Copying and Linking Files to Different Labels by Default

There are two special files that can be stored in your home directory for copying and linking files from your home directory at your minimum labels to your home directory at different labels. These files are provided to circumvent such problems as an application at one label that needs a file in a single-level directory at a different label. The files are:

• .copy_files - stores file names to be copied when you first change to a workspace with a different label. This is useful when you have an application that always writes to a file with a specific name and you need to separate the data at different labels.

• .link_files - stores file names to be linked when you first change to a workspace with a different label. This is useful when a specific file needs to be available at multiple labels but writable at its minimum label only. Two good candidates for the .link_files file are .dtprofile and .login.

Both files store their entries one file per line. You can specify paths to subdirectories in your home directory, but you should never use a leading slash since all paths should be within your home directory.

Your administrator may have already installed a .copy_files and .link_files file in your home directory; they are at your discretion to modify. Since there are no safeguards for dealing with such anomalies as duplicate entries in both files or file entries that already exist at other labels, it is best to work with your administrator when modifying these files.