How do I sort videos by length of time or by file size?

If you select all videos in the Video album, you could run the script below. It will ask for a file size threshold - you could enter 512 kB, for example, then run the script. It will create two albums, one with the items smaller or equal than 512kB, one with the items larger than 512kB. now you can select easily the items that are too small or too large.

-- ✄ ✄ -- snip -- copy from here

(* How to use this script:

This script will split the selection into two albums -

- one album with pictures or videos larger than the given file size threshold

- one album with pictures or videos smaller than the given file size threshold

Open this script in Script Editor. Launch Photos.

Select the photos and videos you want to distribute between the albums.

When all all photo are selected, press the "Run" button in Script Editor.

Author: léonie

*)

--the file size threshold in kB

set defaultFileSizeThreshold to 10240 -- 10 MB, change this to the file size threshold you want for a photo to be counted as small

set dialogResult to display dialog ¬

"Enter the file size threshold for small photos or videos in kB : " buttons {"Cancel", "OK"} ¬

default answer (defaultFileSizeThreshold as text)

set FileSizeThresholdkB to (text returned of dialogResult) as integer-- file size in kB

set FileSizeThreshold to FileSizeThresholdkB * 1024 -- file size in Byte

set smallAlbumName to "smallerThan" & FileSizeThresholdkB-- the album to collect the small photos

set largeAlbumName to "largerThan" & FileSizeThresholdkB-- the album to collect the larger photos

tell application "Photos"

activate

-- Ensure that the albums do exist

try

set imageSel to (get selection)

on error errTexttwonumbererrNumtwo

display dialog "Cannot get the selection: " & errNumtwo & return & errTexttwo

end try

-- return the size of the first item of imageSel

try

if not (exists container smallAlbumName) then

makenewalbumnamedsmallAlbumName

end if

set theSmallAlbum to containersmallAlbumName

if not (exists container largeAlbumName) then

makenewalbumnamedlargeAlbumName

end if

set theLargeAlbum to containerlargeAlbumName

if not (exists container "SkippedPhotos") then

make new album named "SkippedPhotos"

end if

set theSkippedAlbum to container "SkippedPhotos"

on error errTexttwonumbererrNumtwo

display dialog "Cannot open albums: " & errNumtwo & return & errTexttwo

end try

-- process the selected photos from the All Photos album

set smallPhotos to {} -- the list of small photos

set largePhotos to {} -- the list of larger photos

set skippedPhotos to {} -- the list of skipped photos

-- check, if the album or the selected photos do contain images

if imageSel is {} then

error "Please select some images."

else

repeat with im in imageSel

try

tell im--get the file size

set s to its size

end tell

on error errText number errNum

display dialog "Error: " & errNum & return & errText & "Trying again"

try

delay 2

tell im

set s to its size

end tell

on error errTexttwonumbererrNumtwo

display dialog "Skipping image due to repeated error: " & errNumtwo & return & errTexttwo

end try

end try

set noSize to (s is missing value)

if noSize then

set skippedPhotos to {im} & skippedPhotos

else

if (s ≤ FileSizeThreshold) then

set smallPhotos to {im} & smallPhotos

else

set largePhotos to {im} & largePhotos

end if

end if

end repeat

addsmallPhotostotheSmallAlbum

addlargePhotostotheLargeAlbum

addskippedPhotostotheSkippedAlbum

return "small photos: " & (length of smallPhotos) & ", larger photos : " & (length of largePhotos) & ", skipped: " & (length of skippedPhotos)

end if

end tell

I meant just to export the videos to a folder in the Finder to get a sorted list, but not to delete them from Photos.

It might be easier to find the large video files and to remove them quickly, if you download the free trial version of PowerPhotos. You can download it here: (https://www.fatcatsoftware.com/powerphotos/)

PowerPhotos will open a second browser for your Photos Library. You can display the items in your library in list view with many metadata and sort by each column by clicking the column header, i.e. by the file size. You can then select the top candidates in the file size column, ctrl click each large video in turn and use the command "Show in Photos" and then remove it from Photos.

My list of videos in PowerPhotos looks like this:

Launching PowerPhotos is. bait slow for a large library, but I simply keep it open all day, in case I should need it as a second window for my Photos Library.

Once selected in PowerPhotos you can quickly go to that file in Photos by Control (right) - clicking on the thumbnail in PP and selecting Select in Photos from the contextual menu:

You'll still have to do it one by one but will be quicker than going into Photos and searching for it.

Hi thanks

I had a look at power photos I would still have to go into the photos app and find the offenders and delete them im looking for all the small files unlike the poster all the 0.01 and 0.02 files that have creeped in over the years there is now way to delete them using PowerPhotos and they are spread all over the 3849 videos I have in my database

I just need to be able to list them within the photos app in time order so we can review the large files and delete the small 0.01 second files as they go up automatically to iCloud one little double tap and we have lots of these little mistakes everywhere

I had a look at power photos I would still have to go into the photos app and find the offenders

But PowerPhotos will reveal the photo in Photos if you control-click it. It will take you right to the photo in Photos in the Moments so you can delete it there.

The programming interface of Photos does not allow other applications to delete photos from Photos. Therefore, there is no application that is safe to use to delete photos or videos directly from a Photos Library.

You could write an AppleScript to collect all smaller items in an album and the delete the photos in this album from the library.

An AppleScript can read the file size of a media item in Photos.

I saved this script as a user tip: Script: How to find videos and photos in your Photos Library larger or smaller than a given file size

You can not in Photos - tell Apple what you need - https://www.apple.com/feedback/photos.html

LN

You cannot sort by file size in Photos.

You could however export the videos "File > Export > Export ... original files" to a folder on an external drive, and then use the Finder to sort this folder by file size.

This will tell you the biggest offenders.

Hi Leonie

that sounds like a good idea however how do we get them back into photos without causing duplicates ?

That is just, what I have been looking for. Does it also work on live photos, not only photos and videos?

I tested it on Live Photos, and it seems to work, Brigitte. But the AppleScript dictionary does not mention Live Photos as media items, so we cannot be sure.