Altova DiffDog 2025 Professional Edition

Find Duplicate Files

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DiffDog enables you to locate duplicate files in a directory. Only items with the same names and contents are considered duplicates.

 

To search for duplicate files in a directory, take the steps below:

 

1.Click the icFindDuplFiles toolbar command. Alternatively, select the menu item File | Find Duplicate Files. A new Find Duplicate Files window will open.

2.Supply the path to a directory that you want to search for duplicates. You can do this in any of the following ways:

 

By typing the path in the text field and clicking the ic_apply (Apply) button or Enter.

By selecting the relevant path from the drop-down list of the text field.

By clicking the ic_open (Open) button and selecting the relevant path. When you click the Open button, you can browse for local or remote directories. To select a remote directory, click Switch to URL. This will open the Browse for Web dialog, in which you will need to supply the URL and, if applicable, the identification details. For more information, see Switch to URL.

 

3.The contents of the directory will be displayed. In case the ic_autostart-comparison (Autostart Comparison) toolbar command is toggled off, launch the Find Duplicate Files functionality by pressing the ic_start-comparison toolbar command or F5. You can now browse through the list of duplicates, copy their names and paths, and delete them if necessary. You can also filter out empty directories and files without duplicates, by clicking the corresponding toolbar commands (described below).

 

Overview of the Find Duplicate Files window

The screenshot below illustrates the Find Duplicate Files window. DiffDog has scanned the C:\Test directory and found 377 files that have duplicates. The status and the number of files with duplicates are displayed at the bottom of the Find Duplicate Files window.

dd_findduplfileswindow_zoom60

Toolbar commands

The Find Duplicate Files window has the following duplicate-specific toolbar commands:

 

icShowDuplFiles

This command enables you to show/hide files that have no duplicates.

 

icShowEmptyFold

This command enables you to show/hide empty directories.

 

icAbsolRelPaths

This command enables you to show absolute or relative paths to duplicate files.

 

icExpandAll

Clicking this button expands the entire tree. To expand/collapse individual folders, double-click a folder of interest.

 

icCollapseAll

Clicking this button collapses the entire tree.

 

icDeleteDuplicate

This command deletes the duplicate file you have selected. You can also delete files using the Delete key and via the context menu of a file.

 

 

Table structure and duplicate management

The contents of a directory are displayed in tabular format. The table has the following columns: <Name>, Paths of Duplicate Files, Size, and Last Modified. If a file has duplicates, the links to them will be shown. Clicking a link forwards you to the corresponding duplicate.

 

When you click on the name of a file that has duplicates, the file and its duplicates will be shown in red (screenshot above). When you right-click a file, you can perform the following actions:

 

Copy the file name

Copy the full path to the file

Delete the file (which is also possible via the toolbar and the Delete key)

 

Options

You can configure various settings related to the handling of duplicates, such as delete options and notifications. For details, see DiffDog Options.

 

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