Imagine this: you’re writing up your proof argument. You need to double-check something on a census scan you attached three years ago. You click the thumbnail in the file detail dialog — and nothing opens.
Not an error. Not a crash. Just silence, because Evidentia dutifully stored the path to that file, and the file is no longer there.
(If this has happened to you, you are not alone. If it hasn’t, keep reading — you’ll want to get ahead of it.)
How Files Go Missing (Without Anyone Making a Mistake)
Files drift from their database references in ways that feel perfectly innocent at the time:
- You reorganized your research folder to tidy things up
- You got a new computer — you copied your database over, but the Records folder ended up in a slightly different location, and now every path Evidentia memorized points somewhere that no longer exists
- You migrated from one database to another — you may have moved some records manually, leaving the attachments behind in the original database’s folder
- Your sync client had a bad day and dropped something
- You deleted a file from disk, not realizing Evidentia still pointed to it
From Evidentia’s perspective, the source record is still there, the attachment reference is still there — but the file it describes is not. Your database and your disk have quietly disagreed with each other, possibly for months.
The reverse problem also exists: orphaned files. These are files sitting in your Evidentia Records folder that no source or citation claims. Maybe they belonged to a record you later deleted. Maybe they were imported but never fully linked. They aren’t broken exactly — they just aren’t connected to anything.
The Attachment Audit Tool
Evidentia 3+ includes a built-in attachment audit that surfaces both kinds of drift at once. You’ll find it in the Record Library, in the toolbar: look for the Validate Attachments button.
When you open it, Evidentia runs two scans simultaneously — one checking every attachment reference in your database against the disk, and another walking your Records folder for files no record claims. Both scans run concurrently, so the wait is no longer than the slower of the two.
The Missing Tab: What to Do When a File Is Gone
If any missing files are found, the Missing tab opens by default. Each row shows you which source or citation owned the attachment, the filename Evidentia expected, and the path where it looked.
For each missing item, you have two options — covered below.
Browse or Remove — Which to Choose
Browse — Opens a file picker so you can locate the file wherever it ended up. When you find it, Evidentia re-attaches it to the original record and updates the path. The old dangling reference is cleared automatically.
Remove — Strips the reference from the record entirely. Use this when the file is genuinely gone and you’d rather have a clean record than a ghost pointer.
After either action, Evidentia re-scans automatically — the list stays current as you work through it.
The Orphans Tab: Files on Disk That No Record Claims
The second half of the attachment audit — the Orphans tab — lists files in your Records folder that aren’t referenced by any source or citation: filename, relative path, and file size.
Orphaned files won’t cause errors, but they do take up space, and they’re a sign that at some point a record was deleted without its attached files following along. What you do with them is your call: if you recognize a file, you may be able to re-attach it manually. If you don’t, it’s probably safe to remove it from disk yourself — the audit tool surfaces the list, but doesn’t delete anything for you.
One useful detail: if the Missing scan comes back clean but orphaned files exist, Evidentia automatically switches to the Orphans tab — so you see the most actionable information first.
How Often Should You Run It?
Think of it the way you think about backing up your database: not something you do after disaster strikes, but something you do regularly so you’re not headed toward disaster.
A few good triggers:
- After reorganizing your research folder structure
- After migrating to a new computer or switching cloud providers
- After migrating records from one database to another
- A few times a year as a routine check
An attachment audit with no findings takes about fifteen seconds. The peace of mind is free.
Good research practice means maintaining your evidence as carefully as you gather it — a commitment reflected in the Genealogical Proof Standard. Regular file audits are part of that same discipline.
Ready to try it? The Attachment Audit Tool is available in Evidentia 3+.
— Ed Thompson / Evidentia Software