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Author Topic: Removing Duplicates Outside of Target Folder  (Read 73 times)

dreandre

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Removing Duplicates Outside of Target Folder
« on: Yesterday at 10:36:08 pm »

Hello Team! 

Issue:
If the file is a duplicate of a file in my target folder (Let's call the folder "Verified"), then I would like to select all and delete the duplicates from any other folder location in the library.  File in "Verified" should be the only copy of the file.

Attempts so far...

First idea:  Create a smart playlist to search for duplicates.  Change the thumbnail display to show duplicate fields like name, filename, file size, etc.  Group by duplicate field and then scroll one at a time and delete duplicate after checking filename (path) visually.  Works but soul sucking slow process

Second idea: Research smart playlist technology to discover if there is a way to select all outside of a specified target folder.  Find the duplicated BASED on the folder "Verified" but exclude any item in "Verified" when selecting.  Tried to modify results by leveraging "Only matches of", "Only duplicates of", "Only differences of" or "Remove duplicates of".  Failed: Still don't understand modify result options listed.  Also realized that some duplicates are actually not a copy and are mislabeled so I can't do a select all and delete.

Third Idea:  Create a Smart playlist.  Add a custom column that says "Is this a duplicate? Yes or no" (or "How many duplicates" and then check for >0).  Then use the smart filters to filter on the custom column results to show the duplicates.  Failed: For some reason the If Statements don't work in the custom Library field.  See attachments
=if([name]="(1)","match","no Match")


Support Request:

1.  If you know how to do this, regardless of my attempts, please share!  Thank you!!!
2.  If my three ideas are getting close to a solution, help me take the idea (or a combination of the ideas) across the finish line.
3.  In the absence of the solution, maybe share different approaches than the ones that I can think of, to do more research!

Thank you, all who reply
Hope you enjoy these adventures as much as I do!  Forgive my noob status!

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zybex

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Re: Removing Duplicates Outside of Target Folder
« Reply #1 on: Today at 02:59:27 am »

Have you seen the stock Smartlist in Playlist>Smartlists>"Audio -- Task -- Possible duplicates" ? It's a simple one but maybe it helps. You can edit it to see how it works and create a similar one more adjusted to your needs.

The expression you have is wrong - the Expression language is not the same as the Search/Filter language in MC - strings don't need double quotes, they just become part of the string itself. Parenthesis and commas however need to be escaped.

Try:
if(compare(find([name],/(1/)), >, -1), match, --)
or:
if(listFind([name],/(1/)), match, --)

I think your first approach is better - find duplicates of Name+Artist+Album - as long as your files as properly tagged. File size may not match as the files may differ by a few bytes due to the Tags being written to them, even if the audio itself is the same.
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