Bug reports, questions, comments can be emailed to dougscripts AT mac DOT com. Include "Dupin" in your subject line. A response will be sent ASAP. Before emailing, be sure your topic is not already covered here or in Dupin Help. In the interest of expediency, bug reports should contain precise details.

General Questions

Could Dupin somehow automatically delete tracks from iTunes without me knowing about it?

No. It is impossible for Dupin to delete tracks or files unless you use its Purge function, and even in that case there are warnings and options displayed before anything is actually deleted.

You are given ample opportuities to examine the tracks that Dupin has determined are duplicates and which have been designated as Keepers and non-Keepers before even running Purge.

Dupin uses file location information from the iTunes database. Presumably this information is accurate and up-to-date. Dupin does not in any way try to examine your "iTunes Music" or "iTunes Media" folder for files.

Why does Dupin show the original track with the duplicates? Isn't that sort of like iTunes' "Show Duplicates"?

Dupin (and iTunes, for that matter) doesn't know what you think the "original" track is and what you think the "duplicates" are and so it displays all occurrences of tracks which meet your Criteria settings. However, Dupin does know which tracks are duplicates of each other (according to your Critera settings) and sorts them into "Dupe Groups". Then you can decide which is the "Keeper" in each of the Dupe Groups either manually or by using Dupin's Filter Controls.

Dupin is not displaying duplicates I know I have.

That depends on how you define a "duplicate". Dupin considers two or more tracks duplicates if the data in the tracks' tags which correspond to Dupin's checked Criteria is the same. For example, if you check "Name" and un-check "Kind", the tracks in a Dupe Group would all have the same name but may have different encodings, such as "In The Air Tonight.mp3" and "In The Air Tonight.m4a". If you check both "Name" and "Kind" then a Dupe Group would consist of tracks that have the same name and the same encoding; therefore "In The Air Tonight.mp3" and "In The Air Tonight.m4a" could not be part of the same Dupe Group and, thus, would not be displayed.

I have over 20,000 tracks and a lot of Dupes. How long will it take Dupin to finish the Purge operation?

It depends on a number of factors. Some users report it takes as short a time as several minutes, others report several hours. Longer times, however, are unusual. I don't know if you have ever tried to move or Trash several hundred (or several thousand) files at once in the Finder, but it can take quite a bit of time (however, with regard to Dupin, it's not so much the size of the files as it is the number of them). Combine that with the internal bookkeeping that iTunes must perform when removing items from its database and the minutes (or hours) can add up.

Obviously, the speed of your computer's processor is a major factor. A G4 eMac is slower than an Intel MacBook and that's the way it is.

I encourage users to break up the tracks of the Main window into smaller bits using the Selection Window (select a large batch of tracks and use "New Window" in the toolbar). The entire process will actually take less time if done in chunks rather than all at once.

Another option is to use Dupin's "Limit Dupe Groups to..." setting. This will return a limited number of Dupe Groups at a time. A smaller number of Dupe Groups can be Purged quite quickly. You can also set the Preferences to delete files immediately rather than moving them to the Trash. Although deleting immediately is not as safe as moving files to the Trash--since you can't recover the files--it is somewhat faster.

My recipe for determining how to proceed: if "Get Duplicates" takes more than five minutes to complete, use one of the above strategies.

An important consideration is the number of Smart Playlists you have that are set to "Live updating". In such cases, whenever a change is made to your iTunes library, each of these Smart Playlists will be obliged to update. This can add hours and hours to the time of the Purge and may even crash Dupin or iTunes in the process. It may be best to disable "Live updating" before a Purge and re-enable it afterwards. It will be worth the effort.

Finally, devices should be prevented from syncing while using Dupin as this can also interupt the flow of activity.

Why aren't other tags--like Rating and Composer, for instance--included in the Criteria settings?

It is unlikely that other tags have much additional bearing on whether or not two tracks are legitimate duplicates.

I'm afraid to Purge so many music files from my external drive--I don't think there's enough room on my local drive's Trash.

Don't worry, trash all you want. When you send a file located on an external drive into the Trash, the file does not move from the external drive to your local drive. The external drive actually has its own invisible Trash folder. The Trash in the Dock/on the desktop displays items from all the Trashes on your system.

