"Replace Duplicates" on upload not working, is this a BUG?

James Lyall

When uploading with SM drag-and-drop, three options are presented by a dropdown (top right).
None of these choices works.
When "Replace Duplicates" is selected, the new uploads (with identical filenames to existing) are ADDED IN ADDITION to existing images.
Furthermore, the option dropdown does not become visible until upload has started (I use the pause button to enable option selection).
I know that there have been problems with upload, but these have been resolved recently.

I wish to upload larger images than those existing and would expect the following behaviour:
1. Replace existing smaller images.
2. Inherit the captions and keywords of the existing images.

This must be a common problem. Housekeeping images is impossibly daunting when all the captions and codewords have to entered again.

Please can someone offer help?

rainforest1155

James,
It's by design that the duplicate menu only comes up after you've added your first files as by default it's set to skip duplicates and if it detects a duplicate, it wouldn't do anything unless you were to choose a different setting from the drop down menu.

The duplicate feature is cAsE sensitive. That means it can only work if the filename and its extension matches 100%. For example, if the photo in the gallery is named:
img1000.jpg
the following wouldn't be recognized as duplicates:
Img1000.jpg
img1000.jpeg
img1000.JPG

Also, the duplicate information is only updated when the uploader is loaded. If you use different uploaders / windows uploading to the same gallery or after an upload is done, don't close and reopen the uploader, it may not be able to detect duplicates properly.

As far as I know, replacing a photo using our browser uploader doesn't update metadata, like keywords or EXIF photo info. I'm not sure about captions. If you see any different, contact the HelpDesk with a specific example and details so we can take a closer look.
Same goes for any duplicate issues - please report this to the HelpDesk with specific information so we can investigate.

James Lyall

Sebastian,
Thank you for your response. There is certainly a lack of clarity about the mechanism of action of the SM uploader (the only one I use).
In fact, the file names which I am using are identical (including case).
I have tried uploading a single file, keeping the upload window open, selecting "Replace Duplicates" and uploading more files with exacty same name. This always sucks in duplicates!

I am sure that you can understand my problem: to take advantage of the new system, I want to replace all my images with ones of higher resolution. That involves a complete edit of all captions and keywords - I cannot face it!

Maybe one day SM will address this problem.

Regards,

AperturePlus

Hi James
I have just done this with numerous images and all went up without a hitch.
As Sebastian says, the filenames need to be identical for the images to be replaced (in this case, with your higher res images).
Maybe take one image and check the filename in SM and then reupload it to the same gallery, selecting 'replace duplicates' and see what gives.

Regards
Clive

James Lyall

AperturePlus wrote: »

I have just done this with numerous images and all went up without a hitch.

Hi Clive,
That is most encouraging. I shall try to follow your technique.
Incidentally, did you find that captions and keywords were preserved?
Regards

AperturePlus

Yes on all accounts.

It just replaces the image for the new size and reverting else remains, even the comments if you have any.

James Lyall

AperturePlus wrote: »

Yes on all accounts.

It just replaces the image for the new size and reverting else remains, even the comments if you have any.

Yippee! As you will see from my earlier posting, this is exactly what I have been after.
It occurs to me that there may be an explanation for the behaviour I've experienced.
My images with GPS tags (which is most of them) are given a filename with a "+" added, to distinguish them from those without GPS tags. Example: NOR_023+.jpg
After upload, this is displayed by SmugMug as NOR_023.jpg
Do you think that this may be upsetting the applecart?
I shall experiment. I am optimistic that this is the explanation and solution.

Thank you so much for this stimulus. I am most grateful and shall report back in due course.

Darter02

I had this same problem of replacing duplicates today. I was processing images, and uploading them as I finished. After a couple were already verifed to have been uploaded I noticed in I'd made a cropping error in ACR. I fixed, process out new images, and replaced them on my drives using the same name. I then drug & dropped them into the same uploader that I'd been using. Selected "Replace Duplicates" but still ended up with both files on the site.

Also, the uploader has been crashing a lot in Firefox these days. I have to keep closing the browser, and logging back in. Annoying.

James Lyall

Sebastian and Clive,
At last, I have cracked it! clap
The explanation is interesting and obscure!
Most of my shots have GPS data attached. To identify such images, I routinely append "+" as a suffix to the filename.
It appears that, when uploaded to SM, the "+" is replaced with a space. Having discovered this quirk, I renamed files on my computer by substituting a space for the +.
Uploading the renamed higher res. images went perfectly having selected "Replace Duplicates".
Most important of all, the captions and keywords ARE inherited and not lost.

Thank you for your input.

AperturePlus

Interesting to know that a + is not acceptable for the SM naming convention.

Glad you got it sorted out. James if you use lightroom for processing, the uploading process can be automated with a plugin. It also makes replacing shots a breeze.

WinsomeWorks

James Lyall wrote: »

Sebastian and Clive,
At last, I have cracked it! clap
The explanation is interesting and obscure!
Most of my shots have GPS data attached. To identify such images, I routinely append "+" as a suffix to the filename.
It appears that, when uploaded to SM, the "+" is replaced with a space. Having discovered this quirk, I renamed files on my computer by substituting a space for the +.
Uploading the renamed higher res. images went perfectly having selected "Replace Duplicates".
Most important of all, the captions and keywords ARE inherited and not lost.

Thank you for your input.

I'm glad you found the explanation for your own "Replace Dupes" problem, but you should consider a different workaround. It's not a good idea to have characters other than an Underline or Dash in your filenames... if you ever upload elsewhere or use different programs from what you're using now, you could run into problems there as well. Also, it's not a good idea to have spaces-- in some programs or sites, that's even worse than odd characters. It's a good idea to read a chapter on filename conventions in a book like the DAM book or elsewhere.

But anyway, I'm guessing some others may be having a different cause to their "Replace" problem, as I'd be surprised if all of those having the issue are using a Plus Sign on their files. Thank you for posting, however. I was wondering about this issue.

James Lyall

You are, of course, perfectly correct in what you say. The files with which I was having bother were created many years ago. I inherited the notion of a + sign to designate GPS tagged images for cataloguing using Cumulus and did abandon it a while ago for the reasons that you (wisely) outline.
Now that I see how SM treated these old files with the + suffix, a lesson has been learned.
I hope that my experience has been useful for fellow travellers!