IPHOTO - DUPLICATE PHOTOS

Somehow I have ended up with 4 iphoto libraries - no rhyme or reason. My goal is to have only one photo library. One has over 40,000 pictures and another as over 30,000. Each of the libraries have duplicate pictures. No idea how this happened - so I am going through the events and deleting duplicates in the event. Typically I am able to delete the entire event as it looks like it was uploaded multiple times.
The bigger problem is trying to find out the best way to delete photos that are in both libraries. My plan is to go to events in library 1 - write down the dates and number of pictures in that event then go to the other library to determine if that event is there. Is there a better way to do this. Seems crazy that pen and paper is the answer

With respect, that's not merging. That's just adding photos to a Library.
No, there's no way to open two libraries at once. No you can't just drag images from one iPhoto Window to another.
Export the Originals from one Library to folders on the Desktop. Export them as Originals. File -> Export.
This User Tip
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-4921
has details of the options in the Export dialogue.
Switch to the second library and impor the images you exported. It will warn you about duplicates as they are imported and you'll have the opportunity to reject them.

Similar Messages

Iphoto duplicate photo delete

what are the options for easily deleting duplicate photos in iphoto ?

The only option is the 3rd party application Duplicate Annihilator.
OT

New ipad iphoto duplicate photos itself

Every single time I take pictures or snotshoot to my iPad 3, "iPhoto" automatically renew it's own photos and make one more copy of every image from camera steam. This happpens many times and I have more than 5 time of same pictures in iphotos.
Any info?

Where are you seeing these "duplicates"?
LN

Aperture and iPhoto Duplicate Photos - Help Please

Hi,
I've recently moved to Mac OS from a PC and in doing so copied over all the photos from my PC and backup drives, flash drives etc with the intention of clearing them all up using iPhoto (or Aperture which I have just purchased from the App Store). There are A LOT of duplicates in the library now.
I realise after reading some of the posts here that I may have made a terrible mistake as I thought I would be able to easily organise my photos and delete duplicates which are taking up valuable disk space (I have almost 30,000 photos including the dupes).
I've read through a lot of the posts here and it seems most of these photos will now have been duplicated again by iPhoto and that there's not a simple solution to get rid of all the original dupes to free up some disk space.
Can anyone offer some help (bearing in mind I am fairly new to my Mac).
Many thanks,
Paul

For a quick solution to weed out the duplicates that iPhoto created you could use the keywords that Aperture sets on the originals and duplicates during the import. Have a look at the keywords in the Metadata Inspector panel. The exact name of the keyword depends somewhat on the image format that you import.
In my library I see the keywords: iPhoto Original, iPhoto Externally Edited,iPhoto Converted, iPhoto.
If you just want to keep the originals, that you imported into iPhoto and get rid of all the other versions, do the following:
- create a smart album "keep" by defining
     keywords include any of the following: "iPhoto Original"
     (and optionally "iPhoto Externally Edited", if you want to keep your edits)
- create a smart album "delete" by defining
      keywords do not include any of the following: "iPhoto Original"
      (and optionally "iPhoto Externally Edited", if you want to keep your edits)
Then select all of your pictures in "keep" and flag them,
select all of your pictures in "delete" and reject them,
open the "rejected" album and have a look, if it contains any flagged pictures, if not, trash the rejected pictures.
That should take care of plenty of your duplicates.
Hope that helps a little
Leonie

IPhoto duplicates photos?

I am wondering if someone can clarify this for me. I always download my photos directly from my camera to iphoto. Once they are on my computer, I will go through them and delete the ones that are not any good. I was then looking in my finder and noticed that the ones that i deleted are still found on my computer. Is there anyway to stop this from happening.
Also I have noticed that if i use iphoto to edit a photo, I find duplicated of the picture in my finder (usually in the form of an original size file and a smaller one).
Any thought onto why this is happening and how to stop the Mac from making duplicates?

