Does anyone know how to utilize this feature, which I’ve highlighted from the PL9 product page?
I do swear when I was trialing PL9 last month I saw a missing folder in my folder tree once and was able to right-click the folder and get an option to “Locate” the folder. However, now when I move folders around, the folder tree no longer has the folder that used to be there, so I have nothing to “right click” on for which I can try to locate.
I have searched the PL9 user guide and am unable to find anything about it.
I reached out to support and they replied (below).
I assumed that this “new feature” (which doesn’t seem to work because I can’t get it to appear) would have been to prevent the “dead files” problem in the database, and yet their solution - if it’s not working for me - was to just go find the folder in its new location in the source tree.
Does anyone else get the greyed-out folder in the source tree if they move a folder?
In DxO PhotoLab 9, when a folder has been moved outside of PhotoLab (for example, using Finder), the software will mark it as missing in the database.
The new “Relocate Folder” option allows you to easily reconnect PhotoLab to the folder’s new location without having to reimport or manually relink each image.
To do this:
In the PhotoLibrary tab, locate the missing folder in the Source Browser (it will appear grayed out).
Right-click the folder and choose Relocate Folder.
In the dialog box, navigate to the folder’s new location and confirm.
PhotoLab will then update the internal links for all images and subfolders within that directory.
If the folder disappears entirely from the folder tree, it means PhotoLab no longer has a database record for it. In that case, navigate manually to the new folder location in the Finder and open it through PhotoLab once, which will reindex its contents. You can then use the Favorites section to keep frequently used folders visible for quick access.
We appreciate your feedback about how the current behavior differs from your expectations, and we’ll forward your comments to our team for consideration in future improvements.
Hello - I am a new to DXO and am also having this issue. DXO will not allow me to drag folders within the file tree. I then moved the folder in explorer, but now DXO does not show the old location grayed out, which leaves me unable to use the Relocate Folder function. Were you able to find fix for this? Thank you
Apologies – I never updated this post. I honestly had forgotten about it.
I posted the update from DxO’s support team here:
In short: they told me that the feature actually doesn’t exist as described and said they would remove it from the description of the PhotoLab. From what I can tell, they did; I don’t see it anywhere on the product page anymore.
As for any solution to your issue, short of digging deep into the PhotoLab database using a database browser and making risky changes, there isn’t a way to move folders around without breaking the links and causing (?) thumbnails when performing searches.
Now, if you don’t care about Projects and Advanced History, you can move folders around all you want outside PhotoLab and then (with PL closed) trash the database and then re-index your folders once you reopen PL.
But if you do want those features, they will disappear if you do this.
Otherwise, your “solution” is to come up with a folder structure and stick to it.
OR don’t use the PhotoLab search feature.
So the good news is you’ve got options. The bad news is, they aren’t necessarily the greatest options
I noticed (and shared my own) confusion about this “new feature” when PL9 was released. I’m glad it’s finally been cleared up: the feature doesn’t exist! Nothing to see here! Thanks for looking into it.
Well bummer! Thank you very much for providing that update. Hopefully they can get a basic level of that in an update. I have enjoyed the program otherwise, but I need to be able to move folders. Appreciate you posting all of that.
What is strange is I’m certain I glimpsed this feature when I was trialing PL9 back in September. I remember seeing a folder with a question mark in my PhotoLibrary browser and was able to relocate it. But after that, never again. I wonder – did they initially include it in the app, but perhaps it was buggy, and they removed it in a subsequent version release? Almost feels like I was gaslighted!
I’m hoping that PL10 is going to be the “year of the DAM” for PhotoLab. Truly, truly, truly if they could just make it even almost as good as Capture One (which isn’t even that great as a DAM) I will forsake all other raw editors!
I like to note some SQL data manipulation comment in the case of ‘folder moving’ vs PL database just a few months ago. For example: you move manually folder like: c:\photos\2025 → d:\allyear\2025 and PL database not know the photos in the new place. Its works fine, you not lose any keyword, project linking, etc.
Thanks for looking into it.