HOW TO Find and remove various duplicates

1 Look for contact dupes

First of all, open the Contacts app. In the Card menu found in the top bar, there’s an option called Look for Duplicates. Click on it. Your Contacts database is scanned, and any cards that are duplicated are identified.

2 Merge information

If your Contacts app finds cards that are duplicated, it reports back and tells you duplicates have been found. Click on the Merge button and information from the duplicated cards are combined, slimming down your database.

3 Find photo dupes

Open the Photos app, and in the left– hand sidebar, click on the Duplicates icon. If you use iCloud Shared Photo Library, click the Library pop–up menu in the toolbar and choose Both Libraries. Duplicated photos and videos are shown.

4 Merge duplicates

Go through the list manually using the Merge links, or hold the Shift key, click on the duplicates you wish to merge then click the Merge [X] Items button (top right). Or select all the duplicates by clicking Cmd+A, then clicking the button.

5 Look for song dupes

Some songs might appear twice in your Music app, such as on an album and on a greatest hits compilation. In the Music sidebar, click on Songs. Now in the File menu in the top bar, select Library > Show Duplicate Items.

6 Show exact dupes

Alternatively, hold down the Option key and in the File menu, select Library > Show Exact Duplicate Items, so it doesn’t identify (for example) a live and studio version of the same track as duplicates. You can then trim your files.

7 Create a smart folder

Click on the Desktop to make sure you’re in Finder, and then in the top bar, go to Files > New Smart Folder. Click the “+” button in the top–right corner, and choose what kind of file you’re searching using the pull–down menu.

8 Arrange by name

Click on Name at the top of the window, under the toolbar, and the files are arranged by title. You can then easily see which are duplicated, but check the file size and modification date to make sure they’re identical.

9 Duplicate Finder

Searching for duplicates is much easier if you use a duplicate finder app such as MacPaw’s Gemini 2 (https:// macpaw.com/gemini, from $19.95). Gemini 2 does a great job of finding and cleaning up duplicates of any type.