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User profile for user: John Kitchen
John Kitchen Author
User level: Level 3
665 points

De-duplication of Aperture Library or Referenced Masters

Over time, I have inadvertently created duplicates.


I have two deduplication tools, Duplicate Annihilator and Tidy Up!, both of which don't actually delete the images from an Aperture library, they just flag them with a keyword, and then it is intended that the user select based on that keyword, and invoke the "Delete Master and All Versions" function.


Here is my concern about this approach. Let's say I do have a set of duplicates, and I have modified versions of one of an identical master pair. The software above may choose the unmodified or the modified to flag as a master, and if I delete that one, my versioning is destroyed. Even worse, if in my insanity I have made modifications to more than one duplicate, so I have versions all over the place. Then I'm guaranteed to destroy something I may want in my zeal to reduce the library size.


Has anybody had this issue and worked out a solution?

Aperture 3

Posted on May 31, 2011 9:08 AM

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User profile for user: Kirby Krieger
Kirby Krieger
User level: Level 6
12,542 points

Posted on May 31, 2011 11:46 AM

Yes. Not really. 😐


Filter Photos on the Keyword and then sort by master file size (or something else if you think it more likely to be successful in ordering images with identical Masters next to each other). Then go through the list manually.


It's tedious.


List view can be helpful (you can scan for identical or non-identical metadata). Use the Metadata Overlay to show columns you want, and order them to match your needs.


The more you can throw out by category, the smaller your task (so, for instance, you may decide to trash all JPG Masters smaller than 100 KB).


There is a balance here between conserving storage space and conserving your work. You may end up deciding to give the upper hand to your zeal to not losing any work.


As you settle into Aperture, you should spend some time to make sure your current workflow discourages the creation of dupes.

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User profile for user: Kirby Krieger
Kirby Krieger
User level: Level 6
12,542 points

May 31, 2011 11:46 AM in response to John Kitchen

Yes. Not really. 😐


Filter Photos on the Keyword and then sort by master file size (or something else if you think it more likely to be successful in ordering images with identical Masters next to each other). Then go through the list manually.


It's tedious.


List view can be helpful (you can scan for identical or non-identical metadata). Use the Metadata Overlay to show columns you want, and order them to match your needs.


The more you can throw out by category, the smaller your task (so, for instance, you may decide to trash all JPG Masters smaller than 100 KB).


There is a balance here between conserving storage space and conserving your work. You may end up deciding to give the upper hand to your zeal to not losing any work.


As you settle into Aperture, you should spend some time to make sure your current workflow discourages the creation of dupes.

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User profile for user: John Kitchen
John Kitchen Author
User level: Level 3
665 points

May 31, 2011 12:27 PM in response to Kirby Krieger

Kirby


Thank you!


This is not the answer I wanted to hear, but I think you are completely correct. Especially the suggestion about not digging the hole deeper!


I have about 40,000 images so the manual task is rather daunting. Beyond "tedious"!


I did do some experimentation on a Test Library, deliberately creating duplicates in two projects, and then Relocating the Masters into a folder structure that reflected the project structure. Then ran the Tidy Up! process of identifying identical images, trashed all duplicates and replacing them with aliases.


When I examine these relocated masters via Finder, I can click on either the alias or the real file and get a quick look (space bar). No problems. But when I open with Aperture, the aliases don't work. I get an unsupported file type with a "!" in a triangle.


I'm not really surprised that Aperture doesn't like this complexity, so I'm assuming this is normal behavior and not a bug.


As a follow-up question, when I import images into an existing library, and check "Do not import Duplicates", can I be confident that Aperture will not import images which are identical to any image in the library even if the file name is different?


Thanks again


John

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User profile for user: Kirby Krieger
Kirby Krieger
User level: Level 6
12,542 points

May 31, 2011 12:34 PM in response to John Kitchen

John Kitchen wrote:

As a follow-up question, when I import images into an existing library, and check "Do not import Duplicates", can I be confident that Aperture will not import images which are identical to any image in the library even if the file name is different?


No.


Aperture's "Do Not Import Duplicates" feature is as bare-bones as imaginable. The only thing it checks is the filename (afaict). If you rename your files on import (I do without fail), the "DNID" feature has no use at all.


John Kitchen wrote:


Thank you!

🙂 You're welcome. Pass it forward.

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De-duplication of Aperture Library or Referenced Masters

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