Some programs occupy a large storage space on the hard drive of the computer, and gradually expand over time with usage and updates, whether they are media editing programs, internet browsers, or communication programs, among others. Based on the storage capacity of the hard drive, space can quickly run out, especially if you are using an SSD storage unit in your device, as they come in smaller sizes compared to HDD hard drives. However, it is possible to move a program to another location without any problems in running the program, whether you want to move the program from one partition to another on the same hard drive, or to another hard drive connected to the computer, the method is successful and effective.
To move a program from one place to another, it is not as simple as copying the folder containing the program’s files and pasting it in the second location. If you do that, the program will not work, or it may work but with many problems. It is also not logical to reinstall the program from scratch just because you want to change its location. Therefore, the easiest solution is to move the program folder to another location in a way that makes the Windows system think that the program folder is still in its original location, thus allowing the program and its shortcuts to work without any problems.
This solution relies on a feature in Windows called Symbolic link, which allows linking a folder located anywhere on the computer to another folder without the need to move its contents. For example, if the requirement is to move a program from partition C to partition D, using the Symbolic link feature will move the contents of the program folder in full to partition D while keeping a reference shortcut to it in partition C.
While it is possible to manually create Symbolic link shortcuts in Windows, we will rely on FolderMove in this explanation to simplify the process. FolderMove is a free and portable program that can be used to move any program or game from one place to another using Symbolic link shortcuts. The program moves the program or game folder’s content to the new location to save space on the hard drive, while everything will continue to work as before without any changes except for the location of the runtime files. Using the program is simple and easy, just download it from the official website, run it to open a window with two fields: Move From and Move To.
Initially, click on the Browse button in the Move From field, then select the program folder you want to move to another location from the window that appears. This folder can usually be found in the Program Files or Program Files (x86) folder inside the Windows partition (C). Once found, select it and press OK. Then click on Browse in the Move To field and select the folder where you want to move the program. It is preferred to create a completely new folder with the name “Programs,” for example, inside the new interface to store the program in it so that the runtime files do not get mixed with your other files.
After completion, click on the Move and set Symbolic link button to move the program folder to the new location and create a Symbolic link shortcut. This shortcut will simply make the Windows system think that the program folder is still in its original location, on partition C, for example, even after moving it to another location. It usually takes some time to ensure that all the program files are successfully moved to the new folder, and when the process is complete, a Done message will appear.
Once the transfer process is complete, the space occupied by the program on partition C or the original location of the program will be freed up, and a shortcut will be created in the location where the folder is located, which, when double-clicked, opens the folder in the other location. You will find the folder shortcut on partition C, but the contents of the folder itself are located on partition D, and therefore the program will work normally without any differences. If you want to reverse the process and return the program to its original location, simply delete the shortcut created on partition C and use FolderMove program again to copy the program folder to partition C as well.
