[COLUG] File Links

[Mark Erbaugh]

I'm trying to do something with file links and it's not working the way
I anticipated (could be because I'm used to working with Windows
shortcuts).  I'm using Ubuntu Dapper, with Gnome and Nautilus.

I have a directory for a Python project I am developing.  In that
directory, I have a main.py file which is the main file for the project.
If I open that directory with Nautilus and launch that file by double
clicking and select Dislay, Idle (Python editor) opens the file with the
project directory as the current working directory, which is what I
want. The rest of the project is in directories (Python packages) inside
that directory.

I created a link on my desktop to this file (I did this by using the
Nautilus 'Make Link' command in the pop-up context menu for the file
icon and then copying it to the desktop). If I double click this link,
Idle opens the file, but the file name displayed is that of the link and
the current working directory is set to my Desktop directory.

Is there a way to have launching this link work the same as launching
the file it points to?

Thanks,
Mark