Open in TheBrain

Roman, Windows to Linux External Links #100796

https://thebrain.zendesk.com/agent/tickets/100796

Hello Roman,

Thank you for reaching out, and thank you for using TheBrain for so many years.

External links usually point to files or locations outside the Brain. In your case, if those links point to a Windows path such as:

D:\aa_Daten\TheBrain\BrainAnhänge

then those links will not work automatically on Linux, because that Windows drive path does not exist on the Linux computer.

The safest approach depends on whether you want those files to remain external, or whether you want them to travel with the Brain.

If you want the files to be available reliably from both Windows and Linux, the better approach is usually to bring those files into the Brain as attachments instead of leaving them as local external links. That way they can sync with the Brain rather than depending on a Windows drive path.

If you still have access to the Windows computer where the links work, I would suggest starting there:

  1. Open the Brain on Windows.
  2. Use Reports to find thoughts with external links.
  3. Filter for external links.
  4. Select the affected thoughts or links.
  5. Before making changes, make a full backup of the Brain.
  6. Then copy or move the linked files into the Brain as attachments, if that is the workflow you want.

After the files are stored inside the Brain and synced, they should be much easier to access from Linux.

If you want to keep the files external instead, then the files need to exist on the Linux computer in a Linux path, and the links may need to be updated from the old Windows path to the new Linux path.

Before we recommend a bulk change, could you please send one example of an affected external link and the matching new Linux file location? That will help us confirm whether all links share the same root folder and what the safest path is.

For now, I would not recommend running AI-generated scripts directly against your Brain data. With a Brain of this size, it is best to make a backup and confirm the link format before attempting any bulk change.

Best regards,

John