How does LR determine what is a duplicate?

[IgnacioCuriel]

Lightroom Version Number

Lightroom Classic 9.4 release

Operating System

1. Windows 10

Hello
Sadly, my collection/catalog is a real mess.
I have been working trying to get rid of many many many files, some I do not like, some are duplicate, etc.

And this duplicate thing is what keeps appearing everytime I try to import new files/photos... or at least on previous imports.
Thing is... this mess is part my fault and maybe part LR's fault?

I do not want to miss any of my photos and this is turning into an obsession, so I try to keep all my folders imported and managed in LR. To further complicate the matter, that stubborn OneDrive (which I have a love/hate relationship with, more hate than otherwise), always takes hold of my photos folder and others. Has anyone tried opting out of OneDrive while re/installing windows? Of course, Microsoft knows better than you, and the moment you start using your "fresh" Windows 10 installation, your opting out is in itself automatically opted out and OneDrive happily shows "synchronizing files" by itself. I hate that.
Any way, I am puzzled to find that no matter how careful I am when re/importing my folders into LR, by unticking the "ignore possible duplicates" during import, I find myself with duplicate files/photos. Everything I can see in the Metadata panel is exactly the same! Except for the folders...

What are LR's criteria to choose and determine what file is a duplicate, and ignore it for import, and which file is not, and allow it into the catalog?

 

[Paul McFarlane]

Any way, I am puzzled to find that no matter how careful I am when re/importing my folders into LR, by unticking the "ignore possible duplicates" during import, I find myself with duplicate files/photos. Everything I can see in the Metadata panel is exactly the same! Except for the folders...

What are LR's criteria to choose and determine what file is a duplicate, and ignore it for import, and which file is not, and allow it into the catalog?

Why are you unticking this? That is telling Lr to ignore that's it's a suspected duplicate and import it anyway.

Check page 30 of your Classic book - the criteria for Lr seeing a file as a duplicate is the original filenames matching (when imported into Lr), a mach on the EXIF capture date and time and the file size. If this criteria is met and you have Don't Import Suspected Duplicates then they should be gray in the Import dialog and not import.

 

[IgnacioCuriel]

Why are you unticking this? That is telling Lr to ignore that's it's a suspected duplicate and import it anyway.

Check page 30 of your Classic book - the criteria for Lr seeing a file as a duplicate is the original filenames matching (when imported into Lr), a mach on the EXIF capture date and time and the file size. If this criteria is met and you have Don't Import Suspected Duplicates then they should be gray in the Import dialog and not import.

I am sorry. I wasn't thinking clearly. I meant, instead of " by unticking the "ignore possible duplicates" during import,", I meant by ticking

the criteria for Lr seeing a file as a duplicate is the original filenames matching (when imported into Lr), a mach on the EXIF capture date and time and the file size Should all of these critera be true together? I mean, is it filenames AND EXIF capture date AND file size?

 

[Jim Wilde]

Should all of these critera be true together? I mean, is it filenames AND EXIF capture date AND file size?

Yes.

 

[IgnacioCuriel]

Yes.

Thank you!