Duplicate Cleaner is a Windows program from DigitalVolcano Software that finds repeated files on internal disks, external and network drives and portable devices such as phones. It then lets the user delete, move or replace the extra copies. It is meant for personal documents, photos, music, video and backups rather than system folders. Duplicate Cleaner Pro is a paid program with a time-limited trial; a free edition covers basic exact-match detection and deletion.
Scan modes for files, photos, music and video
Each scan in Duplicate Cleaner starts with a mode. Regular mode works on any file type. Its same-content option groups files with identical contents regardless of name or date. It compares them byte by byte or by a hash fingerprint such as MD5 or SHA-256. With content ignored, it matches on name, extension, size, dates or folder name, with tolerances for size and time. Pro adds similar-content matching with a percentage threshold.
Image mode compares pictures visually, so a JPEG and a resized PNG of the same photo can end up in one group. Matching runs from exact pixel identity through preset similarity levels to a custom percentage. Options catch rotated and flipped copies, require the same dimensions or aspect ratio, and group shots taken within seconds of each other or within a GPS radius. They also compare tags such as camera model. Camera RAW and PSD files can be included.
Audio mode matches music by sound or by tags. Similarity settings fingerprint the first 15 seconds, the first two minutes or the whole track and tolerate differences in quality and length. The program can match tags such as artist, title and album exactly or by similar text. Video mode samples frames from six points in each file or compares the soundtrack, stream hashes, duration or metadata. It works across formats such as MP4, MKV, AVI and MOV.
Choosing folders and drives to compare
Locations come from a tree of drives and devices, Explorer drag-and-drop or typed network paths. You can include or exclude each folder and protect it so its files can never be marked. Each folder can also have its own matching rule: compare against everything, only inside itself, only against other locations, or act as a master. When you set a folder as master, files elsewhere only appear if they duplicate something in it. This is how Duplicate Cleaner checks a working folder against a reference drive. A remaining files list shows the opposite: files with no copy elsewhere, such as items missing from a backup.
Scans can skip system and hidden folders and look inside ZIP, RAR, 7Z and other archives. Filters limit a scan by file type, size, dates or media dimensions.
A virtual folder stores a snapshot of a drive, disc or slow network share as a database of file records and hashes. Regular mode scans can then compare against it while the original is disconnected. The snapshot holds no file contents, so it cannot serve as a backup.
Reviewing results with the Selection Assistant
Results appear as numbered groups, each holding every copy of one file. You can show the list as details or thumbnails, sort it and filter it by search. It also has an image preview window and a built-in audio and video player.
A tick marks a file for later action. The Selection Assistant marks in bulk: all but one file per group, all but one per folder, or all but one matching set. Ordered preferences decide which copy stays. These include newest date, largest size or dimensions, longest duration, folder depth or a value in any column. Other tools mark by text, regular expression or location, and you can undo the last operation. Duplicate Cleaner warns when every copy in a group is marked.
A duplicate folders view groups identical folders, largest first, judged only on files within the scan criteria.
Deleting, moving or linking duplicates
Duplicate Cleaner sends marked files to the Recycle Bin or deletes them permanently. Files in archives, on removable drives or network shares may bypass the bin. Empty folders left behind can be removed. Pro can also move, copy or rename marked files.
Instead of removing a copy, Duplicate Cleaner Pro can replace it with a link to the file kept in its group. A Windows shortcut needs no special setup. A symbolic link requires running as administrator. A hard link works only on NTFS within one volume.
Duplicate Cleaner logs every operation, and Pro exports results as CSV or batch files.
Saved scans, wizards and extra tools
Duplicate Cleaner can save and load scans, so you can keep and reuse several scan setups. Wizards apply preset mode and criteria combinations. Pro scans can run from the command line, and a toolkit adds empty-folder removal and file hashing.
Free edition compared with Pro
The free edition finds identical files by content, name, size and date, shows them in a detail list and deletes them. It also includes the folder protection and system-folder safeguards. Similar-content matching, image, audio and video comparison, duplicate folders, master and remaining files, and archives belong to Duplicate Cleaner Pro. Pro also includes most filters, previews, the Selection Assistant, moving, linking and export. A Pro license is perpetual.
