How can I deal with duplicate files

[S K Marshall]

ave searched the help looking for guidance on how to deal with duplicate files - any ideas please.

[gary_sc · Accepted solution]

HI S_K_Marshall,

There is no easy & quick solution to this, very sorry. I'm even more sorry to say that this is "probably" a good thing, because you do not want images automatically tossed as that way you had no input on which version of that image to delete.

That notwithstanding, you didn't mention if you have duplicates in the same folder or differeent folders. If they are in the same folder and if they have a mostly similar name (e.g., myphoto_2213.jpg and myphoto_2213-1.jpg), that's pretty easy: look for all of the "-1" and delete them. If they are all over your computer (different folders), than using software like "PhotoSweeper," can help.

However, as you've discovered, Bridge cannot directly help you on this.

Hope that helps.

[S K Marshall]

Many thanks for taking the time to respond - appreciated Scott

[KenRubin]

This answer was over a year ago. If not in Bridge - there must at least be some applications for detecting and removing duplicate (deduping) photos?

Can you suggest the best tools/Apps for deduping photos?

[Lumigraphics]

Yes there are, you might want to check the App Store for your platform (Windows Store or Apple App Store) and see what is available.

[KenRubin]

Glad to hear there are applications to help... I am hoping to receive some recommendations from this forum, rather than the hit and miss of downloading and trying one ap after another.
Mac or PC is fine - whichever has the BEST Ap for efficiently accomplishing the goal.

Anyone have any recommendations?

[Lumigraphics]

Maybe try macworld.com and pcworld.com for reviews?

[sethk86899989]

If you still need it you can try dupeguru, which is on github.com . It does a decent job but you'll want to verify the files before you delete. If you use it be sure to use the "view details" option so you can compare a reference photo to one the one it suggests deleting.

[Miro Slavin]

I am sorry to say but what you say is just totally not helpful. I also have thousand photos that were duplicated while synchronization went bad and truly there should be duplicate finder in the lightroom. saying that it is good that there is no automatic way to do that sounds like - we have no klue how to make this work so good that we didn't do it yet.

[scotts28179673]

Suggestion for those that be.  Finding and eliminating are not the same concept.  Because of past issues some exact photos have been saved multiple times.  Would be nice to view next to each so as to make easier to choose.

[MikeBowenPics]

I won't both going into why I have a large number of duplicates, but the number is currently 17,000.  I found an add on app to Lightroom that appears to do a good job of finding duplicates.  It creates a smart collection called duplicates.  The method I am using is to 1) find the original I want to keep and clear the duplicate keyword.  Easy enough.  2) I have to go to the go to the folder in the library so I can delete it.  I tried doing a right click and remove from the smart collection and it won;t let me do that.  

Is there a faster way I can speed up this process?

Mike Bowen

[Personal information was removed by a Moderator. Sadly, not everyone going through these forums is a good person; never leave any personal information online.]

[matts9646435]

I'm seeing this question 2 years after it was posed.  To delete photos from your mac computer from inside any collection or search in LRC, press and hold Shift / Option / Command and press the delete key (the one that eats from right to left) and it will delete the photo from lightroom but also from the disk - actual "gone gone."

[AtlaHeilig]

I know this is late, but there is a program called "Alldup" that is for donation or free if you need it to be.  It's a duplicate image / file finder.  I don't know how, but I ended up with HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of duplicates of my photos.  Some were different sizes, new names, I have no idea what happened.  But I let alldup run overnight and it showed me all the duplicates.  I choose to keep the largest file by size and automatically delete the smaller duplicates.  It took all night for the program to run, but it works like a charm.