SymLink only works in the same directory

Question

user@laptop ~ $ sudo ln -s ~/Games/JA/openjk.i386 ~/Desktop/JA
user@laptop ~ $ readlink -f ~/Desktop/JA
/home/user/Games/JA/openjk.i386

As you can see, the symlink points to the file, but when I try to click on it it doesn't work. However, if I put the JA symlink in the same directory as the file it is linking to (in this case ~/Games/JA) it works. How do I make it work outside that directory (in the Desktop, for example)?

Answer 1

The problem surely is, that the binary openjk.i386 surely expecting some files in its directory. But the binary assumes, that its directory is ~/Desktop/, where the required files are not found.

I would recommend using a very small script instead of a symbolic link. E.g. it should look like this:

#!/bin/sh
cd /pathToBinary/
./binary $@

Name the file JA and make it executable with chmod a+x JA.

Explanation: The $@ assures, that if your script is started with any arguments, they will be forwarded to the real binary.