Ever since becoming a DxO PhotoLab user (since version 5), I have repeatedly run into this bug where the PhotoLibrary will not show new/fresh images of the folders that it has seen before. To be more specific, I always drag/copy the entire folder from my memory card to my desktop (100MEDIA, 100LEICA, etc…). I open up PhotoLab, navigate to the folder under the PhotoLibrary pane and I am often met with “This image cannot be processed since the south file could not be found.” All of the thumbnails are blank with a ? mark.
To get around this, I need to rename the default camera folder name to something random – then the images are recognized and read. This bug has been so annoying and with each update, I hoped it would be fixed. But here I am, Oct 2024, and still seeing the screen below. Please, Dx0, fix this bug already. Why I had put up with this annoyance for so long is anyone’s guess. But really, this needs to end.
This issue usually comes up if the structure of the photo archive has been altered outside of PhotoLab. As you report, fixing this issue is awkward.
If all your edited image files have associated .dop sidecars, you can do the following
quit DPL
find its database in the Library folder of your user account
rename the database files (usually three of them exist)
restart DPL
CAUTION: If you’ve set DPL to NOT import and export .dop sidecars automatically, you’ll loose image customising and added metadata if you do the above.
Thanks for taking the time to reply and for the solution. But I don’t use sidecars since all I ever use PhotoLab for is the first step in cleaning up the RAW image before editing the export in a more capable photo editor. The exports are always sent to the desktop, 1 level above the RAW folder for further analysis. So the RAW folder is never touched by other software or editor.
My work flow has always been to clear up my desktop (delete any old files & folders) and transfer all my shots at the end of a shoot by dragging the entire folder from the camera onto the desktop. And when I do this, PhotoLab gets confused thinking the new pictures don’t exist because the folder I dragged over from the memory card is the same (same name) as the old ones I deleted. It doesn’t have a feature to understand or refresh the items inside the folder (unless I randomly rename the folder). I don’t mind that PL isn’t smart enough to know the folder and/or items inside it has changed. I simply wish DxO will add a button, right-click option, or dropdown menu item to refresh old or existing folders.
If your workflow consists in using DPL once per image, you can delete the database anytime, because it’s not interfering with your workflow.
As you seem to revisit folders that you move around manually, the issues you describe will come up. DPL just remembers where folders were and what they were called, but the folders were moved or replaced by a different folder of the same name, therefore DPL’s catalog deviates from what is on your volume(s) and you’ll get the “?” instead of a thumbnail image.
When I get back to my computer, I will delete the database and create a blank “database” file but make it read only. Or maybe soft-link it to /dev/null. Maybe that will help. I will report back if that works. But still, there should be a built-in option to refresh a folder.
Nope. Nothing I did works. Delete the database, new ones get created and back to square one. Set to write only → crash on start up. Setting them to /dev/null → hangs/crash. Anyway, already spent way too much time on this issue. I was about to upgrade my license, but realized that DxO is giving me more heart burns than it’s worth at the moment.
