When we move between the worlds of Mac and Windows, we often come across files with the .lnk extension in their name. These files are shortcuts in Windows that point to another application, file, folder, or location. Files that, while having a clear and defined function in Windows, offer us little utility on a Mac. Can we delete them? Convert them? Let's answer these and other questions.
Understanding and handling .lnk files on a Mac
An LNK file, in essence, is a shortcut created in Windows. On a Mac, we can think of an LNK file as something similar to an alias, but without practical functionality due to differences in the file systems and directory structures of both.
LNK files have no practical function in macOS, but it is possible to open them. We can drag them to a text editor like TextEdit, or use certain Terminal commands like vim or nano to view their content. In doing so, along with various meaningless characters, sometimes it's possible to identify the Windows directory path, which is what the LNK file points to. Beyond the text editing we just saw, a simple double-click on an .lnk file from the Mac responds with a message indicating that LNK files cannot be opened.
It is true that there is the option to search the App Store for an application capable of opening them, but it would be of little or no use. If we receive an LNK file as Mac users, the most advisable thing is to ask the person who sent us the file to send us the original file or directory, instead of the shortcut that contains no data.
In the meantime, if we are using external storage or a network drive on the Mac and come across .lnk files, it is best to respect them. They may be useful to us when we encounter them from Windows. Keep in mind, finally, that it is not possible to directly convert an LNK file to a Mac alias. The closest thing would be to create an alias on a Mac to the location to which the shortcut points.
LNK files, while useful tools in Windows, are of little use to us on a Mac. Just like macOS aliases, the equivalent in Apple's operating systems, do not work in Microsoft systems, knowing what we can do with them is important when we are operating between both.
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