Welcome to the Apple Discussions. First, are you emptying the iPhoto Trash bin after moving the photos to the trash? If not then the photos will still be in the library and on the HD.
When iPhoto imports a photo into the library at least two files are created, the original and a thumbnail file, located in the Originals and Data folders accordingly. If the photo is a portrait oriented image and comes from a camera with the auto-rotate capability a 3rd version will be created and placed in the Modified folder. If you edit a photo a modified version is created so that the original file, the digital negative so to speak, is left untouched. It's the nature of the beast.
That is how iPhoto works and you should not rename, move or delete any file or folder inside the iPhoto Library while you in the Finder. If you do you'll damage the library and have to start over from scratch.
If you need to use photos outside of iPhoto then read Terence Devlin's treatise on file access for use outside of iPhoto.
TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto (iPhoto.Library for iPhoto 5 and earlier) database file and keep it current. If problems crop up where iPhoto suddenly can't see any photos or thinks there are no photos in the library, replacing the working Library6.iPhoto file with the backup will often get the library back. By keeping it current I mean backup after each import and/or any serious editing or work on books, slideshows, calendars, cards, etc. That insures that if a problem pops up and you do need to replace the database file, you'll retain all those efforts. It doesn't take long to make the backup and it's good insurance.
I've created an Automator workflow application (requires Tiger or later), iPhoto dB File Backup, that will copy the selected Library6.iPhoto file from your iPhoto Library folder to the Pictures folder, replacing any previous version of it. It's compatible with iPhoto 6 and 7 libraries and Tiger and Leopard. iPhoto does not have to be closed to run the application, just idle. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.≤br>
Note: There now an Automator backup application for iPhoto 5 that will work with Tiger or Leopard.

I don't want to know how to delete duplicate photos anymore. I would like to know why Apple have not put in delete duplicate option menu in iPhoto? Very curious. Is it to frustrate users, so they have to go out and buy another apple photo product?

Just want to know why Apple have not made an options menu to remove duplicate photos in iPhoto? I know about downloads you can purchase to delete Dups, but I'm very interested to find out from apple themselves as to why they left this out, to die without knowing this is like having viruses on a pc or waiting for the web page to pop up on windows...
Option
A. Is it to annoy the user, to frustrate them enough to go out there and buy another apple photo product?
Or
B. Is it to annoy the user, to frustrate them enough to commit suicide, to reduce population in the world?
Is there a third reason? Can someone help me, otherwise I'll have to go with option B.

sunshinecowgill wrote:
We have three operational computers, one does not have iTunes on it. Since Apple is saying I have more than 5 authorized computers, and I can't imagine what they are, I am afraid to deauthorize all my computers. See what I mean? I just wanted to ask the question about how I can find out WHICH computers Apple thinks I have authorized, so I can decide if it's safe to deauthorize them all or not.
You could have more 5 computers authorized if you ever, for example, reformatted a hard drive or replaced a hard drive without deauthorizing the computer first. Apple's system would see that as a different computer, even though you don't. There's nothing to be afraid of in deauthorizing everything and the reauthorizing what you actually have. You won't lose any data. Mistimp is correct, they can't tell you which computers are authorized.

IPhoto '09 version 8.1.2: If I permanently delete the photos in IPhoto trash, will the same duplicate photos be deleted from the Events library?

For IPhoto '09, version 8.1.2: If I permanently delete the photos from the IPhoto trash, will any of the duplicate photos in the IPhoto library also be deleted?

1. There are no duplicates in iPhoto unless you imported two or more copies of the same photo
2. If you are useing the defaults in iPhoto and delete a photo from an event and empty the iPhoto trash and the system trash all versions of the photo will be gone
LN

How can I delete all the duplicate photos I have in iPhoto? There are hundreds.....

Can anyone help me? I have noticed a large number of duplicate photos appearing in my iPhoto.... probably after we have connected several iOS devices that are synced. Is there a way for iPhoto to identify all these? If not, is there a third party program? This is annoying, to say the least!
Thanks!

iPhoto Library Manager - http://www.fatcatsoftware.com/iplm/ - Duplicate annihalitor - http://brattoo.com/propaganda/and DeCloner - http://www.pixelespressoapps.com/decloner/are all good - -
LN

IPhoto MESS: Multiple iphoto libraries duplicate photos

Sorry folks - this is one of those "big data" messes. I know there's a problem - just looking for a solution.
I have multiple iPhoto Libraries (unintentional) due to an old iMac which had died. There are three libraries:
Default(rebuilt) 121.41GB (current)
iPhoto Library 70GB (9 months ago)
iPhoto Starage Image.sparseimage 60.98GB (9 months ago)
It seems I'm using the first one above Default(rebuilt). That's item one.
The next deal is that I have LOADs of duplicates on the hard disk. In iPhoto I'll find an image and it's a 20kb file (low res) and really would like to have the high res file. Once I search for it - I find like three or more copies of the photo with some at 20kb and some at full res. Unfortunately iPhoto does not point to the high res files.
There are all sorts of consolidation and de-dup apps out there (iPhoto Duplicate Annihilator, Tidy Up..), but I'm not sure about this big mess. Probably take days to correct.
Is there a way to ensure that I have:
Highest Resolution of Each Photo
One Version of the Photo (No Duplicates)
One Library
Anyone help me out here?
Also seeking a better way to manage large numbers of files (iPhoto, Aperature, Lightroom, Picasa) - thinking the last two might actually be easier to mangage the issues I'm having...
THANKS!!
iMac 27 (3.4Ghz Core i7, 4GB)
Mac OS X - 10.7.5
iPhoto '11 - 9.2.3 (629.52)

