Keep projects and source photographs available

What you will do

Identify the project data that Arams manages, the source photographs that you imported, and any copies created by export. You will also see how a project behaves when one disposable source photograph is temporarily unavailable, then restore its exact path and reopen the project.

Before you start

Sign in to Arams and use a disposable practice project. Do not test this procedure on a client’s only copy of a photograph.

The steps were verified on Windows in Arams 1.10.2, with the interface set to English. The verified project, Source files practice, used disposable full-resolution copies of maxine-01.jpg and maxine-02.jpg, each 6064 × 4040 pixels. Their hashes were unchanged after the procedure. No analysis, retouching, or export was started.

Distinguish project data, sources, and exports

The three kinds of files serve different purposes:

Project data is the catalog and other application-managed information. With Location set to Default, the verified project was stored below Pictures\Retouch4me Arams\Projects and contained a hidden .retouch4me folder. Let Arams manage these files.
Source photographs are the files you import. In the verified run, the two JPEG sources remained in a separate folder outside the project folder. Importing them did not move them into project storage.
Exported copies are new files created by an export. Their location, names, and dimensions depend on your export settings. An exported copy does not restore an unavailable source path.

Open the project and wait until both filenames and both photographic thumbnails appear. The example shows 2 photos / 1 selected.

The Source files practice project with normal thumbnails for maxine-01.jpg and maxine-02.jpg. — Both source photographs are available at their imported paths and appear as normal thumbnails. Arams 1.10.2 · Windows · English

For a verified export procedure, see Prepare files for delivery. Do not move, rename, or delete files inside .retouch4me while following this chapter.

Observe a temporarily unavailable source

Return to the Arams home screen so that the practice project is closed.
In Windows File Explorer, temporarily rename the disposable maxine-01.jpg copy in its source folder. Leave maxine-02.jpg, the fixture originals, and the project data unchanged.
Reopen Source files practice.
Compare the two cards after the grid finishes loading.

Arams kept both filenames and the 2 photos count in the verified run. The maxine-01.jpg card was dimmed and displayed an unavailable-image symbol over its cached preview; maxine-02.jpg remained visible normally. Arams did not show a separate error message or a relink control in this state.

The maxine-01.jpg card is dimmed with an unavailable-image symbol while maxine-02.jpg remains normal. — With maxine-01.jpg absent, Arams keeps both cards and the 2 photos count but marks the unavailable source on its card. Arams 1.10.2 · Windows · English

A cached preview and an unchanged photo count do not mean that Arams can still read the full-resolution source. Stop here instead of starting analysis, retouching, or export with the source absent.

Restore the exact path and reopen the project

Return to the home screen so that the project is closed.
Restore the disposable photograph to the same source folder with its exact imported filename, maxine-01.jpg.
Reopen Source files practice. Do not import the photograph again.
Wait until both photographic thumbnails have loaded and the unavailable-image symbol has disappeared.
Confirm that both filenames are present and the count still reads 2 photos.

In the verified run, the preview recovered automatically after the exact path was restored; no recovery command was needed.

The reopened project with normal thumbnails restored for maxine-01.jpg and maxine-02.jpg. — After maxine-01.jpg is returned to its exact source path, both thumbnails load again without another import. Arams 1.10.2 · Windows · English

Check the result

The same project reopens with maxine-01.jpg and maxine-02.jpg available again. Its catalog remains in Arams project storage, while the two source JPEGs remain outside that folder at 6064 × 4040. Both disposable sources and both fixture originals have the same SHA-256 hashes as before the test.

This result verifies restoration at the original path. Moving a source to a new permanent folder and relinking it from Arams were not verified.

If it does not work

The restored card still shows the unavailable-image symbol: check the source folder, exact filename, and .jpg extension. Close and reopen the project after the file is back at its imported path.
Both names remain visible while a source is absent: this matches the verified missing-source state. Do not treat the filename, count, or cached preview as proof that the original is readable.
You changed project data instead of a disposable source: stop. Do not move files inside .retouch4me or attempt catalog repair as part of this procedure.
You cannot restore the disposable copy: preserve the renamed file and stop. Do not reimport another photograph merely to make the count match.
An exported copy is missing: check the destination and naming settings in Prepare files for delivery. Restoring a source path does not recreate an export.

Moving a project, repairing its catalog, deleting photographs, and recovering permanently deleted files are outside this walkthrough and have not been verified.