Using Ventura can I request all multiple duplicates to be merged with one command in place of individually merging two or three duplicates together?
I have over 50.000 duplicates. I just want to the photos app to merger all duplicates with one action.
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Tom C.
First, I would try to figure out why you have so many duplicates. Merging them now will only be a partial solution if you continue to do whatever it is that is causing the duplicates to appear. Don't bother merging any until you figure out the root problem.
Second, your photos are maybe the most valuable digital asset you have. I usually advise people to do it one-by-one to make sure they aren't deleting something they want to keep. Remember Duplicates displays not just exact duplicates, but photos that are very similar. Sometimes the best shot is not the one to the left, but the one to the right.
Do 10 minutes here and there over days and weeks to break up the work.
But if you really want to do it, the solution is simple. Go into Duplicates. Select the first photo you want to merge, then scroll to the last photo you want to merge, hold the Shift key an select it. This is the same process you would use to select multiple files in the Finder, or multiple items in almost any app. Then look at the top right and there is a Merge X Photos button. You can also use Command+a to select all just like anywhere else.
If I merge two photos will this effect albums. If I have several albums with a photo that is merged will it disappear from the albums?
Jerry: No. The remaining single photo would in linked to in all albums where any of the duplicates were previously.
I cannot find the word "duplicate" in iPhotos. How can I make it appear?
June: Do you mean you don't see Duplicates in the left sidebar? If not, perhaps you have none. Or, perhaps yo just updated to Ventura and it hasn't had enough time to look for them.
I also have this problem. I know exactly why I have duplicates - my camera was linked with my phone and saving JPGs as I was taking them, when I later copied over the files directly from my memory card, I intended to include only photos that had not already transferred. I had "import new photos" selected and presumed it would disregard files already copied, but I guess there was some metadata difference and it did not recognize them, and so now I have 1600 duplicates.