Question: What is the most direct way to convert a symlink into a regular file (i.e. a copy of the symlink target)?

Suppose `filename` is a symlink to `target`. The obvious procedure to turn it into a copy is:

```
cp filename filename-backup
rm filename
mv filename-backup filename

```

Is there a more direct way (i.e. a single command)?

Answer: 
There is no single command to convert a symlink to a regular file. The most direct way is to use `readlink` to find the file a symlink points to, and then copy that file over the symlink:

```
cp --remove-destination `readlink bar.pdf` bar.pdf

```

Of course, if `bar.pdf` is, in fact, a regular file to begin with, then this will clobber the file. Some sanity checking would therefore be advisable.
Change all file.txt from link into file.

```sh
for f in *.txt; do echo $(readlink $f) $f | awk '{print "rsync -L "$1" "$2}'; done | bash

```