Overview
MediaValet automatically checks your files for exact duplicates as you upload them through the portal, so you can catch copies of assets that are already in your library before they land in it.
Duplicate detection at upload is informational — it never blocks your upload. If matches are found you'll be told about them and given the tools to review them, but you're always free to continue.
This feature is available to all customers, included at no additional charge, and supports all file types.
Looking for duplicates that are already in your library? See How to Identify and Manage Duplicate Assets in MediaValet. This article covers duplicates caught at the moment of upload; that one covers finding and cleaning up duplicates that are already in your DAM.
What Counts as a Duplicate
A duplicate is an exact file match based on the hash (MD5) of the uploaded file. An MD5 hash is a 32-character value calculated from the contents of a file, acting like a fingerprint for that file. Because the hash is derived from the data itself rather than the file name or size, any two files that produce the same MD5 are byte-for-byte identical, and changing even a single bit produces a completely different hash.
- Filenames are irrelevant. A file renamed before upload is still detected as a duplicate.
- Metadata entered within MediaValet (titles, descriptions, keywords, custom attributes) is stored separately from the original file and does not affect duplicate detection.
Note: Embedded metadata (such as EXIF or IPTC data baked into the file itself) is part of the file hash. Two files that are visually identical but contain different embedded metadata will not be flagged as duplicates.
This release detects exact duplicates only. It does not detect visually similar or near-identical images — see What's Not Covered below.
The Upload Banner
A banner at the top of the Upload page keeps you posted on the duplicate check. It has four states.
| Banner | What it means |
|---|---|
| Checking for Duplicates | The check is still running. You can carry on to the next step and upload without waiting. |
| Duplicates Detected | Matches were found. The message tells you how many — for example 3 assets are duplicates of assets already in the DAM — and a View Duplicates button takes you to the Duplicate Assets page. |
| No Duplicates Detected | The check finished and found nothing. Nothing further to do. |
| Duplicate check failed | The check couldn't run — usually a connection problem. Your upload is unaffected, but those files won't have been checked. See the FAQ below. |
- The count covers the files in your current upload that matched assets already in your library.
- Any of these banners can be closed. Once matches have been found, a Duplicates Detected link stays beside the upload tabs so you can reopen the review at any time.
- If you add more files after closing the banner, the check runs again and the banner comes back.
Reviewing on the Duplicate Assets Page
The Duplicate Assets page lists every flagged file in your upload in one place, so you can review them all before deciding what to do.
Alongside the preview, filename and size, a Duplicate Type column shows a status link such as Duplicates Detected (2) — the number is how many matching assets were found in your library.
From this page you can:
- Click the status link to open the Matches Found modal for that file and see what it matched.
- Use the per-row Remove action to take a single file out of your upload.
- Tick the files you want and use Remove Selected, at the top right, to remove just those.
- Use Remove All Duplicates, at the bottom left, to clear every flagged file at once.
- Click Back to Upload at the bottom right to return to your upload and continue.
There are two removal buttons and they do different things, so it's worth knowing which is which:
- Remove Selected (top right) removes only the files you've ticked.
- Remove All Duplicates (bottom left) removes every flagged file in the upload, whether or not you've ticked it.
Both stay greyed out until you've ticked at least one file, and both ask you to confirm first.
Using the Matches Found Modal and Compare Assets
Matches Found modal
Clicking a file's status link opens the Matches Found modal, which shows:
- A preview of the file you're uploading, with its File Name, Format, MD5-Hash, File Size, Dimensions, Categories, Uploaded date and Uploaded by.
- A Duplicates tab listing the matching assets already in your library.
From here you can click through to a matched asset's detail view to inspect it in full, or select a match and choose one of the footer actions. The footer reminds you what Remove Duplicate acts on: Remove the asset you are about to upload.
| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
| Cancel | Closes the modal without making changes |
| Compare Assets | Opens a side-by-side comparison of the two files |
| Remove Duplicate | Removes the incoming file from your upload queue |
Compare Assets
Compare Assets shows the two files side by side — headed Uploaded Asset and Existing Library Asset — with the same attributes listed under each, so you can confirm you're looking at the same asset before you decide.
