This is the first website I'm using K2 on. Whenever I choose an "item image", the K2 media manager creates a copy of the image with a long filename (e.g. 339a0e1449b6b4062056bc300d87e893.jpg) in the "src" folder. The new image stays in the media manager as long as the image is associated with an item in the "item image" tab.

I understand that it creates re-sized versions in the "cache" folder, but I feel like it shouldn't be doing this in the src folder. Not only does it clutter up the folder, but if the user later inserts this image into the normal editable area of an item then the link will break as soon as the original image is removed from the original "item image" tab (since the image will then be automatically deleted from the media manager) .

Is there some setting that to stop this double up in the src folder or is there an issue with my install of K2? The front end of the website doesn't even use this new image when it displays the item, it pulls the images out of the cache folder instead.

The only forum post i could see directly related to this was getk2.org/community/New-to-K2-Ask-here-first/6386-K2-item-image-media-management-for-client.

I'm using K2 v2.6.2 and Joomla 2.5.7. The src folder is in the original location at media\k2\items\src.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Its best to let k2 handle its images as it wishes.
Make a directory for other images that you will be inserting directly into the content and use that directory
It will be ok to have the same image for both uses when your users can "get at it" from a directory that is specifically for content images.
K2 images are intended to match item id's and come in several sizes for use in the category and item views of k2 "in every instance" the same way, unless you mess with the inherited paramaters at the item level

Thanks William. I've redirected the main images folder back to Joomla's default (/images) and that fixes the problem