First: What counts as a duplicate?

Duplicate handling is a PhotoMove Pro feature. Before you choose what happens to duplicates, tell PhotoMove how strict to be. In the main window, open the duplicate options and look for:

Files Are Duplicates If:

File Names Match

PhotoMove treats two files as duplicates when the file names are the same — for example, both are named IMG_1234.jpg. This is the fastest option.

⚠️ Caution: Different photos can share a name (cameras reuse numbers, or you kept the same name on an edited copy). Name-only matching can flag files that are not the same picture.

All Exif and Exact File Contents Match

PhotoMove compares the actual file contents (and related EXIF data), not just the name. Two files count as duplicates only when they are the same picture byte-for-byte. Renamed copies of the same unedited file still match; edited or different photos do not — even if the names match.

💡 Recommended when you want the safest result and can spare a little extra processing time.

Want the full explanation (including how the digital fingerprint works)? See Understanding PhotoMove’s Duplicate Photo Detection.

Then: What happens when there is a conflict?

After PhotoMove decides a file is a duplicate — or that the destination already has a file with that name — the If Duplicate File Names Found dropdown tells it what to do next.

When organizing thousands of photos, it is extremely common to run into a “File Collision”. This happens when PhotoMove tries to place a photo into your organized destination folder, but a matching file is already there.

Here is what each dropdown option does:

Option 1: Do Not Move or Copy

This is the safest and most common choice. If PhotoMove sees that a file already exists in the destination folder, it will simply skip the current file and leave it right where it is.

💡 Best for: Routine backups where you might be scanning the same SD card or folder multiple times and only want to copy the new photos you haven’t processed yet.

Option 2: Add ‘-Copy###’, then Move or Copy

If you choose this, PhotoMove will keep both files. It will take the new file, add a numbered counter to the end of its name (for example, changing IMG_1234.jpg to IMG_1234-Copy001.jpg), and place it in the destination folder right next to the original.

💡 Best for: Situations where you know two completely different cameras might have generated photos with the exact same filename (like DSC_0001.jpg) on the exact same day.

Option 3: Overwrite the Existing File

This tells PhotoMove to delete the older file sitting in the destination folder and replace it completely with the new file it is currently moving or copying.

⚠️ Warning: Use this with extreme caution! If the files have the same name but are actually different photos, the original photo in the destination folder will be permanently replaced.

Undo will not help here. Undo Last Copy/Move reverses only the last batch from PhotoMove’s log — it does not restore the destination file that Overwrite replaced. PhotoMove may warn you before permanent changes. If you are unsure, use Do Not Move or Copy, -Copy###, or a Duplicates folder instead.

Option 4: Move to specified Duplicates Folder

Instead of skipping, renaming, or deleting the file, PhotoMove will redirect the “extra” file into a totally separate Duplicates folder that you specify right below in the dropdown.

💡 Why we like this option: It keeps your main, organized photo library perfectly clean, while safely piling all of your potential duplicates into one folder. You can easily open that Duplicates folder later and decide what to keep and what to delete on your own time.