. Just getting the ball rolling again with the latest advancements. This is version 0.16 beta.

AES · March 02, 2012, 03:01:59 PM

Having issues running the 32 bit exe in 32 bit win 7. Is it amd64?

Jeremy Collake · April 20, 2012, 01:39:22 PM

I have resolved this issue. The cause was actually a bad URL resulting from the name change. I do apologize for the extreme delay. Being a freeware project in prototype status, it was relegated to the back of a long line of work ;o. That is actually where it still remains.

Jeremy Collake · April 20, 2012, 03:02:03 PM

v0.0.0.20 alpha followed a few minutes later as I was testing, and noticed a bad shortcut link in v0.0.0.19, again caused by the rename of the product back to JunctionMaster.