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apple script to find all duplicate files

Is it possible to write an applescript to find all duplicate file names on my hard drive? My hd is almost full, and if I can delete duplicate files, it'll save me from having to buy another external drive.

Thanks,

George

iMac, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Feb 11, 2012 10:19 AM

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Posted on Feb 11, 2012 12:58 PM

The following articles have some good tips:


Freeing space on your Mac OS X startup disk

Freeing Up Hard Disk Space

6 replies

Feb 11, 2012 6:39 PM in response to GeorgeHB

GeorgeHB wrote:


Is it possible to write an applescript to find all duplicate file names on my hard drive? My hd is almost full, and if I can delete duplicate files, it'll save me from having to buy another external drive.

It's certainly possible. Is it practical? I don't think so. You could delete 1000 12k duplicates, and barely make a dent.


A more practical solution is a utility such as OmniDiskSweeper, GrandPerspective, or WhatSize. (I use GrandPerspective most often.) It will give you an overview of what files use most disk space -- much more practical.

Feb 1, 2013 7:19 AM in response to GeorgeHB

Why would you have found 20GB of duplicate images? iPhoto has built-in duplicate detection, it can remove any duplicates or prevent them from being imported altogether. Did you disable this in iPhoto for some reason? Or were you still using folders and subfolders to store your photos?


Just because two pictures have the exact same filename does NOT mean they are identical. If this application you used simply compared their filenames, it's possible you actually lost all those photos and not just some duplicates. ;( Because many cameras reuse filenames after a certain point! 😟

apple script to find all duplicate files

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