Duplicate File Detective Help

Duplicate File Detective allows you to act upon marked duplicate files in a number of ways. Each of these functions is accessible via the application Ribbon Bar.

 

•Move - Allows you to move marked duplicate files to another file system location.

•Zip - Allows you to zip (compress) marked duplicate files.

•Delete - Allows you to delete marked duplicate files. Please use extreme caution when exercising this option (see important note at the bottom of this page).

 

Selecting any of these actions will cause the Duplicate File Manager window to appear. This window allows you to review specifically which files will be impacted by the chosen operation. You can also still change your mind at this point and decide, for example, that you'd prefer to zip a set of duplicate files rather than delete them.

 

Once you've provides the appropriate move, zip, or delete criteria, click the Go button to proceed. Once the selected operations have completed, the Duplicate File Detective results report window will be refreshed to reflect any file system changes that occurred.

 

Note that the Duplicate Result Manager will enact or enforce whatever options are defined within the Protection tab of the global options window.

 

Duplicate Processing Options

 

The following options are available when moving, zipping, or deleting files using the Duplicate File Manager window:

 

When zipping duplicates, delete original files after adding them to zip file
When enabled, this option will delete each file that is added to the target zip file. Note that this option will honor the "Always delete to Windows Recycle Bin" switch explained below.

 

When deleting or moving duplicates, delete parent directories when they become empty

When this option is engaged, each duplicate processing operation that results in the file being moved or deleted will cause that file's parent folder to be evaluated for emptiness. If the parent folder is empty, it will be deleted. The deletion of the folder will honor the "Always delete to Windows Recycle Bin" option described below. Please use this option with care - never assume that a folder is safe to delete merely because it may be empty.

 

Always delete to Windows Recycle Bin

When enabled, this option uses the Windows shell to delete files directly to the Recycle Bin. Please note the following limitations:

oCannot handle extremely long paths (those exceeding 255 characters in length). This is a limitation of the shell in Windows Vista and earlier.

oOperations are subject to configuration of the system Windows Recycle Bin, including available space. When the Recycle Bin fills up, the oldest entries are (permanently) removed. Configure your system Recycle Bin appropriately.

oDeletions to the Recycle Bin are (far) slower than "normal" (those that do not use the Recycle Bin) file deletions, particularly for large numbers of files.

 

When moving duplicates, retain folder structure

When enabled, the folder structure of the source files will be re-created as duplicate files are moved into the target directory. Caution: use of this feature within deeply nested directory structures can create extremely long paths within the target directory (which, in turn, may be difficult for Windows Explorer and other applications to manipulate effectively).

 

When moving duplicates, rename files in order to avoid conflicts

When enabled, any computed target file path that already exists will be renamed to avoid conflicts. When in effect, the resulting file names will be appended with incrementing numerical identifiers (as needed).

 

Replace moved or deleted duplicates with link to unmarked sibling

When enabled, any action that triggers the deletion or movement of a source file will trigger the creation of a link in its place. The resulting link will resolve to the first unmarked file within the same duplicate group. If no such duplicate target exists (e.g. all entries within the same group are marked), this option will have no affect. The following types of links are supported:

oShell shortcuts - Creates .lnk files in place of moved or deleted duplicate files. Such shortcuts can be resolved by most parts of the Windows shell (including Explorer), but some third-party applications may not follow them.

oHard links - Creates hard links in place of moved or deleted duplicate files. Hard links are generally transparent to users and most applications. The primary limitation of  hard links is that they cannot span volumes. In other words, you cannot hard link a file that resides on one physical volume to a file that resides on another.

oSymbolic links - Creates symbolic links in place of moved or deleted duplicate files. Supported only on Windows Vista / Server 2008 and later. Use of this feature also requires that Duplicate File Detective be run from an administrative account "as an administrator" (if needed, right-click on your Duplicate File Detective start menu shortcut and choose "Run as administrator"). Such links can be resolved by most applications running on Vista / Server 2008 or later, and can span volumes (they can even resolve to paths on the network).

 

Halt processing upon occurrence of first duplicate file processing error

By default, errors that occur during duplicate file processing will be accumulated and reported when file processing completes. When this option is engaged, all processing is halted upon the first occurrence of any such error.

 

Tips for Successful Duplicate File Processing

 

1.Always back up source files before enacting duplicate file processing that might affect them.

2.Be sure that you always understand the potential impact of moving or deleting items from any file system.

3.Use the option to delete to the Windows Recycle Bin whenever possible, as it adds an additional safeguard.

4.Pay close attention to any warning messages that appear prior to the execution of duplicate file processing.

5.Consider zipping (rather than deleting) duplicate files for an added level of recoverability.

6.On Windows Vista and later, you may need to run Duplicate File Detective "as an administrator" (right click the shortcut you use to start Duplicate File Detective and choose "Run as administrator") in order to gain sufficient security privileges to process files.

 

Important Notice!

 

Before you move, zip, or delete any files on your system, please be sure that you understand the potential impact of your actions. Removing critical system files, for example, can render your system inoperable. Make sure you understand the purpose of any file system object before altering or removing it. Never assume that a file can be safely archived or removed simply because it is a duplicate.