duplicate photos

"I have numerous copies of the same image in different folders and have been deleting them via Finder."

You only have truly duplicated images in your Library if you can see duplicates in the 'All Photos' tab in your Library. If you see them in any other way, such as with Finder, what appear to be duplicates are almost certainly other images maintained by the Photos app, such as thumbnails, originals and edited versions. If you delete these manually using Finder you will damage the integrity of the Photos database and could lose your pictures or access to them.

I have used PowerPhotos (linked in the "2017 post" earlier) to identify, swiftly and simply, duplicate images and delete them under my control, which preserves the database integrity. That app is fully updated and operational under Catalina. You need the paid version, but at about $30 I've found it good value.

Stephen

Power Photos is definitely the best tool for identifying duplicates as the previous poster recommended. I think the company is run by a single programmer, he has been very helpful in the past when I have had technical queries.

If you are seeing multiple photos in folders (I presume you mean folders) then these are not duplicate photos. The Photos app will allow you to include the same photo in multiple albums.

One idea, try creating a smart album (go to menubar, new smart album) and create a smart album covering a particular date range, say one year. (A smart album is essentially a search/filter). If you then see the same photo twice then the photo is duplicated, but if you only see it once then it is just the albums that need tidying up - unfortunately this has to be done manually.

John G. C. Said:

"duplicate photos: I have numerous copies of the same image in different folders and have been deleting them via Finder. I've been told that there is an APP that will find them for me. [...] What is available to ease the torture that I am enduring?"

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Avoid Using Third-Party Apps for this:

Important: Avoid using Third-Party Apps as they may damage your photo library. Find More on this Here: Using Third-Party Apps to Remove Duplicate Photos Might Damage your Photos for macOS Library - Apple Support

See this 2017 Post's Reply: Duplicates in Photo - Apple Communities. Three (supposedly) safe apps are listed in the link But being authored 2.5 years ago and with another operating system in the day, I suspect this would not be the same case as of this reply. So, contact those developers, and see what they have to say.

Time Machine Backup:

Important: Today,, Create a Time Machine backup of your Mac(s), so that you can have something to restore your Mac(s) from, should anything go wrong with this.

Photos Backup:

Important: Back up the Library in Photos on Mac so that all stays safe for receiver ---- use an external device.

John G. C. Said:

"duplicate photos: Thanks for your input. I'm still confused I'll think I'll stick to the manual method, I'm in quarantine so nothing but time on my hands for the next 2 weeks"

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You are welcome. Whenever you go for rustling thought these photos, be certain you make a backup of your device.

I'm not familiar with Sherlock, which is perhaps not surprising as it was retired from the Mac OS build in 2007.

To get more detailed support on here you need to give more details of the system you're running. Have a look here for help in structuring your request: Writing an effective Apple Support Communities question

John G. C. Said:

"duplicate photos: Got a brand new 2 tetra byte drive to do it on."

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Format this First:

Excellent! Format it using the Disk Utility. Once formatted, then proceed with the backup. The format type to use:

• APFS for High Sierra macOS 10.13 or after
• Extended(Journalized) for Sierra macOS 10.12 or before

How to format and which format type to use, go here:

How to erase a disk for Mac - About APFS and Mac OS Extended - Apple Support

John G. C. Said:

"duplicate photos: Got a brand new 2 tetra byte drive to do it on. [...] Bought it today and had it formatted before I left the store."

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👍 Excellent job troubleshooting!