How does Lightroom decide whether a photo is already imported?
Asked 5/25/2016
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2 answers
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In Lightroom’s Import dialog, choosing “New Photos” usually hides files that are already in the catalog, but sometimes duplicates still appear. What criteria does Lightroom use to identify a photo as a duplicate during import?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
10y ago
2 Answers
6
This is answered right in the Adobe Photoshop Lightroom documentation on importing files:
Lightroom determines a photo is a duplicate of another file in the catalog if it has the same, original filename; the same Exif capture date and time; and the same file size.
Originally by user4892. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user4892
10y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Lightroom treats a file as a duplicate during import only if it matches an existing cataloged file on three points: the original filename, the Exif capture date/time, and the file size. If any one of those differs, Lightroom may not recognize it as already imported and can allow what looks like a duplicate. That’s why renamed files, files with changed metadata, or copies that differ slightly in size may still import again.
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