Use symbolic or hard links -- which will generally work in any application. The .desktop files are only of real use to programs that need such information, like application menus or desktop icons. If you are serious, perhaps trying playing with the
type and file extension.
The only way a program can tell a symlink from the original file w/o examining the inode number, is probably via
readlink()(2) anyway; but most programs (vim for example) will treat .desktop/.directory files as text files, not as 'shortcuts'.
__________________
My
Journal
Thou shalt check the array bounds of all strings (indeed, all arrays), for surely where thou typest ``foo'' someone someday shall type ``supercalifragilisticexpialidocious''.