Duplicate files - how to set the preferred 'master' folder

[disorganise]

I had assumed that the first folder in the list of the duplicate file finder would be the 'master' - i.e., the one that is not selected for delete. But that seems to be not the case, as can be seen here:

What I want is for the selection to automatically be more like this:

obviously the 'nextcloud' folder would be at the top since it is auto-unselected, but I'm sure you get the idea.

How do I do this? Right clicking the folder in the duplicate panel only gives the option to remove or cancel. Going through the list manually is almost as painful as just reviewing all the photos manually in the first place

[Leo]

Duplicate File Finder - mark duplicates in specific folder

Opus always keeps the first file in each group and marks the others for deletion. So you can sort the results list by path or location to influence which folder things are kept in. (We plan to make it easier, and more explicit, to control which fol…

Although that may be difficult with four folders, if the one you want doesn't naturally sort to the top or bottom.

(We will be improving this in the longer term future.)

[disorganise]

ok....how does it determine the sort order? Is it the entire path?

i.e., could I do a work around and share my 'nexctloud' folder and them map it as drive 'a' on the assumption a:\nextcloud would come before z:\backups

[Leo]

If you sort by the Location column then that should work, yes.

[disorganise]

And a secondary/related question....
Is there a way to determine duplicate folders? I know I've likely taken the same backup of an SD card over and over, and probably didn't keep a consistent naming convention across the various drives. Doing a wildcard search at the root of each drive can be quite dangerous, but gaining a list of matching folders would help narrow the search.
Also....if I choose the root of a drive, can I exclude a particular folder, or is it a case of ticking all the folders except that one? (just thinking a wildcard exclude windows for example, might be useful no matter the drive letter it was discovered)

[disorganise]

that works

I actually shared the 'Z' drive and mapped that as 'A' so then I could select whichever folder I want as master via the 'A' path, and everything else via the normal 'Z' path

[Leo]

@disorganise

Is there a way to determine duplicate folders?

Not using the built-in tool. You'd need to write a script or something to do that, but it'd probably be reasonably complicated.

@disorganise

can I exclude a particular folder

You can use the Filter option on the right of the Duplicate Finder panel to exclude things by full path or location.