Glossary

Shortcut (symbolic link)

A shortcut, or symbolic link, is a tiny file that points to a file or folder somewhere else. Storage Studio leaves shortcuts behind so moved things still open from their old place.

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A shortcut — technically a symbolic link, or symlink — is a tiny file that points to another file or folder by its location. When you or an app open the shortcut, macOS quietly opens the item it points to instead. Finder marks a shortcut's icon with a small arrow.

A shortcut follows a location, not the item itself. So if the item it points to isn't there — for example because your external drive is unplugged — the shortcut can't open anything until the drive is back.

In Storage Studio, shortcuts are what let your Mac keep working after something moves:

  • Relocate in Data Parking leaves a shortcut in place of each file it moves.
  • Moving an app leaves a shortcut in your Applications folder.
  • A move copies shortcuts inside a folder as shortcuts, not as the things they point to.

See also: The shortcut left behind after a move · Relocate · Move, Merge or Relocate

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How do I move apps to an external drive on a Mac and still launch them?
Dragging an app to another drive can break it, because macOS expects it in /Applications. Storage Studio relocates the app to your external drive and leaves a shortcut in place, so it still launches normally from Launchpad, Spotlight, and the Dock — and you can move it back in one click.
How do I use an external SSD as extra storage on a MacBook?
Plug in a USB-C or Thunderbolt SSD and let Storage Studio pair it with your internal drive as one workspace. It moves big folders, libraries, and apps to the SSD with a shortcut left behind, so your MacBook behaves like it has a much bigger disk — fast enough to work directly off the external drive.
Can I move my Photos or Final Cut library to an external drive?
Yes — large Photos, Final Cut, and iMovie libraries are common space hogs. Storage Studio relocates them to an external drive while keeping them usable, leaving a shortcut so your apps still find them. Moving a folder to your fast drive keeps its files' modified and created dates, permissions,…
Will moving files to another drive break my apps or Spotlight?
Not the way Storage Studio does it. It leaves a shortcut (symlink) at the original location, so apps, Finder, and Spotlight resolve everything as if it never moved — and the move is fully reversible.

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