how do you remove all duplicate photo's from your library

Some apps for dealing with duplicates in iPhoto

iPhoto Library Manager

Duplicate Annihilator

Decliner

iPhoto Duplicate Cleaner

how do you remove all duplicate photo's from your library

It will depend on what you consider to be duplicates.

Identical image files? Edited versions of the same photo? Scaled down versions of the same image file? Photos showing the same content?

Before you buy a duplicate finder, check, what the application considers to be duplicates.

If you're seeing the duplicates in the iPhoto window and NOT via the Finder then these applications will identify and help remove duplicate photos from an iPhoto Library:

iPhoto Library Manager - $29.95

PhotoSweeper - $9.95 - This app can search by comparing the image's bitmaps or histograms thus finding duplicates with different file names and dates.

Duplicate Annihilator - $7.95 - only app able to detect duplicate thumbnail files or faces files when an iPhoto 8 or earlier library has been imported the library.

DeCloner - $19.95 - can find duplicates in iPhoto Libraries or in folders on the HD.

DupliFinder - $7 - shows which events the photos are in.

iPhoto AppleScript to Remove Duplicates - Free

PhotoDedupo - $4.99 (App Store) - this app has a "similar" search feature which is like PhotoSweeper's bitmap comparison. It found all duplicates

Duplicate Cleaner for iPhoto - free - was able to recognize the duplicated HDR and normal files from an iPhone shooting in HDR

Some users have reported that PhotoSweeper did the best in finding all of the dups in their library: iphoto has duplicated many photos, how...: Apple Support Communities.

If you have an iPhone and have it set to keep the normal photo when shooting HDR photos the two image files that are created will be duplicates in a manner of speaking (same image) but there are only twp apps that detected the iPhone HDR and normal photos as being duplicates: PhotoSweeper and Duplicate Cleaner for iPhoto. None of the other apps detected those two files as being duplicates as they look for file name as well as other attributes and the two files from the iPhone have different file names.

iPLM, however, is the best all around iPhoto utility as it can do so much more than just find duplicates. IMO it's a must have tool if using iPhoto.

Can anyone advise what iPhoto, when importing, uses to compare to the photos already in the library to determine whether or not the newly imported photo is a duplicate or not? Does it compare hash values, file name and date, other metadata within the photo, etc? I'm curious what it uses, as I have several thousand photos imported that got 'partially' corrupted upon import and now there are horizontal lines or blocks of color blocking out the image, making them unusable. But, if additional 'uncorrupted' photos are imported of the same name and/or metadata (which does match the older, 'corrupt' ones), then just comparing the names/date/metadata will yield the 'duplicate' dialogue box, though they clearly are not duplicates. If the hash is used to compare, that'd work for me. Hope this addendum to the OP's question makes sense. Sorry if it doesn't. I just can't find what exactly iPhoto uses to compare one file to another. Thanks.

iPhoto compares the Finder attributes of a file. If you simply duplicate an image file it will be recognised as a duplicate. If you rename the file and the photo is exactly the same, iPhoto will no longer recognise it as a duplicate. If you edit a photo and the file modification date changes, even if the photo does not change, but the "Modified" date does, iPhoto will not recognise the duplicate.

But it does not compare the histograms or any content features like other duplicate finders.

Thank you very much for that explanation. That answered my question perfectly. I appreciate it.....Take care...

You're welcome 🙂

I am not happy with all the libraries i have now with all the copies of photos taking up room on my computer. .I finally settled on aperture that gave me the most flexibility and abilitiy to limit library duplication and allowed better organization, etc. Now that is going away?!!! Thanks apple. Not my fav anymore! I have tried and tried to fix all the mess that i had with trying to use my photos when iphoto ran my library... I want my own library that stays my library and that other programs can access but not damage or copy. That's where all my photos should upload into and come from and be organized in. I do not want to open a program and try and access my jpeg from the program just to share with whomever or whatever i wish to share the file with. please.

I tried using duplicate removers- that made more of a mess. it erases photos from one folder and leaves it in another folder and impossible to know which folder the pic you want is now in. very unhappy I am.

I want my own library that stays my library and that other programs can access but not damage or copy. That's where all my photos should upload into and come from and be organized in. I do not want to open a program and try and access my jpeg from the program just to share with whomever or whatever i wish to share the file with. please.

Huh?