can't understand where it is saved

Hello friends.
i have exported a project archive as "expo". i then choose only media files and where to save it. i choose my desktop.
So in my desktop there is a folder with the name "Expo.dra" and inside there is a folder " media files" with all the footage and a file "project.drp".

when i run the "project.drp" it opens the project. And after the first time it remains in my project manager as an icon.
if i open the icon from the project manager and do some changes i can see them whenever i open it from there.
BUT if i open it from the file "project.drp" from the folder where i exported the project archive i CAN'T see the changes i did. why is this happening?
this icon in the project manager in which file it is linked?

That's not how you open an archive.

The project in the Project Manager and the .drp in the archive are are completely separate and independent. The .drp in the archive will not update after your edits, because it's not actually installed in Resolve. It's just a backup. The project that you're editing and savings is stored in the database, not the archive.

You're *supposed* to open an archive by right clicking in the project manager and choosing 'restore archive' (or something like that). What you did (presumably) is double click the .drp in the archive, which then installed the project in the Project Manager and, surprisingly, the installed project found your footage in the archive, despite the fact that you didn't formally restore it.

You can probably continue this way, but next time you might want to follow the suggested procedure...

No need to worry. There is nothing wrong. This is the way it was designed to work.

They are not linked.

The project.drp inside the exported archive will forever be in the state it was when archived.
When you click on it, essentially, Resolve is importing A COPY of that archive.

You are working on the copy; and continuing from there.

If all you wanted to do was collect the working media to a single location, try using the "Media Manageament" tool inside Resolve. That might be a better way than exporting a project archive.

There is a way to update the project.drp inside the archive without having to copy all the files again:
Start the archive to a different location, then after a few seconds, cancel it (so the media files discontinue being copied). A new "project.drp" still should have been created; with the proper coding that tells Resolve to look inside the nearest "MediaFiles" folder. Then, take that .drp and REPLACE the one in the first archive you exported.

Oh dear, I thought I had found an easier way.
After saving an initial .drp & dra to an external drive all I have done is added say _1 to the drp file and then via the project manager simply re save a later .drp to the external drive. If the media remains unchanged it should suffice.
.drp listing looks like xxxxxx.drp_1, xxxxxx.drp_2 xxxxxx.drp_3 xxxxxx.drp, with .drp being the last saved. Providing only a straight .drp is selected the manager seems to bring in straight functioning copy.

Oh dear, I thought I had found an easier way.
After saving an initial .drp & dra to an external drive all I have done is added say _1 to the drp file and then via the project manager simply re save a later .drp to the external drive. If the media remains unchanged it should suffice.
.drp listing looks like xxxxxx.drp_1, xxxxxx.drp_2 xxxxxx.drp_3 xxxxxx.drp, with .drp being the last saved. Providing only a straight .drp is selected the manager seems to bring in straight functioning copy.

No need to do all that. What we do is, on a daily basis from the Project Manager, we create a copy of the file named something like:

new_project_v2_5-29-2023

with today's date as the second half of the file. We keep that in a directory called "COLOR" on the source file drive. (Some Premiere editors do something like this, with a PreProj folder holding multiple copies of the same session file.) These are just backup copies -- the "real" versions we use everyday just sit in the Project Manager. It's extremely rare we ever use them, but they're there just in case.

We only export a .DRA file if we had to share a session and all the media with somebody else, and that doesn't happen often.

Great suggestion, Marc. Question - how do you keep track of the progress you make through the project? For example, if you needed to go back to a previous version, how would you know the stage you left it at? Do you use markers in the project as a means to document notes?