Relink offline clips

Last updated on Apr 2, 2026

Use the Link Media dialog box to reconnect missing source files and restore clips in your Adobe Premiere project.

When imported clips are moved, renamed, or deleted outside Premiere, they become offline clips. These clips display the Offline Item icon in the Project panel, and Media Offline appears in the Timeline, Program Monitor, and other panels. The Link Media workflow helps you locate and reconnect these files, restoring them for use in your project. You can relink offline clips to their original source files or to different source files. When you relink to a different file, the new source replaces the offline clip everywhere it appears in your project.

When you open a project containing offline media, Premiere automatically attempts to reconnect the files. If automatic relinking fails, the Link Media dialog box appears, showing which files need to be reconnected.

Relink clips automatically when opening a project

Open a project that contains offline media.

In the Link Media dialog box, verify that Relink others automatically is selected.

Link Media dialog showing the Relink others automatically option enabled to automatically reconnect offline clips.
Select Relink others automatically to automatically reconnect additional offline clips that match the selected file properties.

Select at least one property under Match File Properties, such as File Name, File Extension, or Media Start.

Select Locate for the first offline clip to browse for its source file.

Navigate to the file location and select the matching file.

Premiere automatically relinks other offline clips that match the selected properties.

Tip

The Align Timecode option is selected by default to match the media file's source timecode to the clip being relinked.

Relink clips from the Project panel

In the Project panel, select one or more offline clips.

Right-click the offline clip you want to reconnect, then select Link Media to locate and relink the source file.

Context menu with Link Media highlighted for selected offline clips in the Project panel.
In the Project panel, right-click the selected offline clips and choose Link Media to relink them.

In the Link Media dialog box, select the offline clip to relink.

Select Locate and navigate to the source file using the Locate File dialog.

Examine the Last Path field to help identify the file's previous location.

Select the correct file and choose Select.

If you're relinking multiple clips and they're stored in the same folder structure as before, Premiere attempts to relink all selected clips after you locate the first file.

The Link Media dialog provides visibility into broken links and displays both the clip name used in your project and the original linked filename. You can switch between list and thumbnail views in the Locate File dialog to visually confirm media files.