Various Ways Of Deleting iTunes Duplicates
Duplicates on iTunes can occur because of different reasons. It could occur after copying back files to a computer after updating the Operating System, or due to some choices in your iTunes options.
There are two things you have to be sure of before going ahead and removing duplicates from your iTunes. First of all, ensure you have a backup of you data in place in case anything goes wrong. When deleting files it is prudent to ensure that you can get them back if things go horribly wrong.
If you use iTunes to manage your media files, you can just copy the iTunes folder and all the subsequent sub-folders to a different drive.
There are two ways that your collection can end up with duplicate tracks in iTunes. You want to remove the actual duplicates not the original. First you have to check and see if you have the duplicate items listed, and that they are actually the same files. The simplest way to do this is simply by sorting the tracks in name order, then right click one of the duplicates and choose Get Info.
Click the tab named Summary, and look at the file path. Then click on the buttons named Previous and Next to compare the duplicates files. Make sure there is some visible difference in the file names or deleting one will delete both.
Also watch-out to see if the files have differences like studio version/ live version/ dance version etc.
If you have a large audio collection, the previous method could take ages. So we can ask iTunes for some help in showing you the duplicates. First sort your library by Title, then click on File >> Display >> Duplicates. This should show you the duplicate tracks on iTunes.
To exercise caution hold the Shift key down while clicking on File you should get an option labeled Display Exact Duplicates.
An interesting third-party product to use to delete duplicates on iTunes is Dupe Eliminator. Though it isn’t free, the trial version can assist you in making use of its very comprehensive duplicate detection and selection criteria. The free version cant delete the duplicate iTunes tracks automatically though.
The other option is the Duplicate Music File Finder. This free software works without iTunes, so you don’t have to clean up dead links after you are done with it. Using Duplicate Music File Finder is as simple as opening it and pointing it to your music or media folders and it does the rest.
In the next step you will click the Check All button if you are satisfied that all the duplicate items have been selected, and then click on Delete Checked Files to remove them. To confirm action click on the yes button. The application sends all the duplicate files to the Recycle Bin. The remaining step is to tell iTunes to search itself then remove any missing items in the library. Though there is no simple way in the iTunes interface to do this, you can download a script from Apple to do this.
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