Dealing with multiple file copies

[keithjohnson]

I have merged two copies of the "same" catalog in order to consolidate keywords, meta, etc but mistakenly neglected the checkbox for not to import dupes.  Dupes showed up; lots of them.  What is the best procedure for deleting the file dupes but not the meta?
thanks in advance
kj

[peterkrogh]

Keith,
Do you have a backup file of each catalog where you could try the merge again.

In general, you should always make a fresh backup before you do anything like this to the catalog.
Peter

[keithjohnson]

I wondered if that might be the route.  I do and will try.  If there are dupes thoughand clearly they are dupes do you simply dupe from catalog or from disk?
kj

[peterkrogh]

Keith,
I'm sot clear exactly what you've done, so I hesitate to tell you to delete anything.

One of the places Lightroom falls down is sorting between multiple versions of the same file.
Peter

[keithjohnson]

when I merged two different copies of the catalog I neglected to tell LR to not import dupe.  I ended up with multiple dupes and a mess.  In some cases I had 4 copies (virtual?) of the same file.  Obviously I don't want nor need more than one so which and how do I best delete the redundant files?
kj

[peterkrogh]

Keith,
Were you merging catalogs that included "negatives"?  IOW, are there multiple copies of the original files, or are there multiple entries in the catalog that refer to a single original file? 

Are these virtual copies?

I still think the best way forward is to do the merge again, if possible.

Peter

[keithjohnson]

I remerged two copies of my catalog and ended up with a bunch of dupe files.  I eill deal with the folders (years) in time as necessary. 
Do I delete from LR or from disk?  I probably have 2x the number of real files.

[peterkrogh]

Keith,
This is tricky, since Lightroom does not give you very good tools to know what you are doing in file handling. You can't, for instance, see all the items in list view with the various metadata associated with each file.

First question, have you synced all your metadata to the files?
How many images are we talking about?
Do you have enough drive space to make a full backup before you start the deletion?

I'd also consider making an expression Media catalog before you start (even with the demo copy of the software) to keep an independent record of what was there, so you can compare the files at the end of the process.

Peter

[keithjohnson]

My catalog(s) are just about 9500 files (almost double that with all dupes) I have the original merged catalogs before back up and additional b/u of the work so I am comfortable with protection.  The merged catalog is on a 1TB RAID that is half full, so space is not an issue.  I als have a 500GB drive empty and ready for use as well.  I may still have a copy of IV in my software collection.  I hate the idea of yet another program to work with (this is the compelling consideration of LR) I shoot about 3000 files a year making art (I do not work for hire) so my needs are reletively modest (again LR).