In DPL, when exporting to disk, the user can select a destination folder.
When exporting to a Nik plugin, the Plugin Selector doesn’t allow selecting a destination folder. The TIFF or JPEG intermediate file is always created in the same folder as the original. I think that many users would like to be able to export to another folder (at least a sub folder of the source folder).
Pat, don’t forget to vote for your own proposal. 
I see a potential workflow issue with exporting a TIFF file to another folder before passing it to a Nik program. When you exit Nik and return to Photolab the updated image won’t be available for you to view or further modify without first changing folders. And after changing to the export folder, if you then decide that you want to review or make additional changes to the original raw file, you will have to change the folder a second time. Or, are you expecting that when you exit Nik that PhotoLab will also automatically change folders?
There may be some other way to easily accomplish your goal of having the final Nik version end up in a different folder. I’m just not sure that exporting it there prior to sending it to Nik is the most workable solution.
Mark
Yes. It should be easy to systematically switch to the folder containing the externally modified copy. This suggestion also applies when exporting to any other application.
[EDIT]
When sending an image to a Nik plugin, the image is exported anyway. That’s what I’m talking about : I’d like to create the intermediary file where I want, not necessarily in the same folder as the original RAW.
[End of edit]
I understand but it depends on the user’s workflow. Most often, the export to an external application is the “finishing touch” of the workflow. The RAW development is already done and if changes are still necessary at that level, the user will probably want to export again to the third-party app (which is now easier with version 3).
So, why keep externally edited copies in a different folder than the original ? Because such images are usually the final step of a project (e.g. an exhibition or an upload to a web gallery). These images may come from different folders. Having them gathered in a specific folder where we can batch process them could make the project management easier. I know that we have “Projects” in DPL but it’s not always enough.
Not a major point, though. But I’d like the DPL UI to be generally more consistent than it currently is. Why am I allowed to select an export folder when exporting to disk and not when exporting to an application or to the Nik Collection ? There’s a similar problem for the TIFF compression options that I explained in a recent thread. Consistency is a key point in a good UI. DPL still has a few problems to solve in this area.