I think I may have duplicated or triplicated photos on my system. Is there a way of seeing the actual file names of individual photos in Finder so that I can make sure that the files have been replicated correctly before I delete anything.

I think I may have duplicated or triplicated photos on my system. Is there a way of seeing the actual file names of individual photos in Finder so that I can make sure that the files have been replicated correctly before I delete anything? Each time I go into Finder and click on photos, rather than list the files within that folder, it just opens photos.

iMac 21.5″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Apr 23, 2021 3:16 AM

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Posted on Apr 23, 2021 4:02 AM

You can look into the Photos Library package, if you quit Photos, then ctrl-click the Photos Library and use the command "Show Package Contents". This will allow you to look inside and inspect the stored files. The original image files will be in subfolder "originals". Be very careful not to modify anything inside. You might damage the library. And there is nothing useful you can do anyway with the internal parts of the library.


In macOS 10.15 Catalina the internal organisation of the Photos Library package has changed. Photos is no longer storing the original image files with their original filenames but renaming them with unique new names. When you import duplicates, the new, unique filenames may differ. It is impossible to find files by their original filename.

See: How Photos 5.0 on Catalina Manages origin… - Apple Community


To see, if two images in photos are duplicates, you can compare the original filenames in the Info. The second line of the Info for a selected photo is showing the filename.

If a photo does not have a title, you can see the original filename below the thumbnails, when you are viewing the photos in "All Photos" or in a standard album. Just enable the option "View > Metadata > Titles".

How to view the titles or filenames below the thumbnails in Photos 5.0 - Apple Community




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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Apr 23, 2021 4:02 AM in response to Oakroyd

You can look into the Photos Library package, if you quit Photos, then ctrl-click the Photos Library and use the command "Show Package Contents". This will allow you to look inside and inspect the stored files. The original image files will be in subfolder "originals". Be very careful not to modify anything inside. You might damage the library. And there is nothing useful you can do anyway with the internal parts of the library.


In macOS 10.15 Catalina the internal organisation of the Photos Library package has changed. Photos is no longer storing the original image files with their original filenames but renaming them with unique new names. When you import duplicates, the new, unique filenames may differ. It is impossible to find files by their original filename.

See: How Photos 5.0 on Catalina Manages origin… - Apple Community


To see, if two images in photos are duplicates, you can compare the original filenames in the Info. The second line of the Info for a selected photo is showing the filename.

If a photo does not have a title, you can see the original filename below the thumbnails, when you are viewing the photos in "All Photos" or in a standard album. Just enable the option "View > Metadata > Titles".

How to view the titles or filenames below the thumbnails in Photos 5.0 - Apple Community




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I think I may have duplicated or triplicated photos on my system. Is there a way of seeing the actual file names of individual photos in Finder so that I can make sure that the files have been replicated correctly before I delete anything.

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