As I understand it iPhoto manages all the photos in one large file within the iPhoto library. This makes it very cumbersome to load and extremeIy slow to work with as the number of photos stored in the library file increases.
It doesn't. It stores the files in folders in the Finder. Speed issues are more a function of disk space and Ram.
Assuming one can get the files all sorted out, there is at least one software application that I am aware of that uses an indexing system to manage subgroups of photos you define and by referencing the larger iPhoto library. It is called IPhoto Buddy
iPhoto Buddy is a pointless app that simply allows you to choose between iPhoto Libraries. You can do exactly the same simply by holding the option (or alt) key when launching iPhoto. It indexes nothing and hasn't been developed for several years now. From their own website:
iPhoto Buddy is fully compatible with every version of Apple's iLife suite, from iLife '04 through iLife '09.
Regards
TD

How do I find duplicate photos in iPhoto

I have so many duplicates in iPhoto that my library files is way too large by thousands of photos. I need to find a way to weed out duplicate photos. Anyone know how?
Thanks,
Barb

Where are you seeing these duplicates? If you're seeing them from withing the iPhoto window then you can use one of the apps listed below.
If you're seeing those "duplicate" files via the Finder then you don't have duplicates. iPhoto will have a minimum of 2 files in it's lbrary for each file imported. So don't relay on what you see via the Finder regarding duplicates in the iPhoto library.
T
hese applications will identify and help remove duplicate photos from an iPhoto Library:
iPhoto Library Manager - $29.95
Duplicate Annihilator - $7.95 - only app able to detect duplicate thumbnail files or faces files when an iPhoto 8 or earlier library has been imported into another.
PhotoSweeper - $9.95 - This app can search by comparing the image's bitmaps or histograms thus finding duplicates with different file names and dates.
DeCloner - $19.95 - can find duplicates in iPhoto Libraries or in folders on the HD.
DupliFinder - $7 - shows which events the photos are in.
iPhoto AppleScript to Remove Duplicates - Free
Some users have reported that PhotoSweeper did the best in finding all of the dups in their library: i photo has duplicated many photos, how...: Apple Support Communities.
If you have an iPhone and have it set to keep the normal photo when shooting HDR photos the two image files that are created will be duplicates in a manner of speaking (same image) but the only duplicate finder app that detected the iPhone HDR and normal photos as being duplicates was PhotoSweeper. None of the other apps detected those two files as being duplicates as they look for file name as well as other attributes and the two files from the iPhone have different file names.
iPLM, however, is the most versatile and best all around iPhoto utility to have.
OT

How do i find duplicate photos in my iPhoto library?

How do i find duplicate photos in my iPhoto library?

These applications will identify and help remove duplicate photos from an iPhoto Library:
iPhoto Library Manager - $29.95
Duplicate Annihilator - $7.95 - only app able to detect duplicate thumbnail files or faces files when an iPhoto 8 or earlier library has been imported into another.
PhotoSweeper - $9.95 - This app can search by comparing the image's bitmaps or histograms thus finding duplicates with different file names and dates.
DeCloner - $19.95 - can find duplicates in iPhoto Libraries or in folders on the HD.
DupliFinder - $7 - shows which events the photos are in.
iPhoto AppleScript to Remove Duplicates - Free
PhotoDedupo - $4.99 (App Store) - this app has a "similar" search feature which is like PhotoSweeper's bitmap comparison. It found all duplicates
Duplicate Cleaner for iPhoto - free - was able to recognize the duplicated HDR and normal files from an iPhone shooting in HDR
Some users have reported that PhotoSweeper did the best in finding all of the dups in their library: iphoto has duplicated many photos, how...: Apple Support Communities.
If you have an iPhone and have it set to keep the normal photo when shooting HDR photos the two image files that are created will be duplicates in a manner of speaking (same image) but there are only twp apps that detected the iPhone HDR and normal photos as being duplicates: PhotoSweeper and Duplicate Cleaner for iPhoto. None of the other apps detected those two files as being duplicates as they look for file name as well as other attributes and the two files from the iPhone have different file names.
iPLM, however, is the best all around iPhoto utility as it can do so much more than just find duplicates. IMO it's a must have tool if using iPhoto.

