File already exists at the destination error message

[cwofsy@hotmail.com]

Hi,

I am trying to move photos from one folder to another, and I am getting the error message "file already exists at the destination". Does this mean that the photos I'm trying to move are duplicates? I've to test this through the various filters, but can't find anthing that shows that they are. i have done a synce, but that hasn't changes anything.

[JohanElzenga]

Yes, it means that there are copies of those files in the folder where you want to move the images to. These copies may not have been imported in Lightroom however, that is why you can get this error message, but can't find the copies in the catalog.

[Jao vdL]

It doesn't even have to be the exact same file, it can just be a file with the same name already there. Remeber that Classic is not a file browser, it only shows files in a folder that are actually imported. There might be many more files in the corresponding folder on your disk, so check in Explorer/Finder. 

[JohanElzenga]

Correct. If you do not rename your images on import, and you use more than one camera, then these could be images with the same name from another camera. Or images from the same camera from a long time ago, because cameras start to use the same file names when the counter reaches a certain limit.