Production workflow · Capture One workflow
Capture One: media offline or actually deleted?
Why does Capture One report media offline?
Short answer
Usually not deleted: Capture One shows images as offline when the catalog cannot reach their referenced folder, most often because the drive is disconnected or renamed. Previews still appear, which proves nothing about the original file. Reconnect the drive, check the path in the Library and scan read-only only if the originals are gone.
The situation
Capture One shows a preview or edit decision but cannot open the original media.
An offline marker in Capture One describes the link between the catalog and the referenced folder, not the condition of the raw file. The application knows the last path it stored and reports failure when that path cannot be reached. The original may be untouched on a drive that simply mounted under another name.
01 / Diagnose
Work out what actually disappeared
Capture One stores an absolute path for every referenced image and keeps previews in its own cache, so the thumbnail survives even when the raw file does not. Four different events produce the same offline state: the drive is unplugged, the volume was renamed, the folder moved, or the file was deleted. Only the stored path and the current mount tell them apart.
A changed volume name, missing drive, moved folder and deleted file can trigger similar messages. For Capture One, this matters because Capture One can keep references or helper media without containing a complete independent original
Check the last known path, trash and backups without writing to the original device.
02 / Protect the source
Preserve the best recovery chance
- 1
Leave the card or drive that held the originals alone and connect nothing else to it; if it is unplugged, plug it back in before changing anything in the catalog.
- 2
Select one offline image, open the Metadata or Info panel and note the full stored path, the filename and the capture date on paper.
- 3
Search every mounted volume for that exact filename while working read-only; if it appears, use Locate in the Library instead of re-importing the folder.
- 4
If no drive holds the file, scan the recording card read-only and export any candidate to a different disk, then relink the catalog to the exported copy.
Do not let Capture One rebuild or purge previews while the originals are unavailable, and do not delete the offline images to tidy the browser. Both actions throw away the only record of names, dates and paths you still have, and neither brings a missing raw file back.
03 / Choose the method
Match the tool to the source
For stable, readable exFAT, NTFS and FAT16/FAT32 or uncompressed IMG, DD, RAW and BIN images.
Unconfirmed exports are marked .UNVERIFIED.
File Recovery Hero reads the camera card itself, not the catalog: it scans stable readable exFAT, NTFS and FAT16/FAT32 volumes read-only and cannot repair a broken catalog database or read an APFS system disk. Relinking inside Capture One stays a manual step.
04 / Verify
Check the recovered content, not just its name
The catalog is healthy again when a selected image opens at full resolution in the Viewer, the file size matches the camera original and editing a slider produces a visible change rather than an offline warning. Compare the capture date and frame with the preview you saw before.
Keep the source until two verified copies exist. One working preview is not enough.
Sources and technical references
FAQ
Questions about this recovery case
Can Capture One workflow be recovered in this situation?+
An offline marker in Capture One describes the link between the catalog and the referenced folder, not the condition of the raw file. The application knows the last path it stored and reports failure when that path cannot be reached. The original may be untouched on a drive that simply mounted under another name. The result still depends on what remains readable on the source.
What should I avoid before scanning?+
Do not let Capture One rebuild or purge previews while the originals are unavailable, and do not delete the offline images to tidy the browser.
Does scanning write to my memory card?+
Your memory card is only read. Nothing is saved to it.
How do I know whether the result is complete?+
The catalog is healthy again when a selected image opens at full resolution in the Viewer, the file size matches the camera original and editing a slider produces a visible change rather than an offline warning.