AppleTabletsTutorials

How to use symbolic links on a jailbroken iOS device [Video]

I’ve mentioned symbolic links in other articles. It’s a trick I learned about myself not long ago, and one that is unfortunately not as obvious as it should be consider how useful it is.

Symbolic links are shortcuts to files and folders, just like on a computer. It’s possible to create these links using iFile on a jailbroken iOS device, and they actually give your App Store apps new functionality. By creating links to files and folders that the app normally wouldn’t have access to (because they’re located outside the app’s own folder), you can give off-the-shelf App Store apps the ability to access both files that are stored within other apps, and files that are stored on external storage devices.

The video shows how you do this in practice, and includes several tips for making the most out of this trick. You need a jailbroken iOS device, as well as iFile, which you can get in the Cydia store. To use external storage devices (iPad only), you need various accessories. I’ve covered both how to connect an external hard drive and how to get around the “this device requires too much power”-issue with flash drives, so make sure to read up on those if that’s something you want to do. In the video, I use the second method, with a unpowered USB hub connected to the Lighting to USB Camera Adapter on my iPad mini.

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Andreas Ødegård

Andreas Ødegård is more interested in aftermarket (and user created) software and hardware than chasing the latest gadgets. His day job as a teacher keeps him interested in education tech and takes up most of his time.

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