duplicates shown in catalog that are not there.

[jpnc4]

In  'All Photos" it often shows duplicates in the same folder. When i go to the folder, of course there is only one.  It also will show a missing photo right next to the actual photo. When I try to find the missing photo, it tells me it already exists in the catalog. I hopoe there is a solution for this.

[F. McLion]

Please share a partial screen capture in library view with all cell information (with file name/type shown) active.

What happens when you synchronize the folder? Does it show counts of missing, new ...?

[jpnc4]

[jpnc4]

I have never used synchronize and don't know anything about it.

[jpnc4]

Here is a screen shot of a photo next to a missing photo with the same name. 

[JohanElzenga]

Seems you have two problems. The first problem is that it looks like you imported some photos twice. These are real copies, not virtual copies. They won't be in the same folder however, because MacOS does not allow that. To see where they are, you can do the following. Select the first image of the duplicates, and choose 'Photo - Go to folder in Library'. Lightroom will select the folder where this image is located. Then go back to 'All Photographs' and do the same for the second photo of the duplicates. Now you know where both images are, and you can decide which one you want to delete.

The second problem is that for some photos Lightroom does not know where the photo is. It is not in the folder where Lightroom thinks it should be. Maybe you deleted that photo from disk already? As long as this is a duplicate anyway, you could simply remove the missing photo from the catalog.

[dj_paige]

I have just imported the same file a second time (and the two imports are in different folders). Here is what it looks like:

So I think that's pretty clear, you did something like this.

[jpnc4]

i followed your directions and each picture went to the same folder.  I changed the file name of one to be sure I was not clicking on the same folder twice, and each one went to the same folder, one at a time..

[JohanElzenga]

Did renaming one file only rename that one file, or both? And what happens if you use 'Photo - Show in Finder' on each photo?

[dj_paige]

i followed your directions and each picture went to the same folder.  I changed the file name of one to be sure I was not clicking on the same folder twice, and each one went to the same folder, one at a time..

By @jpnc4

I don't see where anyone has suggested you re-name the photos. Anyway, what is the desired end result? Do you want a catalog with just one of each photo?

[jpnc4]

yes

[dj_paige]

So which of the two photos do you want to keep? Does it matter if the two right now are in different folders, would you prefer to keep the one in Folder A and not the one in Folder B? Are they edited the same, and have the same user-provided metadata?

[JohanElzenga]

@dj_paige According to the OP they are in the same folder. That would be impossible, unless this is catalog corruption and they are not really two different photos, but two database entries of one and the same photo. That is why I asked what happened when one of the photos was renamed.

[JohanElzenga]

Those 'duplicates' could be virtual copies. Missing photos are in the catalog, but they are not on disk where Lightroom thinks they should be. The way to solve that is not by re-importing them (which is apparently what you are trying to do), but by 'relinking' the info in the catalog with the actual location. Do post a screenshot, then we can tell you what is happening and what you should do.

[dj_paige]

You may have (accidentally?) imported a photo more than once, and so it will appear in LrC more than once, even though when you look in your Mac Finder, it appears in the folder once.

[jpnc4 · Accepted solution]

 e found the problem with the duplicate photos. I have some duplicate files on an external hard drive that Lightroom also has access to. Although the hard drive is not connected now, the hard drive photos can still be accessed. I didn't realize that when I asked it to show it in its folder, it was actually taking me to two different folders. I hope I am  expressing it clearly. Thank you for all your suggestions.

[dj_paige]

So the two copies were not in the same folder. Thanks for reporting your solution.