What's the definition of 'duplicate'

I'n new to Hazel and looking at it for some serious disk organizing/shuffling.

Filename (basename + extension)? That would be my guess.

One thing I'd like to use Hazel for is to reconcile photo sets where a photo gets resized (e.g. for cataloging or web display). In that case, I want to keep the file with the earliest create date or the file with the largest filesize. Any suggestions on how to add that logic?

dave

Hazel only cleans up duplicate files that follow a similar naming scheme. For instance, if you download something twice or copy it in Finder, those programs will tack a number onto the end (sometimes with some punctuation or other text). Hazel will find instances of this and remove the copies.

Your case would need a script of some sort. For one, it's not really a duplicate in that the data in the file is different (different sizes and such). Also, it requires specialized logic that you can't really do with the built-in conditions.

From the Help Center

"Duplicate files
Duplicate files are copies of files created because they were downloaded twice or copied via the Finder. These files usually follow a naming scheme where a number is added, such as "filename-1" or "filename(1)". Hazel can be set to automatically remove these files if they are identical to the original (the version of the file without the added number)."

So does this mean if you have two unrelated files like zipped files with the same name but a number extension they could be deleted? Does it actually check the file itself to make sure it is a duplicate or does it strictly go by name?

It compares file contents before throwing away.

Good to know thanks! I am assuming that means the contents of the file and not things like creation date and other meta data.

Right. It does a byte-by-byte comparison.

Thanks for the updates and the info, keep up the great progress!