Duplicate File Detective v3 - Major Feature Highlights
Unicode Support
Duplicate File Detective v3.0 is now Unicode enabled, providing access to files and folders containing Unicode characters.Windows 7 Support
Microsoft Windows 7 (32 and 64 bit) is now fully supported (please see download page for a complete list of supported platforms).Ribbon Command Bar & Theme Support
Duplicate File Detective v3.0 provides an entirely new user interface experience through the inclusion of a new MS Office 2007 style Ribbon bar (click for screen). This design was chosen for its unique ability to expose features and functions to end users while maximizing usable space within the duplicate search results view area. Smart layout capabilities ensure efficient use of space regardless of screen resolution and minimizes the number of clicks required to access key features. The new Ribbon bar also greatly improves keyboard access to all primary application functions. Application themes have also been completely re-designed with new "blue", "silver", "aqua", "scenic", "white" and "black" options now available.Improved Scalability and Efficiency
Duplicate File Detective v3.0 contains significant improvements to speed and efficiency, particularly in the following areas:- Memory utilization has been reduced dramatically. Very large duplicate result sets can now be managed with minimal impact to RAM availability.
- Numerous improvements to internal thread management that speed up duplicate file comparisons (particularly for local file system scans).
- Efficiency and speed of importing existing search
results (in XML format) has been greatly improved.
Improved Search Result Reporting
The display of (and interaction with) Duplicate file search results has been completely re-engineered in Duplicate File Detective v3.0 (click for screen).- Duplicate file groups are now "flattened" and separated with alternating background colors, making better use of available screen real estate.
- Sorting of duplicate report entries has been completely overhauled, with use of an advanced new algorithm that sorts both duplicates and their containing groups into a much more intuitive and user-friendly order.
- The visualization of marked files (those marked for potential further processing) has been greatly improved. Each duplicate file name is now flanked by a checkbox that contains a red cross symbol when the associated file is marked. The name of marked files is also now shown in a lighter font than unmarked files, giving them better contrast.
Improved File Marking Capabilities
Duplicate File Detective's integrated SmartMark technology has been improved as follows:- SmartMarking within the duplicate search result context menu now allows users to mark or un-mark all items within a specific project path. This provides users with a simple means of ensuring that no files within a particular project path are processed (or vice versa).
- SmartMarking across multiple selected files has been greatly enhanced. For example, you can select three duplicate files in different groups, and then elect to mark the first file in each group that contains them.
- The speed and efficiency of SmartMark operations has
increased considerably, working almost instantly on even the
largest search result sets.
Results Filtering Improvements
When a duplicate search job returns a large number of results, it's often helpful to narrow those results down into smaller working sets. Duplicate File Detective v3.0 improves upon existing results filtering support in several very important ways:- Filtering expressions now support the use of wild card characters (e.g. "*.gif" can be used to find all GIF image files).
- Results filtering is now report column specific, making them dramatically faster and more flexible.
- Additions to the report right-click context menu allow
for instant filtering of report items by same name, size,
date, etc.
- Optionally (and by default), the siblings of any matching items are shown while filtering. In other words, if any member of a duplicate file group passes the filter, then the entire duplicate group that contains it will be shown.
- Filtered results can now be persisted by exporting them in HTML or CSV formats.
Duplicate Search Report Pruning
Duplicate file entries can now be removed from the duplicate search report by right-clicking on them and selecting the Remove Item option from the resulting pop-up menu. This feature can be combined with the powerful new Results Filtering capabilities of v3.0, allowing users to quickly isolate a subset of duplicate file entries and prune them from the report without affecting the underlying file system. Also available is the new AutoPrune feature, which automatically scans through the current duplicate search report and removes (prunes) any entries that do not exist in the file system. This allows users to re-import (previously exported) duplicate search results repeatedly, syncing them with the current state of the file system with only a single button click. AutoPrune is also launched automatically after the user takes any duplicate file processing actions (e.g. moving, deleting, or archiving duplicates).Extended Export Capabilities
Exporting duplicate data to HTML or CSV will now retain report view characteristics such as current sorting and filtering. Note that XML export format remains unchanged - it exports all duplicate search data in a manner that supports re-importing at a later date (via File | Import). When exporting duplicate search results, current file markings are now available as an optional export column (click for screen). When exporting in XML format with this option enabled, a subsequent import of this XML will restore the markings. This makes the concept of progressive duplicate file management much more palatable. Duplicate search result XML file exports now store a reference to the current project file (if the project had been previously saved). This value is then queried during XML import operations, and the user is prompted to load the associated project file (if it is present, and if it is different from the currently loaded project).Search Logging
Duplicate File Detective v3.0 can now log various duplicate search events to file. Although this feature should be used sparingly due to it's potential to slow the duplicate search process (as well as create large log files), it can be very useful for understanding which files and folders are included (or skipped) during the search process, as well as how they are compared.Improved Duplicate Search Progress Display
The window that appears during duplicate file search operations now shows two progress bars - one that correlates to the number of files being compared, and another correlating to the number of bytes being compared. This combination of progress bars allows users to get a better overall sense of duplicate search progress, particularly in cases were file contents are being compared.Improved Duplicate Processing Capabilities
Duplicate file processing has been enhanced in a number of important ways (click for screen), including:- Support for creating shell shortcut links when moving or deleting duplicate files.
- When processing (moving, deleting, zipping) duplicate files, Duplicate File Detective checks (by default) to see if any duplicate file groups have all of their entries marked and allows the user to cancel processing operations and review markings before proceeding. Also, such a cancellation will now cause the first duplicate file group with all entries marked to scroll into view (with the first duplicate of the group selected).
- Error handling during results processing has been improved significantly.
- When moving files, the user can elect to retain existing folder structures.
- When moving duplicate files, they can be renamed to avoid destination path conflicts.
Re-Designed File Hash Calculator Tool
The integrated file hash calculator tool (click for screen) has been re-engineered from the ground up to support:- Production of file hash values for multiple paths
- Production of multiple hash types (for each path)
- Context (right-click) menu integration with the duplicate file results report (with support for multiple item selection)
Many More Improvements
Including:- All status bar panes now intelligently resize themselves to their current textual contents, providing more efficient use of space and eliminating unwanted trimming.
- The default docking panel configuration has been altered to be more intuitive.
- New project default exclusion paths have been improved via the addition of a switch for the "common program files" folder. Default exclusions now also include both x64 and x86 paths when running on 64-bit Windows.
- The report data import process now offers an option for launching the auto-pruning process after an import completes successfully.
- Added the ability to create zip archives that contain Unicode file names. This feature can be enabled on the advanced tab of the preferences window, and is disabled by default. Be sure that the zip archive utility you use supports Unicode before using this option.
- The scalability and efficiency of Duplicate File Detective have been improved dramatically. Extremely large duplicate file reports can now be produced without exhausting available system memory.
- A new Welcome Wizard tutorial, designed to be helpful to new users.
- Automatic update checking (occurs in the background when Duplicate File Detective starts up, and can be disabled).
- Support for very long NTFS file paths.
Version 3 Screens
Click a screen shot below to enlarge it.
