Photos and media files are the biggest space takers on the hard disk, especially when you have one item copied to different folders under various names. In this case you should spend a great deal of time to find these copies and get rid of them. In this article I will advise you the easiest ways to find duplicate files manually when it is possible, and review several apps that I found quite useful when performed thorough cleaning on my Mac: MacKeeper Duplicates Finder, PhotoSweeper and iPhoto Library Manager.

Here are the main tips on how to erase the unnecessary files from your Mac without much fuss and bother:

Step 1: Delete Duplicates From ITunes

iTunes library is the first place to check for duplicates. It can be a time-consuming task to find these files one by one, but now I will show you how to erase them all at once depending on different parameters.

If you added media files to the library and know when you did it, just sort your list from the newest to the oldest files by clicking the “Data Added” tab. Thus you can delete the latest files in one click.

Otherwise, click View > Show Duplicate Items. This step will show you all identical files that are stored in the library according to the artist and the name of the song. If you want to sort the songs by the album as well, hold the Alt key and click View > Show Exact Duplicate Items. Then select the files that you want to delete by clicking Edit > Delete > Done.

Step 2: Delete Duplicate Photos in IPhoto

Unfortunately, there are no built-in tools to remove the identical files in iPhoto at the same time. You can delete them one at a time or use a third-party app, which will categorize the photos according to parameters other than only the name.

Let's have a look at the most popular programs that will help you manage different types of files on your Mac:

Step 3: PhotoSweeper

It is a fast and convenient tool that has a good variety of search and selection criteria. All deleted photos go to the PhotoSweeper Trash folder and wait for final removal.

Step 4: MacKeeper Duplicates Finder

MacKeeper has many cleaning features among which is one that searches for duplicate items. After scanning the hard disk space, the program shows the list of all copied items. MacKeeper also suggests leaving the file that has been recently edited and remove all prior copies by clicking the Dups/Uncheck button.

Step 5: IPhoto Library Manager

Lets you store the photos in several libraries and organize them according to your needs. With this program you can search for duplicates in different libraries, change your filter settings, and move duplicates to the Trash.

Step 6: Apple Support Community Advice

There are also a lot of other duplicate finding programs that are suggested by members of the Apple Support Communities forum.

In most cases, third-party programs are a good choice, especially when you need to find and delete duplicates in the fastest possible way. With this software you can remove gigabytes of files that are stored in different folders and even find the items about which you forgot a long time ago.