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Announce Your Software/Service/Product / Re: Find and remove duplicate files
« on: April 08, 2008, 11:19 AM »
Even if it feels better to read positiv reviews than negaitve the latter ones are perhaps more valuable as it enables us to improve our software.
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- Filters don't function 100%
From the help file "The clones list to the right of the result list shows all folders that shares content (clone files or folders containing shared clones) with the folder selected in the result list."
I've filtered out *.ini and yet when I select a folder in the result list that has only 6 clones, I see a whole bunch of folders (totaling to over 100 clones) in the clones list - I'm assuming this is because of all the desktop.ini dupes which haven't been filtered. The filtered files also show in the bottom pane.
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I am not sure about what the problem with the filter might be but I do believe that it is not a bug but rather that you do not like the behaviour of the filter. The idea is that the filter only excludes folders and files from the result list. So when you exclude *.ini from your result you will not see any folders containing only *.ini duplicates and no other duplicates. If you have a folder with both *.ini duplicates and other duplicates you will see it and when you select it you will also see all related folders including those that are related through *.ini duplicates.
The reason is that we think it is misleading to show the folder as having less related folders and content than it really has. We also thought that it might be confusing if we had excluded file types from the twin browser as it might seem odd that folders that looks like they have the exact same content in reality did not have that as they had differences in files that where not visible due to the filter.
I can however see your problem too. We will try to get some more user input and see they think this is a good approach or if we should exclude the folders from the "Clones List" and the twin browser as well.
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- I selected show only clone files but the right hand bottom pane still shows all files, this is a nightmare situation if you have hundreds or thousands of files in that folder.
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To me it seems like it works but if not I am interested in solving this problem.
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- The bottom pane columns do not sort as one would expect them to when the column headers are clicked.
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Nope there is no sorting of the twin browser. It is on the wish list for a future release.
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I didn't find the folder based approach particularly useful either, just the opposite, infact. After getting really frustrated with it I fired up Easy Duplicate Finder, a freeware alternative - and it did the scan in a fraction of the time and gave me the results in a really intuitive format - the column sorting works - I can sort by folder (it shows paths) and click "select all dupes in this folder", which is a way more functional folder-based approach.
I'm sorry for being so harsh but IMO, Clone Tools is confusing, frustrating and, at $40 in a category where there are really decent freeware alternatives available, over-priced. Maybe I slipped up somewhere and could not fully exploit the functionality but I did spend time reading the tutorial, I'm sure you won't hesitate in setting me right if that's the case. Wink
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If you like the folder based approach or not is perhaps a matter of taste and also to some extent on what kind of duplicate problem you have, ie only some duplicated files here and there or entire duplicated folder structures. Obviousy a program like Clone Tools requires a bit more of a learning effort since working with folders is more complicated than working with files only. Operating an excavator takes some more time to learn than than operating a spade but once you get the hang of it it enables you to dig faster (depending on the size of the hole).
The corresponding operation to "select all dupes in this folder" would be the "Delete all shared clones" button although it is not exactly the same since it only deletes the shared content with the selected folder in the result list. The fastest way to delete clones is to locate your "master folder" that you want to keep and select that one in the result list (you can unse the funny looking button with a folder and a pair of glasses for that). Then either delete all shared clones in the other folders with shared content or merge them with the master folder using the buttons above the "Clones List". If you want to keep a folder still containing duplicate files then use your right mouse button and select "Ignore this file/folder in the result list" so that you dont have to see it in the result list any more.
Regarding the scan speed, my guess is that the scan with Easy Duplicate Finder was much faster since you had already scanned the folder with Clone Tools and thus put the content in the RAM cache. Try them the other way around.
Today we have added a video tutorial to our site that might be of help.
Thank you for your input and taking time to test our program.
<<
- Filters don't function 100%
From the help file "The clones list to the right of the result list shows all folders that shares content (clone files or folders containing shared clones) with the folder selected in the result list."
I've filtered out *.ini and yet when I select a folder in the result list that has only 6 clones, I see a whole bunch of folders (totaling to over 100 clones) in the clones list - I'm assuming this is because of all the desktop.ini dupes which haven't been filtered. The filtered files also show in the bottom pane.
>>
I am not sure about what the problem with the filter might be but I do believe that it is not a bug but rather that you do not like the behaviour of the filter. The idea is that the filter only excludes folders and files from the result list. So when you exclude *.ini from your result you will not see any folders containing only *.ini duplicates and no other duplicates. If you have a folder with both *.ini duplicates and other duplicates you will see it and when you select it you will also see all related folders including those that are related through *.ini duplicates.
The reason is that we think it is misleading to show the folder as having less related folders and content than it really has. We also thought that it might be confusing if we had excluded file types from the twin browser as it might seem odd that folders that looks like they have the exact same content in reality did not have that as they had differences in files that where not visible due to the filter.
I can however see your problem too. We will try to get some more user input and see they think this is a good approach or if we should exclude the folders from the "Clones List" and the twin browser as well.
<<
- I selected show only clone files but the right hand bottom pane still shows all files, this is a nightmare situation if you have hundreds or thousands of files in that folder.
>>
To me it seems like it works but if not I am interested in solving this problem.
<<
- The bottom pane columns do not sort as one would expect them to when the column headers are clicked.
>>
Nope there is no sorting of the twin browser. It is on the wish list for a future release.
<<
I didn't find the folder based approach particularly useful either, just the opposite, infact. After getting really frustrated with it I fired up Easy Duplicate Finder, a freeware alternative - and it did the scan in a fraction of the time and gave me the results in a really intuitive format - the column sorting works - I can sort by folder (it shows paths) and click "select all dupes in this folder", which is a way more functional folder-based approach.
I'm sorry for being so harsh but IMO, Clone Tools is confusing, frustrating and, at $40 in a category where there are really decent freeware alternatives available, over-priced. Maybe I slipped up somewhere and could not fully exploit the functionality but I did spend time reading the tutorial, I'm sure you won't hesitate in setting me right if that's the case. Wink
>>
If you like the folder based approach or not is perhaps a matter of taste and also to some extent on what kind of duplicate problem you have, ie only some duplicated files here and there or entire duplicated folder structures. Obviousy a program like Clone Tools requires a bit more of a learning effort since working with folders is more complicated than working with files only. Operating an excavator takes some more time to learn than than operating a spade but once you get the hang of it it enables you to dig faster (depending on the size of the hole).
The corresponding operation to "select all dupes in this folder" would be the "Delete all shared clones" button although it is not exactly the same since it only deletes the shared content with the selected folder in the result list. The fastest way to delete clones is to locate your "master folder" that you want to keep and select that one in the result list (you can unse the funny looking button with a folder and a pair of glasses for that). Then either delete all shared clones in the other folders with shared content or merge them with the master folder using the buttons above the "Clones List". If you want to keep a folder still containing duplicate files then use your right mouse button and select "Ignore this file/folder in the result list" so that you dont have to see it in the result list any more.
Regarding the scan speed, my guess is that the scan with Easy Duplicate Finder was much faster since you had already scanned the folder with Clone Tools and thus put the content in the RAM cache. Try them the other way around.
Today we have added a video tutorial to our site that might be of help.
Thank you for your input and taking time to test our program.
We are also always interested in user input so if anyone decides to test the program then we would be very happy if you told us about your experiences.
