I’ve used power photo to merge libraries and search for duplicates but there are still so many duplicates it’s not finding. Any help besides manually deleting?
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
iMac 27″, macOS 10.15
I noticed that you're using macOS 10.15, which unfortunately doesn't have the built-in duplicate feature available in macOS 13 and later. That feature can find both exact duplicates and similar photos. For now, you'll need to reply on third-party tools. One option you might consider is Cisdem Duplicate Finder, which can scan for identical and similar photos in your Photos library and folders. While you can use it to find duplicates for free, there's a fee to actually remove them.
I noticed that you're using macOS 10.15, which unfortunately doesn't have the built-in duplicate feature available in macOS 13 and later. That feature can find both exact duplicates and similar photos. For now, you'll need to reply on third-party tools. One option you might consider is Cisdem Duplicate Finder, which can scan for identical and similar photos in your Photos library and folders. While you can use it to find duplicates for free, there's a fee to actually remove them.
PowerPhotos is good-- have you used Photos' own duplicate finder? Also pretty good. I've also used the recommended app PhotoSweeper ($10) which is cheap and good, but it doesn't replace PowerPhotos. They all have differing algorithms for finding duplicates, so it can be worthwhile to try them all, but at some point you reach a point of diminishing returns, and nothing works as well as our eyes and brains.
I'd say, be careful! These apps find similar as well as identical pictures. Here's an example that Photos offered to "merge:"
They are close, but they're different, and I like both. So look carefully before dumping a "duplicate!"
I completely missed that you were using macOS 10.15 Catalina, as john8635 reminded us. So Photos' own duplicate finder is not available to you. Sorry…
Be careful about 3rd Party duplicate finders-- some have been known to mess around inside Photos' database files, causing corruption of the Photos Library. As you know, PowerPhotos is well-respected and won't damage the Library, and I understand that PhotoSweeper works appropriately, as well. But you should make a backup copy of the Photos Library before risking these or other programs that fool with your pictures!
when you have been using the Duplicate Detection in Power Photos, have you changed the settings? You can can control how strict photos is when comparing images: https://www.fatcatsoftware.com/powerphotos/VersionedDocs/v7/comparison_options.html
Try to make the matching rules less restrictive, but make a backup of your Photos Library before you do that.
Finding and removing duplicate photos on Mac
