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If you run into something unexpected, you’re likely not alone. These are the questions we hear most often, along with clear answers to get you back on track quickly.
1Archive detects drives as soon as they are plugged in, but a drive only appears in your source list when it is physically connected to your computer. If your drive is connected and still not appearing, try the following:
  • Unplug the drive and plug it back in, ideally into a different USB port.
  • Make sure your operating system recognizes the drive (it should appear in Finder on macOS or File Explorer on Windows).
  • If the drive is newly connected but unscanned, it will appear in the source list with a Scan button rather than as a browsable source. This is expected behavior, click Scan to index its contents.
A drive that has been previously scanned remains browsable in 1Archive even when it is disconnected. You can still search and view its indexed files; you just cannot open or export files until the drive is reconnected.
Sources must be fully scanned before they can be moved into a source folder. If you see an error when dragging a source, check whether the scan has completed. Look for a progress indicator on the source card, once scanning finishes, drag-and-drop into folders will work as expected.
A source folder (also called a source group) can only be deleted when it is empty. If the folder contains any sources, 1Archive will prevent deletion to avoid accidental data loss from your catalog.To delete the folder:
  1. Open the folder and move each source out of it, or remove sources from your catalog individually.
  2. Once the folder is empty, right-click it and select Delete.
Removing a source from your catalog removes its index from 1Archive but does not delete any files from your physical drive.
AI Image Search uses a cloud-based vector search service and requires an active internet connection. If you are offline or on a restricted network, AI Image Search will not return results. Transcript and File Name search need a connection too. While offline, you can still browse your sources directly.AI Image Search also only finds files from sources scanned with AI image indexing turned on. When you search inside a Collection, newly added files can take a little while to become searchable while 1Archive catches up in the background. Press Enter again later to pick them up.
File Name search returns up to 100 files per query and needs at least three characters. AI Image Search and Transcript return the closest matches ranked by relevance. If you expect more results, try narrowing your search terms or check the filter chips under the search bar.
Face clustering has three requirements that must all be met:
  1. Internet connection: Clustering uses a cloud service and cannot run offline. If you see an error about being offline, check your connection and try again.
  2. “Detect People” must have run first: Clustering groups together faces that have already been detected. If you have not run Detect People on a source, there are no detections to cluster. Right-click a source and choose Detect People before clicking Cluster Faces.
  3. At least 4 faces per person: Groups with fewer than 4 detected faces for the same person will not appear as a cluster. This threshold exists to reduce false positives from incidental appearances.
If all three conditions are met and clustering still produces no results, your library may not yet contain enough overlapping appearances of the same person across your files.
Yes. Once a drive has been scanned, its file index is stored locally in your 1Archive catalog. You can search, filter, and view thumbnails for any file on that drive even when the drive is unplugged.What you cannot do while the drive is disconnected:
  • Open or play the original file
  • Export or transfer the file to another location
Reconnect the drive to perform any of those actions.
1Archive includes a duplicates and backups detection feature. From the source detail view or the search interface, look for the Duplicates filter. This surfaces files that share the same content hash, meaning they are byte-for-byte identical regardless of filename or location.This is useful for identifying redundant backups spread across multiple drives before archiving or cleaning up storage.
1Archive indexes and generates previews for a wide range of media and creative file formats:
  • Photos: RAW formats (CR2, CR3, NEF, ARW, DNG, and others), JPEG, PNG, HEIC, TIFF, PSD, and more
  • Videos: MP4, MOV, MXF, and other common video container formats
  • General files: Documents and other file types are indexed by filename and metadata even when preview generation is not supported
If you have a specific format that is not rendering previews, contact support with the file extension and we can confirm whether it is on the roadmap.
You can share files through Collections. Add the files to a collection, then right-click the collection in the Collections panel and choose Share Collection. A Public link opens for anyone who has it, and a Password Protected link also asks for a password. Neither needs a 1Archive account. You can also invite people to the collection individually, so they sign in to see it; see Collection permissions.To stop sharing a link, open the same dialog and click the trash icon next to it. Only that link stops working; the collection’s other links keep working.
Your plan includes cloud storage for previews: 10 GB on Basic, more on the larger plans. When your organization reaches that limit, 1Archive stops making new previews and shows a message with how much you’ve used. Files that already have previews keep them.Owners and Admins can see preview storage used and the limit on the Billing page of the Admin Console (Settings → Admin Console), and upgrade or add storage there.The vault is billed separately. Vaulting doesn’t stop at a storage limit, and vault usage doesn’t show in 1Archive yet.