Troubleshooting

HEIC photos will not convert

Windows does not include a HEIC decoder on every machine. Open Image Converter, select a HEIC photo, and if the notice appears press Get the HEIF Image Extension — it is free, from the Microsoft Store, and installs in about ten seconds. Then press I've installed it — check again; no restart needed.

Every utility says "Bandwidth sharing is off"

That is the funding arrangement working as designed, not a fault. Open Settings ▸ Bandwidth exchange and turn Share idle bandwidth on. If it will not start, see The bandwidth exchange.

A job failed

Open it in the Job Queue, expand its Log, and read the error — it names the file and the reason. Copy log saves the detail to your clipboard. Fix the cause and press Retry.

Jobs seem stuck or slow

Jobs run in parallel up to the Job concurrency limit in Settings ▸ General; the rest wait their turn. Raise the limit to run more at once, or lower it if your machine is struggling. Remember that AI Enhance is genuinely CPU-heavy — several minutes for a full-size photo is normal, not a hang.

The window disappeared

Closing the window only hides it to the tray. Click the PhotoTray icon near the clock to bring it back — the app is still running. If you cannot see the icon, check behind the ^ chevron.

A watch rule is not firing

Check three things, in order: Pause all is not active; the rule's own On box is ticked; and bandwidth sharing is on. Watch rules are subject to the same sharing requirement as manual work.

The duplicate scan results vanished

Duplicate results are stored in a report file that the panel reads back. If it has been deleted, the panel tells you to run the scan again rather than showing an empty — and misleadingly reassuring — result.

I dropped files on the tray icon and nothing happened

Dragging files onto the tray icon is not wired up for PhotoTray's utilities. Use a utility panel, or set up a Watch Folders rule.

Settings shows a "yt-dlp" tool I do not recognise

It is a shared platform control that no PhotoTray utility uses. Ignore it. See Settings ▸ Tools.