Merging catalogues which have the same photos

I have multiple edits and collections of the same photos.... the problem is they are in different calalogues.   I find myself in this situation because I mistakenly opened and worked within backup catalogues.  I'm now wanting to,  a) merge all my catalogues under a single master catalogue, b) preserve the edits and cataloges I've created, c) not create a mess of duplicate photos in the new master catalogue.  Thanks.

dj_paige wrote:
c) The only way to avoid having "a mess of duplicate photos" is to choose the "replace nothing" option (listed here in section 5)
http://help.adobe.com/en_US/lightroom/using/WS9616DD60-0C3A-484b-8413- 053347F21456.html
By doing so the catalog's image settings, into which you import, would win. Or the first you imported in case you start with a clean one.
If you would choose 'replace', the latest catalog, from which you import would win.
If you choose "make a virtual copy" you would have as many versions as you have created in different catalogs. It is no duplicate image, just a variant develop version. Would that really be such a mess? If you did not touch an image when you worked in a backup catalog, the metadata would not be different, hence no virtual copy.
You could visually check which virtual copies you like best: select master image and all its virtual copies, then go into survey mode (N) and flag your superfluous ones as reject (click and hit X).
If a virtual copy has the correct settings, you can promote it to master using Photo menu > Set Copy as Master, and then remove the virtual copy.
Back in grid mode you go for menu Photo-Delete rejected photos, which will ask you to remove x virtual copies, to confirm.
Victoria Bampton actually devotes one parapgraph in her "The missing FAQs to Lightroom" (http://www.lightroomqueen.com/books/adobe-lightroom-4-missing-faq/) to your situation in detail (page 285-289).
You could also get some help in finding duplicates (duplicate virtual copies) by means of a plug-in: http://www.lightroom-plugins.com/DupesIndex.php
Cornelia

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