How to Use Picasa Duplicate Finder to Delete Duplicate Photos
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Picasa by Google is a free desktop app that helps Windows and Mac users organize and view photos. Picasa is discontinued and replaced by Google Photos, but many people are still using Picasa 3, the last version of it.
This article will answer a question asked by many users: how to find and delete duplicate photos in Picasa. I will share a Picasa duplicate finder to help you easily remove duplicates in bulk.
Cisdem Duplicate Finder
Easy Picasa Duplicate Photo Finder
- Identify duplicate photos, videos, documents, audio files, and all other files
- Detect similar images
- Support Windows PC, Mac, external storage devices, and cloud drives
- Find duplicate files in folders, iTunes, Apple's Music, and Mac's Photos
- Offer 3 modes for you to viewing duplicates, along with side-by-side previews
- Automatically select all but one file for deletion in each group of duplicates, enabling you to eliminate all duplicates at once
- Allow you to adjust selections manually or choose from 8 rules (e.g., Select Newest)
- Help you easily remove duplicates from Picasa
- Easy to use and customize
FAQs
Checking out these FAQs can help you better understand and deal with duplicates in your Picasa.
Where are my photos stored in Picasa?
Picasa does not store your photos! The photos you see in Picasa are stored in their original folders or the Photos library (on a Mac), so are the duplicate photos.
The same photo appears in both the Flowers album and the Desktop folder. Are these considered duplicates?
No, they are not duplicates. The actual photo resides in the Desktop folder only. You can consider the appearance in the Flowers album a shortcut pointing to the actual photo.
Does Picasa offer a tool to help users handle duplicates?
Yes, such a tool exists. However, Picasa itself labels it an experimental tool and for a reason. In the tests, the tool failed to find all duplicates. Also, it doesn’t help you remove them, and you need to delete them one by one.
Is there a way to prevent Picasa from importing duplicates?
Yes. Here's how. Choose Options from Picasa's Tools menu. Then, select the Detect duplicates while importing checkbox.
How to use Picasa's built-in duplicate finder
In Picasa, there is an experimental tool to help users identify duplicate photos. However, it can't find all duplicates. In the test, it found 1,706 duplicates, whereas a professional duplicate photo finder found 2,474 duplicates.
However, it doesn't help with the removal process. You need to delete unwanted duplicates one by one.
1. Open Picasa. Go to the Tools menu.
2. Choose Experimental > Show Duplicate Files.
3. In the upper left corner of the Picasa window, click Search results. Now, you will see groups of duplicate pictures.
4. Go through the results and manually select the unwanted photo(s) in each group of duplicates.
5. When you finish selecting duplicates, right-click, and choose Delete from Disk. Then, confirm it by clicking Delete Items.
Now, select duplicates are moved to the Recycle Bin (Windows) or Trash (Mac) and disappear in your Picasa app.
How to use a Picasa duplicate finder with bulk removal
As mentioned, the photos (including duplicates) you see in the Picasa app are stored in the folders on your computer. By using Cisdem Duplicate Finder, which offers automatic duplicate detection and allows bulk removal, deleting duplicates from these folders, you can clean up duplicates in Picasa.
1. Download and install Cisdem Duplicate Finder. Open this app.
Free Download Windows 10 or later 
Free Download macOS 10.11 or later
2. Use drag and drop or the Add button to add folders (or your Photos library if it's a Mac) to the app.
Note
What if you can't remember which folders you used as the source folders in Picasa? Don't worry. Choose Folder Manager from Picasa's Tools menu, then view the folders there.
3. Click Scan.
4. Once the scan is done, go to the Images tab. You can sort, preview and view the found Picasa duplicate photos.
5. This Picasa duplicate photo finder already smartly and automatically selects all duplicates for you to remove with a click.
If you want, you can select or deselect by hand. Or, choose a desired selection rule.
6. Click Delete and then confirm it to send all selected duplicates to the Recycle Bin or Trash, depending on your operating system.
Conclusion
If you always use Picasa to import your photos, the duplicate detection may help prevent many duplicates from being created, which is good. However, duplicate photos can be there due to various reasons. Once you have them in your folders and libraries, they can appear in Picasa, making it less easy to organize and view photos.
Picasa’s own duplicate image finding tool is not of much help. The good news is that Picasa duplicate finder such as Cisdem Duplicate Finder can really help. Regardless of the tool you use, understanding how Picasa works can help you handle duplicates in an easier and reliable manner.
With a passion for tech and writing, Sarah joined Cisdem, where she focuses on creating articles about using utility tools to enhance file management and simplify contact management.
Adrian Li is Cisdem’s Chief Engineer and serves as the editorial advisor for Duplicate Finder and ContactsMate. His work and insights have been featured in leading tech publications such as Fossbytes, TUAW, Redmond Pie, SafetyDetectives, and BestForAndroid.