How to Aoid Duplicate Photo Uploads With Photoshop Elements Organizer

We just offered our class on Photoshop Elements Organizer, and many of our students wanted to know how we deal with duplicate photos. Yes, once you get started organizing, yous might detect you have the same photograph in multiple places on your calculator. We wrote about this issue in 2017 (you can read those weblog posts hither and hither), but it might be time to revisit the topic since many of us have some time on our hands.

A couple of weeks ago, I (Deb) did just that. I thought I was going to take to buy a larger hard drive, but I plant I had gigabytes (!!) of duplicate files. When I was finished deleting duplicates, I had regained tons of infinite. I did have one little "oops" moment (well let's phone call it an "oops" couple of hours), then I want to assistance you avoid that problem. Read on!

Duplicate File Finder and Easy Duplicate Finder

There are many programs that will search for duplicate photos, music or any type of file you tend to hoard. Some programs search for duplicate names and file sizes, some search byte by byte, and others search for visually similar images. Each has its advantages. I'm going to talk about using Duplicate File Finder by Ashisoft, Easy Indistinguishable Finder by WebMinds, and Adobe's "Find visually similar" searches in Photoshop Elements Organizer.

If you're a Mac user, try Easy Duplicate Finder (EDF). If you're a PC person, endeavour Duplicate File Finder (DFF). Each has a gratuitous version, and they both piece of work similarly.  EDF is more "icon based"—you take to hover over icons to find out what they practice.  DFF uses words.

Select Drive/Binder to Search

The first thing you have to practise is choose a bulldoze or folder you desire to scan. I chose the folder that contains the contents of the Google Drive that Kris and I share. Since there are ii of u.s.a. using the drive, we hands tin have indistinguishable files. In both programs you can as well choose to exclude Folders. In this example, I'chiliad looking for exact duplicates (byte-by-byte). Click on the images below for larger, more legible images.

Kickoff the search and, depending on your settings and how large your binder/drive is, information technology may accept minutes or seconds. Once the search is complete, you volition go along to a list of duplicate files. The duplicates will appear in groups (every group has a different background color, so you tin distinguish the groups from each other). I idea I had the settings prepare similarly, merely as you can run across, the two programs found dissimilar numbers of duplicates.

Review and Delete Duplicate Files

I never, repeat never, just delete the indistinguishable files. Wait at the files first. In this step I have clicked on the "Pictures" tab so that I'm but looking at the files that are pictures. I have institute a photo that appears three times in this drive. All are exactly the aforementioned image. Both programs testify a preview of the photograph, the name, file location, date and size. Two of the images are in the same folder. One is in a unlike binder. So which one should you lot delete? That's a conclusion you lot have to make. I chose the file with the "(1)" at the end of the name, and the one that wasn't in a sub-folder.

What'southward great nigh either program is they have ways of marker bulk photos. You can delete the file with the longest proper noun (think of the filename-edited-1.jpg that Photoshop Elements creates when you edit an image from the organizer), or the i with the most current date. Call up, these are verbal duplicates of each other. Look at the options the programs take:

Sometimes, still, you lot practice Not want to delete duplicates. In the following example, in that location are dozens of duplicate files (I clicked on All Photos, non simply Pictures) with the same name in different folders.

These files are used to view the class videos we brand. Each video (in its own folder) needs this file. If I delete this file from whatever of the folders, that video won't play.  Yes, that was my "oops." Fortunately I could copy that file back into each binder, or restore it from the recycle/trash binder.

In the next example, the files had different names and were located in unlike folders. Those files are required for the video to play, as well. Fortunately I didn't delete those files.

The big take-away is you lot must exist very careful when deleting files. And the bigger take-away is that if you lot delete the photos using these or any other program, and you lot already have these photos in your Photoshop Elements Organizer catalog, Organizer is going to have a conniption fit. What I mean is that you will accept a lot of missing files in the catalog. Sometimes it's worth it. Y'all will just have to delete the thumbnails of the deleted images from the catalog. (Exit a comment if you want to know how I fix that.)

Visual Search in Photoshop Elements Organizer

If you lot apply Photoshop Elements Organizer, there's an option to search for visually like images. The program will just search for photos that you lot have imported into your catalog. Start click on a photo to which you want to find similar photos. And then from the menu, choose Find > By visual searches > Visually similar photos and videos.

You might get a prompt to alphabetize files, which may accept a while. Or, you can choose to proceed with the search. It'south a skillful idea to allow Organizer alphabetize the files, but either mode it might appear that the plan is hanging up. Exist patient. Somewhen yous will see a bunch of thumbnails for images that are similar to the photo yous selected. In the lower left corner of each image is a pct number that tells how similar the photos are.

Organizer plant 4 100% matches for the image used in the first example in a higher place. If y'all open the Information palette and click on one of the images, you will come across the file proper name, size, location, and date of the photo. Below is a screenshot of the information for each of the photos.

Why did organizer find 4 photos instead of the iii found by the other programs? In the search using DFF and EDF, I only specified one drive (G). Had I searched the whole calculator initially, DFF and EDF would have plant all 4 photos.  Now, if you desire to delete whatsoever of the photos from your Organizer catalog, click on one or more and press the delete primal.  If you're sure you don't desire the duplicates on your computer at all, click the box that says "Besides delete selected item(southward) from your hard disk." If y'all check that box, the photos will be gone forever! Use this selection carefully.

 In addition to the 100% matches, Organizer also establish many like photos.  Ii are shown below.

Observe the similarity is only 87%.  Look closely and you lot can run across that my hands are in a different position. I kept both those photos!

Stack Photos

Delete any of these like photos or "stack" them together by selecting ii or more photos and choosing Edit > Stack > Stack selected photos from the carte.

These photos will and so be grouped together, then you don't take to await at all of them every time yous wait in the itemize.  To view all the photos in a stack, choose Edit > Stack > Expand photos in stack, or click on the more arrow on the right side of the image. Yous volition know if an epitome is a stack of photos because the frame around stacked photos is a little chip darker.

Finding duplicate files can be a fleck time consuming, but the end result is fantastic. I now have lots of freed upwards space on my hard bulldoze and don't have to look at so many indistinguishable files in all unlike parts of my reckoner. Aaah!

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Source: https://www.pixeladies.com/finding-duplicate-files/

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