ITunes For Mac :: Incorrectly Assessing Duplicate Files
Sep 10, 2014
I work for production company that uses iTunes to manage our Production Music Library. We allow iTunes to keep the media folder organized and we have iTunes copy new files to the media folder.Â
In Music Libraries 1 song can have numerous edits. And this is where the problem lies for us. Below is an example, long and drawn out for everyone: Â
The Song Title is "Send me over the edge"Â
There is 1 full length (3:32)
There is 1 full length instrumental (3:32)
There are four 30 second edits (:30)Â
:30 w/ vocals
:30 instrumental
:30 no percussion
:30 no stringsÂ
*All information regarding edit specifics is commonly found in the comments field of the metadata*Â
Now, when I go to import all 6 songs into iTunes, iTunes is only importing 2 songs. Â
I believe that iTunes is analyzing these files and seeing that they have the same name and length and is thus assuming they are duplicate files. I have tried to rename them on the finder level, but that doesn't seem to work. Which leads me to believe that iTunes is looking to the Metadata, which (to my knowledge) I can not change without a third party program. I have also tried dragging them in one track at a time, and that does not work either.Â
I am dealing with importing over 500 songs that all have multiple versions like I just described. Is there an option in iTunes that will allow me to override iTunes and decide which tracks are duplicates? or any way to get all my songs into my iTunes Library?Â
I have written the applescript below to duplicate my Apple Lossless iTunes library as a MP3 Library. I wanted the script to be able to do the following things:
1. For all Apple Lossless tracks in iTunes Library (at the moment the script is just set to work with a selection for testing purposes) check if track already exists in MP3 folder with more recent modification date and:
a If yes, do nothing
b If same track with earlier modification date convert and replace track (so that tag changes are transferred)
c If track doesn't exist convert track.
2. If there are any MP3 files in the target folder that aren't in the source folder (i.e. the iTunes Music Folder), delete these files. This is for the scenario when I delete files from my iTunes Library that I no longer want, and I want the equivalent MP3 file to be deleted as well. So once the script has finished running there should be an exact match between the Apple Lossless library and the MP3 folder.
The script below does everything I want it to do with the following caveats:
1. I am not sure how to go about deleting the MP3 files as in part 2. I guess it would have to be an additional section of script which compares each file by name in the folder/subfolder in the iTunes Music Library with the equivalent folders in the target music folder, deleting any files found in the target music folder that don't exist in the iTunes Music folders, but I'm not sure if this is the best/only method, and how I would go about scripting this.
2. Because I need to specify the conversion twice (once if no file exists in target folder and once if it does but with an older modification date) I am wondering about using a subroutine method here. I tried doing so, but no conversions happened even though some should have happened. I wonder if this is because the relevant variables aren't picked up properly by the script when it's a subroutine. I can leave things as they are, just thought it would be good to make the script neater.
Im new to the Mac operating system. I am proficient on a PC, but Macs have always captivated my attention. I finally gave into the Macbook. Anyways ---
The Automator application seems phenomenal in theory I just haven't learned all the ins and outs yet, but i see the concept that it was designed for (Jobs = Genius). Long story short I was streaming all of my music over from my PC and it got interrupted twice. I kept streaming to the same folder but it never prompted me to replace existing files of the same name. So I figured it would do it automatically. To my dismay that wasn't the case at all. I now have 9,000 songs and at least 4,000 of which are duplicates/Triplets. I wanted to know if there was some way to streamline the process of deleting and purging all these files out of my Music Folder/Itunes Library, Via the Automator program or any other program you know of.
I go to preview a larger thumbnail of artwork in iTunes, it does one of two things. It either shows up extremely large only allowing me to view a small portion of the actual album, or a indescribable pixelated position tracker that reflects whats normally shown in the iTunes window at the top. Hopefully that made sense but I'm curious if I have some virus or something. I've got the latest version of iTunes and all.
I have problem assessing my bank website which requires Java 1.3.1 and above. I have already use software update to update my system but still the message "applet not properly loaded ...." keep appearing.
Came across one a while back, finds duplicate files on a Mac, was sure I bookmarked it but no joy in there. Anyone know what it was called, or a link would be even better?
I am stuck with a problem. The problem is that I have two folders. What i'd like is that when I place an item in the main folder it automatically duplicates in the second folder thus keeping both folders in sync.
The folders are in seprate locations within the system. Is this possible? Maybe an Automator action?
I'm trying to release a WordPress theme on my site which I've developed on the Mac. When I sent it to my friend with a PC, he unzipped it and noticed it generated empty files based on the names of the subdirectories (see attached image). Also when you first open the .zip, there's an empty folder called __MACOSX. How to keep the whole package a little more clean?
I just noticed something while sorting photos around in some folders. I'd click one, and suddenly another picture file appears to get created right under it with the exact same filename & extension.
I tried to delete the duplicate thinking I accidentally hit "duplicate" instead of "copy" when right clicking, and the Original file was also sent to trash. I pulled it back out and it did it again. When I moved it into the subfolder, the duplicate vanished.
For example, say I have a folder called Files1, and it has 10 further folders in there. And then I have another folder called Files1 too, which includes updates (new files in) just 3 of the folders.
Is it possible to just drag the new Files1 folder over the old one BUT it just copies over the 'duplicate' files and folders? And leave the others untouched? (bit like how it works when FTP'ing files to a server).
