How to either create a filesystem filepath alias/redirect or rename several (xml) files to point to a new path via a programmatic text replace?

Question

Forgive me if this is obvious but- is there any way to set up a filepath alias in Windows? I have a bunch of custom app config files that exist in a certain location and they contain filepath references to paths which I am trying to get rid of.

I want to move the files referenced in these configs to a completely different file system path and be able to either have the old configs redirect to the new path or....

Or- alternatively, is there an easy way (ie. existing .NET, CMD line, or VBScript code) to programmatically loop through a set of files within folders of a certain directory and replace any references to the old path to the new path?

I would think this has been done before, no? If so, does anyone know of any references or have any other suggestions on my strategy?

Thanks in advance.