From the comparison view you can Remove Duplicate to drop the file you're uploading, or Back to Duplicates to return to the list without making changes.
Removing Duplicates
You can remove flagged files from your upload individually — using the per-row Remove action, or Remove Duplicate in the Matches Found modal or Compare Assets view — or in bulk using Remove Selected or Remove All Duplicates on the Duplicate Assets page. You'll be asked to confirm before the removal is applied.
⚠️ Removing here is not deleting. Remove takes the file out of your current upload queue only. It does not touch the matching asset already in your library, and nothing is deleted from your DAM. If you decide you want the file after all, just upload it again. The confirmation dialog says the same thing: This won't affect the other assets already in the DAM.
This is different from managing duplicates that are already in your library, where removing a duplicate permanently deletes the asset and its metadata. See How to Identify and Manage Duplicate Assets in MediaValet before deleting anything from your library.
You are never required to remove a flagged file. If you want to upload it anyway — for example, you intend to keep a copy in a different category — just continue with your upload as normal.
If the Duplicate Check Hasn't Finished
The duplicate check runs in the background while you work through the upload flow. On large uploads it may still be running when you're ready to finish.
If you click Done before the check has completed, a Duplicate Check Still Running dialog appears to let you know. You can:
- Wait for the check to finish and see the results, or
- Continue without the duplicate detection results.
If you continue, the upload completes normally, but those files won't have been checked for duplicates.
Permissions
Any user with upload permissions can use duplicate detection at upload — no additional permission or setting is required.
Duplicate results respect your existing library access. Matches are filtered by your category access permissions, and assets in categories you aren't permitted to view are excluded from your results entirely.
Note: This means two users uploading the same file may see different numbers of matches, depending on which categories each of them can access. This is by design, to preserve library governance.
What's Not Covered
| Not covered | Detail |
|---|---|
| Visually similar / near-duplicate images | MediaValet currently detects exact matches only. Visual similarity detection is planned for the future. |
| API uploads and external drag-and-drop uploads | Duplicate detection at upload applies to the main portal upload flow only. See Setting Up for External Uploads. |
| Frame-level video matching | Videos are checked using hash matching only, the same as every other file type. Visually similar video content is not detected. |
| Creating a version from a duplicate | You can't turn a flagged upload into a new version of the matched asset. Use the standard asset versioning workflow instead. |
| Duplicates within the same upload | If you upload two identical files in a single batch, they are checked against your library but not against each other. |
Frequently Asked Questions
What file types are supported?
All file types are supported. Exact duplicate detection using MD5 hash matching applies to every asset type, including videos and documents.
Why wasn't an obvious duplicate flagged?
Detection requires the file contents to be byte-for-byte identical. If the file in your library was re-exported, re-saved, or modified in any way — including changes to metadata baked into the file itself, such as EXIF or IPTC data — it will produce a different hash and won't be flagged. Visual similarity detection for near-identical images is a planned future release.
Does editing metadata in MediaValet create or remove duplicates?
No. Metadata entered within the MediaValet platform (titles, descriptions, keywords, and so on) is stored separately from the original file and does not change the file hash.
Why do I see fewer matches than a colleague?
Duplicate results are filtered by each user's category access permissions. Matching assets in categories you can't view are excluded from your results entirely.
Does removing a duplicate delete the asset from my library?
No. Removing a flagged file takes it out of your current upload queue only. Nothing in your library is deleted.
Can a duplicate still end up in my library?
Yes. Duplicate detection informs you but never blocks an upload, so you can always choose to go ahead with a flagged file. In addition, if the duplicate check hasn't finished when you click Done and you choose Continue without waiting, those files complete their upload without having been checked.
I saw "Duplicate check failed" — what happened to my upload?
Nothing. The banner means the duplicate check itself couldn't complete, usually because of a connection problem; your files upload as normal. Check your connection and, if it matters, upload again or use the Duplicates tab on the assets afterwards to check for matches in your library.
Does this cover uploads made through the API or external upload links?
No. This release covers the main portal upload flow only.
Can I make the duplicate a new version of the existing asset instead?
Not from the duplicate review screens. If you want to create a new version of an existing asset, use the standard asset versioning workflow.