iDupe for Mac

User Reviews

• Does exactly what it says it does

  medleydDecember 25, 2012

  Pros

  Easy to use, saves time and effort, very accurate identification of duplicate tracks, allows several user-customizable options for dealing with duplicate files, does not move or delete any files without user confirmation, and very importantly it deals well with the issue of having the same songs on multiple albums or set lists, it preserved one copy of each every time. Chooses the best file to keep based on multiple criteria that can be customized, including bit rates and star ratings. Full process from identification of duplicates to moving media files to trash requires only three clicks for every 2,000 songs in iTunes library. Among other things, it allows you to place files from removed tracks in the trash, in a separate folder, or will make a playlist of tracks marked to be removed so you can view them at your leisure.

  Cons

  You DO have to follow the directions, fortunately they are very simple. Used properly, this is a very safe application that will not move nor delete anything without your permission. It does not work instantly, and recommendations are to scan no more than 2,000 tracks at a time. The scan and selection process is pretty quick, then you have the option to review all the tracks that are marked for deletion before approving them. Even on a very fast machine, it takes some time for the tracks to be deleted from the library and the files moved to the trash. However, it does not take as long as it does to individually select hundreds of tracks based on numerous criteria and click each of them individually. Sure, I wish it worked faster. I also wish they would pay me to use it. But I have no legitimate complaints, it is saving me countless hours of eyestrain and thousands upon thousands of mouse-clicks.

  Summary

  Due to a series of bonehead user errors and other poor decisions when moving iTunes from PC to Mac, I ended up with literally tens of thousands of duplicates. Because a significant part of my library is live recordings, and because each performance of a song has the same name but belongs in a different setlist, I was terrified to use an automated application and thought I was doomed to single-clicking within iTunes. After six straight hours of making an individual decision about each track and clicking it, I had barely made a dent in the tracks starting with the letter "A". I'm so happy that I tried this program, it works even better than I expected. So far I have scanned 6,000 songs and have only found one instance where I had to change a single selection. Even using great care, fatigue alone probably would have caused me to make at least one error if I evaluated 6,000 songs manually! Yes, it is still going to take many days to get through the entire library, but at least I can set it up and then move on to other tasks while iDupe is doing all the heavy lifting.

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• works exactly as advertised

  TohnlocOctober 15, 2011

  Pros

  found the duplicates; didn't miss any

  Cons

  takes a long time to do it right

  Summary

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• Almost deleted all my music. Check the trash

  Bobby_FreedomMay 16, 2011

  Pros

  None I can think of. I even wasted money on the shareware fee and it still sucked.

  Cons

  - moved almost all of my music collection, that I spent 10 years building, to the trash. -slow and plodding - strange tandem actions with Itunes I didn't really understand the purpose of.

  Summary

  I don't know how it decides which files and tracks are duplicates, but it does a piss-poor job of it. It moved 90% of my music to the trash. After the program said it was finished and I should empty the trash, I noticed itunes only had a couple dozen tracks now and my hard-drive was very empty. It didn't just remove duplicates, it tried to get rid of everything. The shareware fee doesn't make a difference and the program still asks me to pay for it after I already did.

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• nailed it!

  chadstepApril 20, 2011

  Pros

  Worked on my 50K song library

  Cons

  Be sure to follow instructions carefully ;-). Doesn't cover other file types, such as movies, podcasts, etc.

  Summary

  An actual free version of duplicate removal software that removed all duplicate track labels from my iTunes library after a poorly executed switch of library locations to a new HD. The cost version happens if actual tracks were needing to be removed!

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• No detectable result

  paul-2010February 20, 2011

  Pros

  Easy to install(?)

  Cons

  Does not appear to work

  Summary

  No apparent value as the product does not appear to work. If it is me doing something wrong, I might point to the product not being very helpful during the operation/installation process. I have grown used to Mac products 'just working', and this one doesn't.

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• Easy to Use, Effective and Efficient! - Saved me days!

  erinrunsFebruary 5, 2011

  Pros

  Easy to use, Cheap, Accurate duplicate analysis, Process took under one hour for me to remove 2500 dupes!!

  Cons

  For inaccurately labeled songs/albums, there were some bad results but it was such a small number that I manually dealt with them (ie "Track 01" by "Unknown Artist")

  Summary

  This product is free to download but I was so pleased with the results that I paid for it! I had over 5000 dupes in iTunes and iDupe effectively identified and removed all of them. Better than going through it all manually!!!! I recommend this product.

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• Did not work

  crommertJanuary 19, 2011

  Pros

  promise and effort to solve most user unfriendly piece of software ever produced called Itunes.

  Cons

  Did not work, no changes in Itunes visible, instructions hard to understand what you do exactly Itunes most be the worst software ever, confusing, slow, many times system freezes compelety.

  Summary

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• Worked great out of the box saved me days of work.

  erikbaarNovember 15, 2010

  Pros

  Application worked great out of the box, identified all the duplicates and gave me options on what to do with the ones it determined were not the best copies.

  Cons

  Only option is to move the items to the trash, not another folder. I moved the files to the trash and then moved them to a new folder in the Finder.

  Summary

  After accidental deletion of my iTunes library from a bad rsync operation, I restored my library from a backup and another machine, and an undelete utility. In the end I had in some cases triplicate files, and some songs had bad bitrates and incorrect information. iDupe correctly analyzed and picked the best copy every time, without having to change any settings. It allowed me to check the bad files in my iTunes library so I could review the bad songs and then gave me options on deletion. It also allows you to work off of a playlist and remove duplicates....another feature I am sure to use in the future. The options are quite flexible, including the "Newest track preferred when all else equal". By disabling this, it allowed me to keep the original file I had and not the potentially buggy file that was recovered by the undelete utility.

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• poor application

  ohmygeekNovember 10, 2010

  Pros

  none, it says that saves you time but it actually doesnt

  Cons

  terrible development

  Summary

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• Saved hours of work

  broomvondleOctober 31, 2010

  Pros

  Simple and does the job very well.

  Cons

  None in particular it worked well for me.

  Summary

  A simple application that fixes an important missing feature in iTunes - the ability to sort through duplicate tracks and delete them automatically. If you have a huge iTunes library, with a lot of duplicates and broken links, this program could save you a lot of time.

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