IPhoto album backups and duplicate photos

Hello,
After uprading to iPhoto 6, I went through the whole library and put it all into about 15 separate albums. I've only got about 2000 photos, but it was still a lot of work. After I had done this, I started making a calendar, which for some strange reason make iPhoto practically refuse to run, so I had to re-install. (ther people on discussions have had the same problem, and the common factor seems to be trying to make a calendar).
After the re-install, I re-imported all my photos back into iPhoto. I'm not going to try and make a calendar straight away, as before I do, I really want to back up my Albums.
Does a straight complete backup of the iPhoto library folder back this up for me? If not, can anyone tell me how this can be achieved?
Secondly, after re-importing all my photos, the photos that I had previously edited now are present in two forms; the original and the edited one. Unfortunately it is too late to re-import my library having deleted the folder "Originals". I didn't think of it at the time!
Does anyone know of a way to delete duplicate photos, or how I could at least get them all side by side, as a lot are spaced out and therefore it can be hard to compare and see if they are duplicated.
Any ideas would be hugely appreciated, as this is really stopping me using iPhoto that much at the moment.
Many many thanks for any help, it will be extremely gratefully received!!
Regards,
Adam Dalton

Hi Adam,
All you need to do is backup the entire iPhoto Library folder. This will preserve everything. If for some reason you need to use this backup then you would place it in the Pictures folder and launch iPhoto. iPhoto will launch and open the library. there is no need to import all your photos again.
If you have an iPhoto Library folder already in the Pictures folder, but you want to replace it or it is damaged, then drag that folder to the desktop and drag the backup into the Pictures folder, then launch iPhoto.
Bottom line...back up the iPhoto Library folder in the Pictures folder. do it often.
As far as the duplicates you have now, do you have your view set to film rolls? I would think since the film roll name is the same they would be next to each other. How about putting the name of the roll in the search field? You should get the contents of both modified and Originals from the rolls. You can then delete what you don't want.
Backing up your iPhoto Library
1. Burn the iPhoto Library folder in the Finder to a CD or DVD
This method will give you a burned iPhoto Library folder that can be copied back to your computer to replace a damaged library. You can also use this method to backup an old library when you want to create a new Library to use as your current library.
insert a blank CD into your internal or external CD-RW drive and copy the iPhoto library to the CD icon on your desktop. When you drag the CD icon to the Trash/Eject button in the Dock, you are given the option to burn the CD. Click Burn and the CD is created. To burn a DVD backup of your digital images, use a DVD and a SuperDrive-equipped Mac
The easiest way to burn an iPhoto Library folder in the Finder that is larger than 4.7 gig to fit on one DVD is to burn sections of the folder.
Drag the iPhoto Library folder to the desktop
Double click the folder to open it.
Drag each Year folder to the desktop.
You should be left with the iPhoto Library folder containing all the data files, and the Year folders.
Combine whatever year folders that amount closest to a DVD burn size on one DVD. Make sure that you have burned all the Year folders, then the iPhoto Library folder with all the data files.
If you ever need to use this backup, insert the DVDs into your computer and copy the folders to the desktop. Put all the Year folders back into the iPhoto Library folder. Then put the iPhoto Library folder back into the Pictures folder.
2. Copy the ENTIRE iPhoto Library to an external drive formated for a Mac. Do not use this as your only back up as the external can also go bad.
3. Copy the ENTIRE iPhoto Library to your iPod in disk mode
4.Creating your own CDs and DVDs for viewing in iPhoto
This method is a great way to back up Albums of older photos or even your entire library if it is small enough to fit on a DVD. This method will give you a library that will mount within iPhoto in the source column to be viewed. To import any images from this library they need to be dragged into your library in the source column.
If you just want to backup the images in your library:
1) Within iPhoto select the images, albums or rolls you want to backup. Go to Share>Export and export them to a newly created folder on the desktop. Follow the directions in the next link.
Creating a CD or DVD to be viewed in Windows or by a photo processing company

Duplicate photos in Iphoto 08

Good afternoon
Is there any way to weed out duplicate photos already in Iphoto08 and delete them? I note when loading from the camera it sometimes says duplicates were found and do I want to delete them. Something similar would be nice for this problem. I'm planning to invest in iphoto09, maybe that has the feature?
Thanks

I downloaded Duplicate Annihilator yesterday and ran it on my iPhoto library, with its almost 22,000 images. It found 1,700 duplicates, moving the newer ones to the trash (you can choose older if you prefer.) I went through the discarded ones and could find no errors whatsoever.
Not bad for a $7.95 product. You can try the demo, which let you run it on up to 500 photos. (Running the demo more than once won't yield additional duplicates, because it checks the same 500 photos.)

