Premiere Pro Import Creates Duplicate Media

File > project settings> ingest setting> UNCHECK the box that says "ingest" it will gray out the "copy on ingest" ability

When importing a sequence from one project to another, do the following:

0. Important: Between the two projects, the folder structures on the root of the project in Premiere should be the same

1. Select the sequence you'll want to "move"

2. File > Export > Selection as a Premiere project...

3. Save this "exported project" somewhere that you'll eventually delete (to avoid confusion later on). This exported project is a simplified project that does not contain anything not on the sequence you selected.

4. Now open the project you want to import the exported project into, and go to Import and select this new "exported project" you just made.

5. Select "Import entire project", everything else unchecked.

6. Premiere will auto-sort everything correctly. Any similar footage will not be duplicated as long as duplicate media in preferences is turned off.

So I am just going to follow up here...

I have been doing this with mostly successful results lately, using multiple external hard drives to allow multiple editors to work on the same project (the largest one being a feature length documentary currently timed out at an egregiously long 3.5 hours).

Good practice techniques:

1. Make sure that in 'Premiere Pro>Preferences>Media' you have "Write XMP ID to files on Import" checked BEFORE you begin your project, before you import ANY footage
2. Import EVERYTHING through the Media Browser window, as opposed to the drag-and-drop technique
3. Triple check that the folder structure on each external hard drive is exactly matching
4. Have one Master Project and one Master Hard Drive - only import the other editors' work into this project
5. Each new bit of work every editor does should be in a duplicate sequence in their own Editor Bin in the Project Window
   (This ensures that they won't unintentionally mess with any old sequences that need to remain exactly the same in each        instance of the project and makes combining projects MUCH easier)
6. Don't wait too long before consolidating the project, making the consolidated project the new Master Project (in my case named "2019.06.27_ThisProject_Consolidated6")
7. Copy over the other editor's project to your Master Drive
8. Eject the other editor's hard drive
9. Open the other editor's project by itself from the Master Drive (with the Master Project closed) and reconnect all files to the corresponding files on the Master Drive and save
10. Close this project and open the Master Project
11. By either using 'File>Import' or 'Right click (in Project Window)>Import', double click the other editor's project
12. Select "Import Selected Sequences" (Feel free to leave "Create folder for imported items" checked (for easy spotting just in case, but make sure "Allow importing duplicate media" is NOT checked)
13. After this window loads up the other editor's project, select the editor's newly edited sequence (do this one sequence at a time)
14. The sequence alone should now have been imported your project, linking correctly to the footage on the Master Drive and (hopefully) the only instance of its clips within your project
15. Occasionally, a random duplicate clip will slip through...
    (I 'undo>redo' a couple times while watching my Project Window to be sure nothing new appears)
16. Double check this process by opening up the new sequence, right clicking on a few different clips and selecting "Reveal in Project" - this should bring up the correct (and only) instance of the clip in your Project Window
17. Save, of course
18. Make sure that any new footage that has put onto the Master Hard Drive since the last consolidation is copied over to each editor's drives in the correct corresponding folder location
19. Copy the new Master Project to each editor's drives and have them rename it to prevent future confusion (in my case "2019.06.27_ThisProject_Consolidated7_INT", with INT being the editor's initials)

I hope this helps anyone dealing who has dealt with these issues and helps prevent them in the future!

Done incorrectly, it can cause QUITE a headache down the line - the bigger the project, the worse the headache...

Good luck!

This problem has plagued many for some time now including our studio. We have multiple workstations and editors on projects some times and noticed that this was randomly happening. We searched for the solution to why it would happen on some projects but not others, and why only some people were having this issue. 

I can verify that your Project Window directory and bins need to be the same to eliminate this issue.

I think I found the fix fo this. Importing sequences between projects with the same media being referenced.

In preferences have Write XMP ID to files on import checked.

Uncheck - Allow duplicate media during project import.

When you want to import a sequence to the following.

In a project (different from the one you that has the sequence you will import)

Use the media browser tab.

Find the project. Click into it.

Find the sequence you want to import.

Right click on that sequence > import.

Seems to come into the project with no duplicate media.

SOLUTION:  with no help from Adobe, but having talked with several expert users, here's how to fix it.  EVERYTHING must be imported thru the Media Browser.  All your original footage, and sequences from other project files.  In Preferences>Media the 'allow duplicate media on import" must be checked.

Once you've started your project this way, it will import sequences thru the Media Browser without duplicating folders.  note that all the media in the timeline has to be in your project in the same folder structure.  This is pretty simple with source footage, but can get dicey if each editor has different music, graphics, etc.

When you want to import the sequence, you highlight the project file in the browser and let dynamic link read it (just like when you do a regular import).  When you see the sequence you want, you can right click to import.  No dups will be made.

I've only found two problems to far.  1) the timeline will be unlinked, but that's an easy fix to relink.  2) you can only import one thing at a time from the browser, although it can be a folder.

After years of using Final Cut Pro 7, I finally made the switch to Premiere Pro CC. I am adjusting for the most part, but cannot wrap my head around this problem of Premiere duplicating media once I import it into my project. Is there any action I can do that will prevent this duplication of media? Such action will needlessly consume available storage.

Yes!  Working on shared storage with a few editors.  The import either does not work at all (nothing is imported) or when it does it duplicates the media.  Tried all the various ways of importing, Enabled write XMP ID to files on import, and anything else I found online.

Very frustrating.