Link Folder

Linking a folder in Mylio Photos allows you to include media from an existing location on your internal or external drive without moving or copying any files. The folder remains exactly where it is on your hard drive, and Mylio watches it for changes in real time.

This is ideal if you already have an organized folder structure or if other applications reference your files. Any new photos or videos added to the linked folder or its subfolders will automatically appear in your Mylio Photos Library.

*NOTE: Linking folders from an external drive you also want to use as additional storage with Mylio?

If you plan to use that external drive to store or sync other media in addition to the linked folders in your Mylio Photos Library — for example, as a Vault (a drive that holds a complete copy of your library) — we recommend adding the drive as a Mylio device before linking any folders from it.

If you link folders before adding the drive to Mylio, Mylio will associate those folders with your computer rather than the external drive. This can lead to missing folder warnings and duplicate folder structures on the drive, making them difficult to untangle later.

Learn more: [What to do if you linked folders before adding your external drive to Mylio]

1. Click the Add Media icon in the top app bar.
2. Select Add media accessible from this device. A file browser window (Windows Explorer or macOS Finder) will open.
3. Navigate to the folder you want to link, then click Open.
4. In the How do you want to get these photos into Mylio? dialog, select Link Folder.
5. In the Link Folder dialog:
   • Confirm the folder you selected.
   • Categories (optional): Assign relevant categories to help organize the linked media.
6. Click Link Now to add the folder to your Mylio Photos Library without moving or copying any files.

*TIP: For a detailed guide on how Linked Folders function within Mylio Photos, click here.

!WARNING: Mylio Photos does not support Linked Folders on cloud drives (e.g., Dropbox, iCloud Drive, Google Drive, OneDrive, etc.). Linking a folder from a cloud drive may result in data loss and catalog corruption. To add cloud drive photos and videos to Mylio Photos, please download the media to a local folder on your computer or external drive, then add the media to Mylio Photos.

!WARNING: When you link a folder in Mylio Photos, you cannot later link a parent folder that contains it. For example, if you link Vacation Photos, you will not be able to link the Pictures folder that contains it. To ensure the best folder structure for your library, consider whether you need to link an individual folder or a higher-level directory that includes multiple sub-folders before proceeding.

*NOTE: External drives containing Linked Folders must be powered on and connected to a computer running Mylio Photos. If the external drive is disconnected, Myliio Photos functionality will be limited.

*NOTE: Adding a Linked Folder must be done on a computer (macOS or Windows). Linked Folders cannot be added from mobile devices, such as phones or tablets, due to operating system limitations.