Werepiregirl
Level 1 (9 points)
Safari

Q: iTunes find duplicate files button won't work

Alright, I'm pretty sure I've got some duplicates of songs in iTunes considering I've found them before. But when I try to follow this https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201812 I'm stuck on the step where it says Library > Show Duplicate Files because the "Show duplicate files" button isn't clickable so I can't use it. What do I have to do to make it work? Is there something I'm missing?

Posted on Jun 25, 2016 10:52 PM

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Werepiregirl

Q: iTunes find duplicate files button won't work

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  • by MegsiPhone,

    MegsiPhone MegsiPhone Jun 27, 2016 2:32 AM in response to Werepiregirl
    Level 2 (213 points)
    iTunes
    Jun 27, 2016 2:32 AM in response to Werepiregirl

    Are you using the latest iTunes version (12.4.1)? Make sure you're browsing your iTunes music and then click on File>Library>Show Duplicates in iTunes. The Show duplicates option isn't clickable if you're viewing movies, podcasts, etc, you need to be browsing your music.

     

    If this fails, check out Tune Sweeper. It's an excellent all around iTunes duplicate cleaner https://www.wideanglesoftware.com/tunesweeper/

  • by turingtest2,

    turingtest2 turingtest2 Jul 4, 2016 9:32 AM in response to Werepiregirl
    Level 10 (85,368 points)
    iPod
    Jul 4, 2016 9:32 AM in response to Werepiregirl

    iTunes may create duplicates if the same content is repeatedly added from outside the media folder when it is set to make copies of anything that is added to the library, or is added from an external drive that hosts the media folder that was offline when iTunes was launched.

     

     

    Apple's official advice on duplicates is here: Find and remove duplicate items in your iTunes library. It is a manual process and the article fails to explain some of the potential pitfalls such as lost ratings and playlist membership, or that sometimes the same file can be represented by multiple entries in the library and that deleting one and recycling the file will break any others.

     

    Start in the Songs view. Use View > Show Duplicate Items (pre iTunes 12.4) or File > Library > Show Duplicate Items (post 12.4) and then click Same Album to display exact duplicates as this is normally a more useful selection. You need to manually select all but one of each group to remove. Sorting the list by Date Added may make it easier to select the appropriate tracks, however this works best when performed immediately after the dupes have been created.  If you have multiple entries in iTunes connected to the same file on the hard drive then don't send to the recycle bin.

     

    Use my DeDuper script (Windows only) if you're not sure, don't want to do it by hand, or want to preserve ratings, play counts and playlist membership. See this thread for background on the script, this post for detailed instructions, and please take note of the warning to backup your library before deduping.

     

    (If you don't see the menu bar press ALT to show it temporarily or CTRL+B to keep it displayed.)

     

     

    The most recent version of the script can tidy dead links as long as there is at least one live duplicate to merge stats and playlist membership to, and should cope sensibly when the same file has been added via multiple paths.

     

     

    tt2