I am not able to duplicate photos in iphoto. How can I accomplish it.

I am not able to duplicate photos in iphoto. I have tried the two finger click and then went to duplicate... no luck. Went through photo and duplicate... no luck. Used command D... nothing. How can I fix this?

Can you import new photo's?
If not that means something is wrong with your iPhoto files someplace or possibly your .plist file.
As you know, you can right click "show package contents" of the iPhoto Library and get a copy of your Originals out. I would do that immediately so you have a copy safe out of iPhoto's clutches, stick them on a external drive, along with all your other files just in case.
Then next download and run ALL of the free OnyX initial checks, cleaning and maintenance tasks (except the log files) and reboot at the end (in between tasks reboots can be canceled)
http://www.titanium.free.fr/
What this will do is sort of check things out, then clean out all your caches so they rebuild, repair permissions and other tasks that the computer normally does itself, the machine may act a bit slow until the caches and Spotlight are rebuilt, sort of a nuclear cocktail of fixing everything.
If OnyX gives any warnings then state them so here please, you could have a more serious problem that will need addressing like a Repair of your boot drive or failed SMART status etc.
If OnyX comes up clean, and your still having trouble with iPhoto, you can choose to remove (from Pictures), rename and/or archive the iPhoto Library, reboot and restart iPhoto to create a new iPhoto Library, then in iPhoto, import a copy of your Originals from backup.
You can also delete the com.apple.iphoto.plist file from your ~/Library/Preferences folder, reboot and restart iPhoto, reset your preferences again, sometimes that clears issues up.
If your STILL having issues with iPhoto, log into another user and try iPhoto there, if no issues then it's something unexplained in the other user. You may want to just switch users transfering files via the Users/Shared folder.
If your having problems with iPhoto in the other user, the program iPhoto ITSELF, is likely the cause. You can resintall it from the bundled 10.6 install disks, or simply install 10.6 again (does a overwrite of exisiting OS X and bundled iLife programs) and immediatly Software update until clear to 10.6.8. This method also kicks out kext and other OS X installed "hacks" from other third party program installers, you wlll need to run those installers again.
If you upgraded 10.6 over 10.5, then you will need to use Pafacist to extract iPhoto from the 10.5 disks, as the 10.6 white disks doesn't have the free iLife, only the grey disks do.
There are also some tricks to rebuild the iPhoto Library, I forget what they are, but if you ask in the iPhoto forum you will get a answer from several of our regulars who are familiar with the subject better than I am.

Organizing and deleting Duplicate Photos in iPhoto library?

Can I easily organize and delete duplicate photos in my iPhoto library?

These applications will identify and help remove duplicate photos from an iPhoto Library:
iPhoto Library Manager - $29.95
PhotoSweeper - $9.95 - This app can search by comparing the image's bitmaps or histograms thus finding duplicates with different file names and dates.
Duplicate Annihilator - $7.95 - only app able to detect duplicate thumbnail files or faces files when an iPhoto 8 or earlier library has been imported the library.
DeCloner - $19.95 - can find duplicates in iPhoto Libraries or in folders on the HD.
DupliFinder - $7 - shows which events the photos are in.
iPhoto AppleScript to Remove Duplicates - Free
PhotoDedupo - $4.99 (App Store) - this app has a "similar" search feature which is like PhotoSweeper's bitmap comparison. It found all duplicates
Duplicate Cleaner for iPhoto - free - was able to recognize the duplicated HDR and normal files from an iPhone shooting in HDR
Some users have reported that PhotoSweeper did the best in finding all of the dups in their library: iphoto has duplicated many photos, how...: Apple Support Communities.
If you have an iPhone and have it set to keep the normal photo when shooting HDR photos the two image files that are created will be duplicates in a manner of speaking (same image) but there are only twp apps that detected the iPhone HDR and normal photos as being duplicates: PhotoSweeper and Duplicate Cleaner for iPhoto. None of the other apps detected those two files as being duplicates as they look for file name as well as other attributes and the two files from the iPhone have different file names.
iPLM, however, is the best all around iPhoto utility as it can do so much more than just find duplicates. IMO it's a must have tool if using iPhoto.

IPHOTO - DUPLICATE PHOTOS

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