Intriguing. I took a target .txt file, and created a link to it with a.pdf extension (.txt and.pdf are both set up to use the File Meta property handler), and metadata read and write work correctly. A link with a .txt extension to a .pdf file also works fine.
Profile does not seem to matter. In these tests, .txt, was configured with the simple profile and .pdf the Office profile. I was able to update even properties on the .txt file that are not in the simple profile (e.g. content type) using a .pdf link without a problem. This is not surprising, as the profile controls what properties Explorer displays, but is not referenced at any deeper level.
The only thing that seems to be important is that the extensions of the source and target are both set up to use the File Meta property handler.
I wonder if this is about using mklink? Could you give that a try?
Profile does not seem to matter. In these tests, .txt, was configured with the simple profile and .pdf the Office profile. I was able to update even properties on the .txt file that are not in the simple profile (e.g. content type) using a .pdf link without a problem. This is not surprising, as the profile controls what properties Explorer displays, but is not referenced at any deeper level.
The only thing that seems to be important is that the extensions of the source and target are both set up to use the File Meta property handler.
I wonder if this is about using mklink? Could you give that a try?