Why can't I Purge duplicate tracks found using the "Get Dupes in Other Library" command?

The "Get Dupes in Other Library" command let's you examine duplicate tracks in non-loaded libraries, such as those created with iTunes' multiple library feature or iTunes Library Manager. Technically, Dupin is reading their XML files. You might think that it would just be a matter of deleting the entries in the XML file. However, iTunes does not read the XML file. It just periodically updates it. In order to Purge those tracks they would have to be added to the current iTunes library and I presume you don't really want to do that.

It seems counter-intuitive to use checkmarks to indicate tracks you don't want Purged.

While a user's ultimate goal using Dupin may be to delete unwanted tracks and files, Dupin does perform other duplicate management tasks. During initial development it made more intuitive sense under most circumstances to indicate Keepers with a checkmark. For example, if you are filtering Dupe Groups to determine only Oldest Added AAC tracks in order to copy them to a new iTunes playlist, it is sensible that the Keeper is checkmarked. On the other hand, it does seem counter-intuitive to Purge un-checkmarked tracks. However, Dupin v1.2 added a Preference setting to toggle the Keeper designation as either checkmarked or un-checkmarked, whichever configuration makes more sense to you during a particular task.

Why are you no longer developing Dupin for Tiger and Leopard?

1.) Dupin v2.0.5 works fine for these operating systems and is readily available. 2.) Improvements that I was able to make for the Snow Leopard incarnation of Dupin simply cannot be replicated under earlier systems. 3.) Developing a single app to cover three operating systems and two processor platforms and making it work great for everybody is not fair to the majority of users who want modern features without compromise (nevermind the support issues). Thanks for understanding.

Problems?

I can't adjust the width of the "File Name" column.

A bug in v2.1. It will be fixed in the next update.

If I try to Customize the toolbar I get an error.

Sorry for this inconvenient bug under Snow Leopard. It will be fixed in the next update. Fixed in v2.1.

When I enter my new upgrade code I get a -10006 error and/or Dupin crashes.

Sorry for this inconvenience. I am aware of this issue and am tracking it. However, I cannot replicate it here on the workbench; I can only assume some unusual combination of events is causing the crash. v2.0.4 addresses this issue, but not entirely. I recommend that you try Trashing Dupin's preferences file. You will need to re-enter your upgrade code(s) afterwards, so be sure to have this information in hand.

Quit Dupin. Navigate to your [username]/Library/Preferences/ folder and locate the file named "com.dougscripts.Dupin.plist". Move this file to the Trash. Re-start Dupin. Re-enter your registration code(s). Try operating Dupin as usual.

Dupin successfully does a "Get Duplicates" and Filter. But when I Purge it locks up and I have to force-quit.

See the tips about Smart Playlists and syncing above.

1.) Because of some yet-to-be-resolved threading issues it is possible for Dupin to appear frozen during especially lengthy tasks--you may get anxious if you see the "spinning beach ball". This may just mean that Dupin is preoccupied with what it is supposed to be doing and access to its interface via mouse-click or key press is inhibited. When Dupin finishes its current task it will become responsive again. Even so, it may really be frozen. Before performing a Force-Quit, launch your Activity Monitor app (in /Applications/Utilities/). If Dupin's CPU and Memory values are fluctuating, then Dupin is active. If it is really frozen, these values will lessen and lessen.

2.) It is possible that the track and file information obtained by Dupin, particularly the file location information, is erroneous, or at the very least, not up-to-date. Thus, Dupin is unable to locate and delete a file correctly. If this happens with many files then Dupin can become unresponsive and crash. This may be caused by confusion over the location of the iTunes database file. If you have ever used iTunes' multiple library feature, make sure that the current library's location is the same as listed in your [username]/Library/Preferences/com.apple.iApps.plist file. I have found that frequently unmounting and mounting an external drive containing a multiple library folder--such as a notebook user may do--could create this confusion, and cause this plist file to not get updated correctly.

For further information on this phenomenon, see Multiple Library Confusion.

Future Development

I would like to see more options for "fuzzy" matching to account for slight variations in similar spellings, times, and sizes.

Approximate time matching is available for the Time Criteria as of v2.1.

Will Dupin find duplicates on my iPod?

It is unlikely that Dupin will support iPods (or iPhones) anytime in the near future.

Can I access shared playlists with Dupin?

Currently, no. Under consideration for a future release.

Is there a WIndows version of Dupin?

Not yet ;)

Back to the Dupin product page...

Version History

v2.1 (jan 26 '10 - current):
- runs under Mac OS 10.6 (Snow Leopard) or better only
- adds aproximate time matching for Time Criteria (settable to :01 ≤ n ≤ :10 seconds)
- adds File Path column to main table
- made task additions to contextual menus
- some warning dialogs now have suppression/reset options
- "Search" configurable with categories, re-located to toolbar
- other minor GUI improvements and alterations
- speed enhancements
- addresses toolbar customization issue
- addresses threading issue
- addresses memory leak issue

v2.0.6 (oct 4 '09):
- runs under Mac OS 10.5 (Leopard) or better only
- addresses reported issues affecting performance in Snow Leopard
- fixes startup issue verifying Folder Location setting in Filter Controls
- fixes Get Info error after Purge
- fixes error with search
- some GUI updates
- "Mark as Keeper/non-Keeper" included in Select menu
- displays Time rounding to whole second
- added "Toggle all" button in Re-Playlist window

v2.0.5 (aug 17 '09):
- Fixes selection bug in Re-Playlist routine
- Encourages iTunes to update faster after Purge and Re-Playlist
- Fixed minor Tiger GUI conflict with Column Sort popup
- Fixed delay when updating from Selection Window
- Addressed purge log location bug
- Addressed internet connection bug at startup

v2.0.4 (aug 6 '09):
- Fixes "Selection to iTunes Playlist..." fail
- Fixes error issue when upgrading

v2.0.3 (jul 21 '09):
- Fixes rare filename issue with files imported from non-Mac OS
- Fixes rare disappearing column bug
- Fixes benign XML pretty-print issue with Re-Playlist

v2.0.2 (mar 18 '09):
- Fixed retro-syntax issues for Tiger systems

v2.0.1 (mar 16 '09):
- Fixed errant button positioning in "Re-Playlist" window

v2.0 (mar 14 '09):
- New "Consolidate History" tool can consolidate the play, skip, and ratings information from all tracks in a Dupe Group to the single "Keeper" track
- New "Re-Playlist" tool can re-populate iTunes playlists replacing "non-Keeper" tracks with "Keeper" tracks
- Added "Track Number" and "Disc Number" to "Get Duplicates" Criteria
- "Library Matrix" replaced with Playlist Popup
- Many GUI enhancements
- Main window now smaller minimum size
- Safely interupt and/or cancel most routines
- "Filter Controls" setting "Volume Location" replaced with "Folder Location", "Protected" kind with "Purchased" kind
- Main Menu re-organized
- Many speed and efficiency enhancements
- Fixed error when trying to parse track while being downloaded, sync'd, or is otherwise "location-less"
- "Get Info" displays Sample Rate appropriately when information is not available (usually for videos)
- Addresses issue with malformed file paths
- New "Library Profile" tool can list information about current iTunes library for diagnostic purposes
- Video tutorials via website

v1.4.2 (oct 15 '08):
- Fixes rare crash at startup issue
- Fixes minor issue when selected "Volume Location" is not mounted

v1.4.1 (oct 3 '08):
- Fixes looping error during "Delete"
- Fixes issue when toggling checkbox of a selected item

v1.4 (sept 24 '08):
- Recognizes Genius Playlists
- Adds "Refresh Playlist Popup" toolbar button and menu option to View menu
- Adds Preference to limit number of Dupe Groups fetched during "Get Duplicates"
- Adds Preference to toggle between deleting files immediately or moving them to Trash during Purge
- Trash alert sound muted
- Fixes a minor date formatting issue
- GUI updated
- Speed and performance enhancements

v1.3.4 (aug 1 '08):
- Compatibility with iTunes 7.7.1
- Minor performance enhancements

v1.3.3 (apr 3 '08):
- Fixed error with file sizes filtering
- Minor performance enhancements

