How to set Smart Select rules in Duplicate File Finder

Smart Select in Duplicate File Finder selects duplicate copies for removal in one click. You decide which copies it picks with rules: the folder a copy sits in, the words in its name, its dates, its path, and more.

Smart Select always leaves at least one copy in each group of duplicates unselected, so the last copy of every file stays on your Mac. Turn on the rules that fit your files, combine them, and change them from scan to scan.

Where to set up Smart Select rules

Open Settings with Command-Comma and switch to the Smart Select tab. You can also click the arrow next to the Smart Select button and choose Smart Select Rules…, or press Option-Command-Comma.

The tab has three sections:

• Always Select holds the folders where Smart Select selects duplicates for removal.
• Never Select holds the folders, Photos library Projects, and Photos library Albums where Smart Select leaves files unselected.
• Deep Select Rules holds the rules that compare copies by name, path, date, library, and media properties.

You can fill the folder lists right from the scan results, too. Right-click a duplicate or a folder in its path and choose Add “folder name” to Always Select List or Add “folder name” to Never Select List.

A folder can be on one list at a time. If you add a Never Select folder to Always Select, Duplicate File Finder offers to move it.

The Always select duplicates from folders rule

Use the Always select duplicates from folders for removal rule on the Always Select tab for folders full of copies you can delete without a second look, such as Downloads.

When you click Smart Select, the app selects the duplicates in these folders and their subfolders. Downloads is on the list by default. To add a folder, click the plus button. To take a folder off the list, use the minus button next to it. To pause the rule for one folder and keep it on the list, clear its checkbox.

For example, a group has two copies of a photo: one in Downloads, the other in Pictures. With Downloads on the Always Select list, Smart Select selects the copy in Downloads and keeps the one in Pictures.

The Never select duplicates from folders rule

Use the Never select duplicates from folders for removal rule on the Never Select tab for folders whose files you want to keep, such as the folder with your main photo archive.

Smart Select leaves files in these folders unselected and looks for copies to remove in other folders. To add a folder, click the plus button.

Next to the rule, choose what happens to the copies outside these folders:

• Select everything outside selects all copies outside the listed folders.
• Apply smart-selection rules to everything outside lets the other Smart Select rules decide which copies outside the listed folders to select.

For example, a song has two copies: one in Documents, the other in the Music folder. With Documents on the Never Select list, Smart Select keeps the copy in Documents and selects the one in Music.

The Never select in Photos library Projects rule

Turn on Never select in Photos library Projects to keep the photos used in Photos projects and remove their copies and similar photos elsewhere. Choose one of two options:

• Select everything outside
  Smart Select leaves photos in Projects unselected and selects their copies everywhere else.
• Apply smart-selection rules to everything outside
  Smart Select leaves photos in Projects unselected and lets the other Smart Select rules decide which of their copies to select.

The Never select in Photos library Albums rule

Turn on Never select in Photos library Albums to keep the photos that belong to albums in Photos and remove their copies elsewhere. The options work the same way:

• Select everything outside
  Smart Select leaves photos in albums unselected and selects their copies everywhere else.
• Apply smart-selection rules to everything outside
  Smart Select leaves photos in albums unselected and lets the other Smart Select rules decide which of their copies to select.

Extra rules for similar photos

This rule and all the rules below sit on the Deep Select Rules tab.

Turn on Extra rules for similar photos to choose which photo in a group of similar photos Smart Select selects:

• Select by dimensions
  With Select with smaller dimensions, Smart Select keeps the photo with the largest dimensions and selects the rest. Select with bigger dimensions works the other way round.
• Select by file size
  Choose Select with smaller size or Select with bigger size. The app compares exact sizes in bytes, so two photos can differ even when their rounded sizes look the same.
• Select by file extension
  Smart Select selects photos with the checked extensions. For example, clear the heic checkbox, and Smart Select keeps the HEIC photo and selects its JPG and JPEG versions.

Extra rules for similar audio files

Turn on Extra rules for similar audio files to choose which track in a group of similar audio files Smart Select selects. Check the criteria you need and pick an option for each:

• Select by duration
  Select with shorter duration or Select with longer duration
• Select by bit rate
  Select with smaller bit rate or Select with bigger bit rate
• Select by sample rate
  Select with smaller sample rate or Select with bigger sample rate
• Select by file size
  Select with smaller size or Select with bigger size
• Select by file extension
  Check the formats Smart Select should select: mp3, m4a, m4p, wav, flac, and aiff

For example, to remove lower-quality versions of the same song, check Select by bit rate and choose Select with smaller bit rate.

The Select with suffixes contained in the name rule

When you duplicate a file in Finder, macOS adds a word or a number to the end of its name: “filename copy.png” or “filename 2.png”. The Select with suffixes contained in the name rule selects copies with such endings.

By default, the list holds 31 suffixes: the word “copy” in different languages. If you mark copies with your own word, such as “backup”, click the plus button and add it.

For example, a group has these files:

• green_parrot.jpg
• green_parrot copy.jpg
• green_parrot copy 2.jpg

Smart Select selects the copies whose names end with a suffix from the list and keeps green_parrot.jpg.

The Select with prefixes contained in the name rule

Some apps put the word “copy” at the start of the name instead, as in “copy of filename.png”. The Select with prefixes contained in the name rule selects copies with such beginnings. By default, the list holds “copy”, “copy of”, and their translations into other languages. To add your own, click the plus button.

For example, a group has these files:

• parrots_love.jpg
• copy_parrots_love.jpg
• copy_of_parrots_love.jpg

Smart Select selects the copies whose names start with a prefix from the list and keeps parrots_love.jpg.

Add your own words with care: a word on the list can also match the names of files you want to keep. Check the selection before you remove files.

The Select in Photos Library rule

Turn on Select in Photos Library when the same photos sit both in your Photos library and in regular folders on your Mac. Smart Select compares them and selects the copies on one side, depending on the option you choose:

• Select duplicates outside Photos Library keeps the photos in Photos and selects their copies in your folders.
• Select duplicates inside Photos Library keeps the files in your folders and selects their copies in Photos.

For example, when your iCloud storage is full, you may export photos and videos to a folder on your Mac and then remove them from Photos. Choose Select duplicates inside Photos Library, and Smart Select selects the library copies of the exported files, while the files in your folder stay.

The Select in Music Library rule

Turn on Select in Music Library to decide between the tracks in your Music library and their copies in regular folders:

• Select duplicates outside Music Library keeps the tracks in the Music app and selects their copies in your folders.
• Select duplicates inside Music Library keeps the files in your folders and selects their copies in the Music library.

The Select by full path rule

Turn on Select by full path to pick copies by their folder path in alphabetical order. Choose Select alphabetically or Select reverse alphabetically.

For example, a group has these copies:

• HD/Users/userName/Dropbox/Birds/group_of_parrots.png

  Copy

• HD/Users/userName/Google Drive/Pictures/group_of_parrots.png

  Copy

• HD/Users/userName/OneDrive/Summer/August/group_of_parrots.png

  Copy

Smart Select compares the paths from the point where they differ: Dropbox, Google Drive, and OneDrive. With Select alphabetically, it selects the copies in Dropbox and Google Drive and keeps the one in OneDrive.

The Select by name rule

Turn on Select by name for copies with different names. With Select alphabetically, Smart Select selects the copies whose names come first in alphabetical order. Select reverse alphabetically works the other way round.

For example, a group has “blue and red birds.png” and “red and blue birds.png”. With Select alphabetically, Smart Select selects “blue and red birds.png”, because its name starts with “b”.

The Select by parent folder rule

Turn on Select by parent folder to pick copies by the name of the folder they sit in. Choose Select alphabetically or Select reverse alphabetically.

For example, a group has two copies:

• Music/Summer/First/playlist.mp3

  Copy

• Music/Summer/Second/playlist.mp3

  Copy

The parent folders are First and Second. With Select alphabetically, Smart Select selects the copy in First, because its name starts with “f”.

The Select by full path length rule

Turn on Select by full path length to pick copies by the length of their path. Choose Select shorter path or Select longer path.

For example, a group has two copies:

• HD/Users/Bob/Pictures/IMG_101.jpg

  Copy

• HD/Users/Bob/Pictures/Trips/LA 2019/IMG_101.jpg

  Copy

The first path is shorter. With Select shorter path, Smart Select selects the loose copy in Pictures and keeps the one sorted into Trips/LA 2019.

The Select by name length rule

Turn on Select by name length for copies with different names. Choose Select shorter name or Select longer name.

For example, a group has “two birds.png” and “blue and red birds.png”. With Select shorter name, Smart Select selects “two birds.png”, because its name is shorter.

The Select by parent folder name length rule

Turn on Select by parent folder name length to pick copies by the length of their parent folder’s name. Choose Select shorter name or Select longer name.

For example, a group has two copies:

• HD/Users/Bob/Pictures/2019/IMG_101.jpg

  Copy

• HD/Users/Bob/Pictures/Summer 2019/IMG_101.jpg

  Copy

The parent folders are 2019 and Summer 2019. With Select shorter name, Smart Select selects the copy in 2019.

The Select by modification date rule

Turn on Select by modification date to pick copies by the date they were last changed. Choose Select older or Select newer.

For example, you downloaded a picture and a few weeks later downloaded it again. With Select older, Smart Select selects the copy you downloaded first.

The Select by creation date rule

Turn on Select by creation date to pick copies by the date they were created. Choose Select older or Select newer.

For example, you made one copy of a file yesterday and another today. With Select older, Smart Select selects yesterday’s copy and keeps today’s.

The Select by nesting level rule

Turn on Select by nesting level to pick copies by how deep they sit in the folder tree. Select higher selects the copies closer to the top of a folder, and Select deeper selects the copies buried in subfolders.

For example, one copy of a photo sits several folders deep inside Documents, and the other sits right in Downloads. With Select deeper, Smart Select selects the copy in Documents and keeps the one in Downloads.

The Select library photos with same name by photo ID rule

Turn on Select library photos with same name by photo ID when duplicate or similar photos in your Photos library have the same name. Rules that compare names, such as Select by name, Select by name length, and the suffix and prefix rules, cannot tell these photos apart. This rule tells them apart by their photo ID in the library.

How Smart Select works

• Smart Select starts with your folder lists: it leaves files in Never Select folders unselected and selects copies in Always Select folders.
• For the other copies, Smart Select applies the enabled Deep Select Rules in their order on the list, from top to bottom. To change the order, drag a rule up or down.
• In each group, Smart Select keeps one copy and selects the rest, so the last copy of a file stays on your Mac.
• To run Smart Select, click the Smart Select button or press Command-A. The menu next to the button also has Select Newest, Select Oldest, and the same commands for the current group only, such as Smart Select in Group.
• When you click Smart Select, the app shows the message “Smart Select rules will be applied.” To skip it, turn off Show the confirmation message when using Smart Select in Settings → Advanced.
• You can change the rules at any time. Before you run Smart Select again with new rules, clear the old selection: choose Deselect All in the menu next to the button, or press Command-D.

How to reset the Smart Select rules

To return the Smart Select rules to their defaults:

1. Open Settings.
2. Switch to the Advanced tab.
3. Click Reset Application Settings.

This button resets every setting in Duplicate File Finder, including the Skip List and the removal options, so set those again after the reset.

Set the rules once, and Smart Select applies them to every scan. Check the selection before you click Review to Remove.