Unable to relink files in DaVinci Resolve 18.6? Try doing this.
Whenever I find a new solution, I add it to this list. DaVinci Resolve has two stages of file relinking, not one like in Premiere Pro.
Updated with method #4 on Feb 23, 2024.
I recently migrated my cloud storage provider from Dropbox to Box. I transferred all active projects and their cloud assets to Box during this process. When I reopened an existing DaVinci Resolve Studio project, none of the files were offline. Uh oh.
Clicking on the little angry red “Relink Files” chain icon brought nothing back. No files were relinked. Even if I selected an individual file and navigated to the new folder with that exact file, the Relink Files function would not be able to find the file. I googled around for an answer and couldn’t find any, so I decided to write up what methods have worked for me in case you, too, have this same frustration.
Do remember that if you are using a cloud provider and you haven’t marked the files for offline usage, your Davinci Resolve project will freeze until all files are downloaded. Set your project folder to offline access to prevent this issue from happening again.
Method 1: Change the Source Folder
The answer is simple: change the source folder, then relink. DaVinci Resolve has two stages of file relinking. It has the file-level “Relink Files” function that we’re familiar with, but this appears to only work within the source folder. If the files are moved out of the source folder (and I don’t know how far out since Dropbox starts after C:\Users\Name\Dropbox), then Relink Files will not work.
Highlight all of your project files. Right-click and select “Change Source Folder.” In the dialogue, browse for the new source folder. Mine happened to be the same project folder but with a Box filepath, rather than a Dropbox filepath (those cloud storage names are so similar!). Accept the change.
Make sure the file path in Change Source Folder is correct. It took me a second to realize that this is a clickable input box. In the past, I’ve had DaVinci duplicate the source folder path in the “To:” input area, showing the C:\ path twice. Media would not link, so check that.
Now click the “Relink Files” button again, pick the top-level project folder, and all files should sync back up without issue.
Method 2: Move Unlinked Clips Into a New Folder
It sounds dumb, I know, but in my experience, DaVinci has randomly unlinked several clips inside a project, but not all clips. Some just won’t link! It makes no sense. It must be a bug. I’ve pulled hair out over this. The simplist solution for me was to:
Navigate to the source folder on your computer and highlight all clips that are shown as unlinked in DaVinci Resolve.
Right click, copy.
Create a new folder inside that same source folder.
Paste the copied clips into the folder. This can be a pain when there is a lot of data.
Use the “Relink Files” button and select the folder that you just made.
By doing this, DaVinci has to rerecognize the clips inside the new folder, and this occasionally fixes the unlinking issue.
Method 3: Use Media Tab to Identify File Paths
In the Media tab, you can view the file paths for both source and proxy media. If the above two methods do not work, you can identify the problem file paths for each missing clip.
Select problem clips that are part of a same folder (such as from SD Card A) and right click. Try both of the following options.
Select “Relink Selected Clips…”
Select “Link Full Resolution Media…”
Select the next chunk of clips of a same folder (SD Card B, now) and repeat.
(New) Method 4: Change Source Folder to Wrong Source
This issue came up today and, again, I couldn’t find any support online. I found a new workaround to this issue that involves intentionally picking the wrong source file.
The issue was that several files seemingly at random were offline. I could view them in the Media page but once I dragged them in to the project, they would go offline. The source file path was wrong. Whenver I tried to change it, it would go back to the old one. The solution is to clear that file path and prevent DaVinci Resolve from auto-correcting your fix with the wrong one.
Right click on the problematic group of files and select “Change Source Folder…”
Pick an intentionally wrong source with no files on it. I chose a portable hard drive that I had plugged in as the source.
After picking this source, right click on the file group again and “Unlink Selected Clips.”
Now go back to “Change Source Folder…” and pick the correct file path to the files.
Finally, right click on them again, go to “Relink Selected Clips…” and pick the folder.
For me, things immediately synced back up. I think it’s an issue in DaVinci Resolve with file path naming. In my case, changing source folder wasn’t clearing the old source folder file path (even if I left it blank). The action was just adding the new file path after the one.
Fingers crossed this works for you! It’s such a bummer not being able to resync files. This project I was working on has about a dozen episodes an hour or more in length. Not being able to resync that content would have been terrible.
on method 1 what if the source folder won't change it keeps just putting it as the wrong folder.