v1.3.2 (feb 22 '08):
- Fixed problem with file sizes larger than 1GB
- Fixed error involving "filterFileKindLabels"

v1.3.1 (feb 22 '08):
- Fixed issue with automatic filtering preference which errored when getting dupes

v1.3 (feb 21 '08):
- Adds Newest/Oldest Date Modified options to Filter Controls
- Adds Largest/Smallest File Size options to Filter Controls
- Displays Bit Rate Rounding status in Filter Controls window
- Bit Rate Rounding is applicable to bit rate options in Filter Controls
- Provides workaround for iTunes 7.6 AppleScript "delete bug" (whereby files chosen to be preserved during Purge are errantly moved to Trash--fixed in iTunes 7.6.1)
- Fixed a problem with bit rate filtering
- Updated Help pages
- Minor performance enhancements

v1.2 (dec 3 '07):
- Added Preference to toggle Keeper designation as checkmarked (default) or un-checkmarked
- Added Preference to use bit rate rounding to account for ABR-encoded AAC files
- Added "Customize Toolbar..." menu command in View Menu; moved "Show/Hide Toolbar" to View Menu
- Added notification when updating Playlists popup
- Added bytes-size to Size display in Get Info window
- Corrected error thrown by .MID files
- Revised code syntax interpreted ambiguously under OS 10.4 (Tiger)
- Revised label text in Filter Controls window
- Fixed problem during Purge if source Playlist had been re-selected
- Fixed rare problem causing hang-up while switching Spaces or applications during Purge
- Updated Help pages
- Minor performance enhancements

v1.1.4 (nov 26 '07):
- Changed keyboard equivalent for "Delete" function to Command-Delete, added "Delete Selected from Dupin" menu command
- Added "Sort by Dupe Groups" toolbar button
- Redressed issues with AAC files encoded using ABR
- Fixed problem with moving files from striped RAID to Trash
- Fixed rare problem with listing playlists
- Fixed rare problem causing inaccuracies when filtering by "Volume"
- Fixed rare problem causing inaccuracies when filtering by "Shortest Filename"
- Minor performance enhancements

v1.1.3 (nov 8 '07):
- Fixed sorting problem caused by date errors with some localizations (German, Dutch, et al)

v1.1.2 (nov 1 '07):
- Fixed string coercion error some Leopard users were seeing at startup
- Fixed problem with Get Dupes sorting when a track's Sample Rate is "Unknown"

v1.1.1 (oct 30 '07):
- Fixed "compilation error" some users were seeing at startup

v1.1 (oct 29 '07):
- Compatible with Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
- Remembers last selected playlist in playlist popup and in "Selected to Playlist..." panel
- Added option during Purge to remove tracks just from the selected source playlist
- Playlist popup refreshes when its Library Matrix button is clicked
- Command-P replaces Spacebar as shortcut for Play/Pause
- Added "Selection to New Window" option in multi-selection contextual menu
- Catches error if file to be played cannot be found
- Fixed issue with inaccurate examination of "Movies" master playlist
- Fixed issues with playlist popup display
- Several other minor performance fixes

v1.0.3 (oct 10 '07):
- Filter processing speed greatly increased
- Return keypress while "Looking for..." search field is focused initiates "Get Duplicates"
- Added recent items and "Clear" sub-menu to "Looking for..." search field
- Filter Controls window closes when filtering begins, unless set otherwise in Preferences - Fixed problem with file path displaying instead of file name
- Addresses error on launch when attempting to identify User volumes mounted at /
- Works-around rare problem with errant carriage returns and/or line feeds embedded in iTunes' library XML file
- Minor performance fixes

v1.0.2 (oct 4 '07):
- Fixed delay and stall issues occurring during Purge that some users were experiencing
- Fixed issue with Purge not proceeding when tracks selected; now allows Purge of selection
- Will display alert if iTunes is somehow inaccessible during Purge
- Minor performance fixes

v1.0.1 (oct 1 '07):
- Fixed issue with displaying dates according to International preferences
- Fixed issue with displaying playlist names
- Minor performance fixes

v1.0 (sept 27 '07):
- initial release