14 DAY TRIAL // Duplicates play an important role in your computer's performance. And I do not mean this in a good way. They will clutter your system and the more dupes you have the slower the performance of the machine. Combine the duplicates with a tough fragmentation of the files and you've got yourself a computer that will no longer behave the way it should be. Slow runs and eternal searching for files is what you get.
The only viable solution available is getting yourself a duplicate finder and delete all the clones on your computer. The Internet is filled with such software and usually the prices are not that high. But sometimes you can get to pay up to $35 for such an utility. However, there are cheaper softwares and even free ones. Of course, the options available in each tool are proportionate to the price. On the other hand, let's face it: you are never going to use all the functions provided by the program, so if you are not a computer cleaning maniac, a nice Duplicate II application is perfect to maintaining your machine.
Its predecessor is Duplicate Free Edition which, as the name suggests, is free and does the job pretty good. Duplicate II is the improved version and, as you may have expected, more expensive. The price is $5.50 so don?t worry about the wallet here.
The changes made to the free edition, which is also available, are not extraordinary, but the developer has succeeded into bringing the application to a more daily use from part of the users. The same three types of scans are preserved and the resource controls are still available. However, minor delightful changes have been added, beginning with the interface.
The duplicate and original elements are no longer presented in that chaotic view that took you forever to make the difference. A two pane view is now available and in one of them there is the original file while in the other there are displayed the duplicates.
In addition, a comparison of files can be executed. This way, you can run a check to see if items in one directory are to be found in another. The option is highly productive when you are looking for duplicate audio or video files. My music collection is as large as 93GB and I am sure that the same song is to be found in a dozen of different other folders on my computer. One thing to mention here: when typing in the file extensions you want to add, be sure to type them like in a Total Commander search (asterisk before the extension type).
Also, a new feature is selecting the file type. The user can now choose to look for duplicates of compiled binary files, formatted text files (CSV, TAB delimited), image files, Microsoft Office documents, mp3 files or videos, .NET source items or C and C++ source files. This option addresses all the computer users no matter the activity fields they are engaged in.
The context menu on right clicking an element in the results list is also different from the anterior free version of Duplicate. The ?Open? option allows opening either the original or the duplicate, but the innovation resides in the fact that you can open both elements at once. The same actions are available for the ?Delete? function (in Duplicate II these options are compacted under one ?root? menu).
Besides the three scan options also available in the previous version, there are two types of scans that regard the amount of time they need to complete the check. ?Slow? will ignore the file size while ?Fast? is designed to scan only files with the same file size.
The Good
The application has brought some improvement in comparison with the free version. And the customization of the file types is a big plus for Duplicate II.
Displaying the duplicates on two separate columns is more helpful then listing them one after another the only difference being the color.
The price is absolutely fabulous for such an utility.
The Bad
Maybe adding some duplicate filters will be part of the project for the next edition of Duplicate.
The Truth
The application works great and moves pretty fast. Customizing the extensions to look for definitely adds to its value. However, the application is still at the beginning and there are some things missing. Taking a look at the competition will be helpful. Here are some hints: EF Duplicate Files Manager, Duplicate File Detector, Duplicate File Detective.
Here are some snapshots of the application in action:
