{"id":24295,"date":"2012-04-07T21:28:21","date_gmt":"2012-04-07T19:28:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onsoftware.en.softonic.com\/?p=24295"},"modified":"2025-07-02T01:50:53","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T08:50:53","slug":"how-to-locate-and-delete-duplicate-files-in-itunes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/how-to-locate-and-delete-duplicate-files-in-itunes\/","title":{"rendered":"How to: locate and delete duplicate files in iTunes"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/onsoftware.en.softonic.com\/how-to-locate-and-delete-duplicate-files-in-itunes\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-24302\" title=\"iTunes\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2012\/04\/4-6-2012-10-55-54-AM.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"144\" \/><\/a><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/itunes.en.softonic.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">iTunes<\/a><\/strong> revolutionized the way people purchased and listened to music on their computers. Though that&#8217;s old news to most people by now, if you\u2019re anything like me, you probably have thousands of songs now stored in your iTunes library.<\/p>\n<p>Issues with duplicate items appearing in your iTunes library can sometimes arise, particularly in instances where you\u2019re ripping songs off a CD or via another large music collection.<\/p>\n<p>Thankfully, there\u2019s a relatively simple way to <strong>locate duplicates and eliminate them<\/strong> quickly and effectively. Check out our 3 step guide below.<!--more-->1. Go to <strong>File<\/strong> and click <strong>Display Duplicates<\/strong>. iTunes will search your entire library and pull up duplicate files of any media type.<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-24303\" href=\"http:\/\/onsoftware.en.softonic.com\/how-to-locate-and-delete-duplicate-files-in-itunes\/itunes1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-24303\" title=\"iTunes: File &gt; Display Duplicates\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2012\/04\/iTunes1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"378\" height=\"513\" srcset=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2012\/04\/iTunes1.jpg 378w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2012\/04\/iTunes1-221x300.jpg 221w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 378px) 100vw, 378px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>2. From here, you can choose to <strong>check off any duplicate files that you want to delete<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-24304\" href=\"http:\/\/onsoftware.en.softonic.com\/how-to-locate-and-delete-duplicate-files-in-itunes\/screen-shot-2012-04-06-at-10-11-33-am\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-24304\" title=\"iTunes: Check off duplicates for deletion\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2012\/04\/Screen-shot-2012-04-06-at-10.11.33-AM.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"414\" height=\"208\" srcset=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2012\/04\/Screen-shot-2012-04-06-at-10.11.33-AM.jpg 414w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2012\/04\/Screen-shot-2012-04-06-at-10.11.33-AM-300x150.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 414px) 100vw, 414px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Alternatively, can also sort your duplicate files by the Date Added to separate an entire set of them by the same artist.<\/p>\n<p>3. Once you\u2019ve chosen all of the duplicates you want to remove, <strong>highlight each file<\/strong> in question by selecting it. Then right click (or command click if you\u2019re on a Mac), and choose <strong>Delete<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-24305\" href=\"http:\/\/onsoftware.en.softonic.com\/how-to-locate-and-delete-duplicate-files-in-itunes\/screen-shot-2012-04-06-at-10-15-56-am\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-24305\" title=\"iTunes: Highlight files for deletion\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2012\/04\/Screen-shot-2012-04-06-at-10.15.56-AM.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"440\" height=\"445\" srcset=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2012\/04\/Screen-shot-2012-04-06-at-10.15.56-AM.jpg 440w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2012\/04\/Screen-shot-2012-04-06-at-10.15.56-AM-296x300.jpg 296w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 440px) 100vw, 440px\" \/><\/a>That\u2019s all there is to manually locating and eliminating duplicate files in iTunes.<\/p>\n<p>You can also<strong> make use of other software programs to help you organize your library<\/strong> in a variety of different ways, including getting rid of pesky duplicates.<\/p>\n<p>For PC users, check out our selection of <a href=\"http:\/\/en.softonic.com\/windows\/audio-organize\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Audio Organizers<\/strong><\/a>. <a href=\"http:\/\/tuneup-lite.en.softonic.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>TuneUp Media<\/strong><\/a> is a particular favorite that, in addition to searching out duplicate files, can also help you <strong>add in missing album artwork<\/strong>,<strong> locate mislabeled tracks<\/strong> and more.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/tuneup-media.en.softonic.com\/mac\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">TuneUp Media<\/a><\/strong> and <a href=\"http:\/\/dupin.en.softonic.com\/mac\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Dupin<\/strong><\/a> are great options if you&#8217;re using a Mac. Give our <a href=\"http:\/\/dupin-lite.en.softonic.com\/mac\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Library and Playlist<\/strong><\/a> section for Macs a look for even more great organization options.<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019re now well on your way to having a better organized iTunes library! <strong>What are your programs of choice to help keep your iTunes library clean?<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>iTunes revolutionized the way people purchased and listened to music on their computers. Though that&#8217;s old news to most people by now, if you\u2019re anything like me, you probably have thousands of songs now stored in your iTunes library. Issues with duplicate items appearing in your iTunes library can sometimes arise, particularly in instances where &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/how-to-locate-and-delete-duplicate-files-in-itunes\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;How to: locate and delete duplicate files in iTunes&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2028,"featured_media":24302,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","wpcf-pageviews":0},"categories":[2441],"tags":[2380],"usertag":[],"vertical":[],"content-category":[],"class_list":["post-24295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-how-to","tag-app-subdomain-redirectionitunes"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24295","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2028"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24295"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24295\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":333856,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24295\/revisions\/333856"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24295"},{"taxonomy":"usertag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/usertag?post=24295"},{"taxonomy":"vertical","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vertical?post=24295"},{"taxonomy":"content-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content-category?post=24295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}