Using junctions to synchronize Lightroom 2 on different Windows XP machines

As far as I can tell, my scheme,

http://quantum.bu.edu/blog/2007/02/adobe-lightroom-synchronized-on.html,

of using a desktop shortcut to software to the same folder tree located on different disks on different Windows XP machines no longer works with Lightroom 2. This led me to learn about real symbolic links under Windows XP.

I see that

Junction V 1.05
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896768.aspx

can be used to created and remove such links. However, I see at

Windows Symbolic and Hard Links
http://shell-shocked.org/article.php?id=284

that such links should not be deleted using Explorer, lest what they point to be deleted as well.

I have gone ahead and given junctions a try, as follows.

As I mentioned earlier, part of my backup strategy is to maintain duplicate environments at different physical locations. I use Second Copy to keep all non-system files synchronized between a desktop at one location and a laptop that is primarily at another location. All photos on the desktop are stored on a local disk and all photos on the laptop are stored on an external disk.

I created the junction Photos.sym (named to remind me it is a symbolic link) on the desktop to point to U:\Photos and on the laptop to point Z:\Photos. I used the commands

junction.exe "C:\Documents and Settings\Dan\Desktop\Photos.sym" U:\Photos

junction.exe "C:\Documents and Settings\Dan\Desktop\Photos.sym" Z:\Photos

In this way software on each machine sees the root of the photos tree as being in the same logical location,

C:\Documents and Settings\Dan\Desktop\Photos.sym

even though they are in different physical locations, U:\Photos and Z:\Photos. Lightroom 2, in particular, now finds things on the two machines, since its catalogs contain the same root.

My only concern is to remember that the junction behaves like an actual folder and so it must no be deleted using Explorer, lest the folders tree it points to will also be deleted. A junction can be deleted by itself (without affecting what it points to using, say,

junction.exe -d "C:\Documents and Settings\Dan\Desktop\Photos.sym"

I'll be grateful to be alerted to any other cautions and "gotchas" with this approach.

Anyhow, I hope this is helpful to Windows XP users.