Finding duplicate files

[akadmon]

I have recently migrated to a Mac. Because I'm paranoid about losing my photos, over the years my photo directory has become quite messy, with thousands of duplicate photos spread out over many subdirectories. This has become apparent after I imported these photos into my new iPhoto library when I suddenly saw 4, 5, 6 instances of the same photo appearing in the library browser!

Is it possible to find duplicate files (same name, size and date) using tools built into OS X? Alternatively, are there any *low cost* programs that can handle this task?

 

[akadmon]

OK -- the lack of responses usually means one of two things: a) there is no available solution, or b) the answer is obvious (i.e., google it, stupid!).

I downloaded a trial version of Tidy Up, which seems to be the Mac standard for finding and removing duplicate files. It looks like it will do the job just fine, but I am put off by the $30 price tag (half that would be appropriate). Since I already have MacDrive installed on my Windows partition, I decided to do my cleaning of my Mac drives from Windows! I download DoubleKiller, which is free, and it works great.

EOT.

 

[mad jew]

If you're gonna use iPhoto, then avoid modifying or editing any photos from Finder. Don't move them, don't change them, don't worry about them. Instead, use an app like iPhoto Diet to get rid of the duplicates.

 

[akadmon]

If you're gonna use iPhoto, then avoid modifying or editing any photos from Finder. Don't move them, don't change them, don't worry about them. Instead, use an app like iPhoto Diet to get rid of the duplicates.

Great -- I'll give it a try. Thanks, mad jew!