Default behaviour seems to completely overwrite the folder - which is not what I want.
When you download a file (a song for example) from the internet and it downloads into your "Downloads" folder in finder, than you drag it to your "music" folder, its permanent home...does this mean you now have 2 copies of this file, one in the downloads folder and one in the music folder?
Is there any way to manage this without manually deleting things every time you download anything? Perhaps I'm missing something
I'm new to the Mac and the owner of a 13" Power Book which I love. However, I'm finding that whenever I do anything much on the Mac involving photos, video or music, the HD space gets eaten up rapidly. I've worked out that this is partly because the Mac has its own way of storing files. So, for example, if I have a folder called 'My Music', where all my music files are stored, once I import these into iTunes, it it all duplicated into the iTunes library, thereby taking up twice the space. I guess that the same thing happens with iphoto and imovie as well.
My computer has duplicates of many files (including all pictures and music). Is there any way to select all duplicates (in a folder or folders or within the whole computer) and delete them all at the same time?
I recently switched iMacs around, migrating one to the other.Also, I've also started to sync my documents folder through SugarSync between two of my iMacs. I don't know if that affects anything, but maybe. Here's what's happening: when I open a Pages file and want to duplicate it, I get this message:'Unsaved Pages Document.pages' couldn’t be moved because you dont have permission to access 'Autosave Information'. To view or change permissions, select the item in the Finder and choose File > Get Info."
When I get info, I have "read and write" permission on the file I want to duplicate. When I give "read and write" access to everyone through "Get Info," I still get the same message.
like to understand more about Fonts. I have these two files "/Users/buz/Library/Fonts Disabled/MS PGothic.ttf" "/_My Apps/ Microsoft Office 2004/Office/Fonts/MS PGothic.ttf"Â
Using a Duplicate Finder revealed numerous 'duplicated' fonts on my system, but I'm reluctant to engaging in a slash and burn strategy.Â
I have tried two apps that detect and delete duplicate files. Both will find duplicate files of all types, and then fail to delete them. I tried first with "Duplicate Detective" and thought it must be the application's fault; then I tried "The Duplicate Finder" and received the following message:Â
Failed to delete files
Please check their permission for removal. Â
Support the Duplicate Detective app reviewed my console logs and said that my computer from removing files in Users/"my name"/folder.Â
I tried repairing disk permissions through the disk utility and that didn't work. Â
Info: MacBook Pro (Retina, Mid 2012), OS X Mavericks (10.9.4)
I found this program called Tidy UP! and it appears to be very good. But before I go through and starting massive deletions, I wanted some feedback as to what programs people use to find and delete their oldest duplicate files.
I was on a Plane organizing my files and evidently never sync'd back up fully from the hotel before getting back home and using my iMac. So now I have a big mess to clean up.
Unlike Windows, this damn-ded MacOS X won't ask what to do when moving several items with the same name to a single location. In Vista and 7, it asks if you want to replace all similarly named items with a single of the items or if you want to put all of the similarly named items in the new location and append an annotation at the end of the file name. (I think Windows appends "Copy #" to duplicates) So, I'm left with, "File, File 2, File 3, file 4" in a single folder. I need an Automator action to sort this out and simply move or delete the duplicates.
The simplest action I can think is: Ask for files>get files>select files with similar filenames, neglecting the last characters if they are numerals>reference the size (with accuracy of 1 byte) of selected files>label files of the same size red>select red files>move red files to a selected folder. How can I get these sort of tools? I need a measuring action and another action that will compare file names...
I have a program that can find duplicate files. What my questions is if I get an email from someone and then I forward it to someone now I have a duplicate one in my inbox and another in my sent. If I delete the one in my sent then when I open it the attachment will not show. Is there a way for it to just store the file once and then create an alias pointing to the main file.
Another example: If I attach a photo from iPhoto to an email there again is another duplicate. I would much rather Mail send the photo and create an alias to the original photo in iPhoto thus creating no duplicates.
I hope that was not confusing.
I want a program that will find duplicates and then keep 1 and create alias's for the one's deleted.
I know this is not all cases of duplicate files but mainly my Mail has way to many duplicates.
1 email attachments from web mail (eg Yahoo).I can't see how to do this -- is it possible? my current iPhoto set-up has managed to duplicate all my files. I see Events twice. shared access for all users on this computer there must be a way of doing this but I cannot find it. I see the ability to share across different computers - like mounting a remote file system - but that doesn't seem to give what I want and in any case restricts ownership priviledges to only the 1 owner. accessibility of backups. I believe iPhoto backs up the whole file that contains many photos - this is a "black box" that only iPhoto can access. I have a concern about this, it just feels less accessible than a series of JPGs. tell me I'm being irrational? I like this Application but the above points are just holding me back from committing to it.
I use Windows at work and something I really like about it is that Windows will automatically rename a file if another one exists with the same name. For example if there is a file on your desktop called somefile.doc and you download or copy another file with the same name to your desktop it will automatically rename the new file to somefile(1).doc, allowing the 2 files to co-exist without you having to manually change either name. Is there a way to make OSX do this automatically?
I don't know if I have duplicate files on hand. I've recently installed Leopard and I'd like to purge the system of duplicate files, especially any duplicate OS's that may exist before I install CS3. Does anyone know a reliable way to detect and safely delete these files?
