Araxis Find Duplicate Files is really simple to use. Just follow the four steps below.
Find Duplicate Files enables you to delete the duplicates that you find. Your data is important, so please be sure to read
and understand the cautions in Step 4 before you delete any files.
1. Choose which folders to scan
Drop the folders to scan from Finder onto the Folders to be scanned table.
Alternatively, add folders to the table using the Add Folders 
button in the toolbar at the top of the application window.
Folders are scanned in the order listed in the table, from the top down. The scanning order affects which duplicates the Select Duplicate Items button will choose, as described below in step 4. You can drag folders in the list to re-arrange them.
You can remove folders by selecting them and then clicking on the 
button on the right-hand top edge of the table.
If you regularly wish to search a particular set of folders, you can save your folder list using the Save command in the File menu.
2. Review Preferences
Click the 
toolbar button to open the Preferences window. This window contains settings to customize the behavior of Find Duplicate Files. When you are happy with the settings,
close the window.
Include these file kinds in search results
You can configure the application to only look for duplicates of certain types of file. The table contains a list of common
types of file. Use the check boxes to select the types of file to look for. You can add and remove file types using the 
and buttons to the right of the table.
You can double-click in the Kind and Pattern or UTI columns to edit them. The values in the Pattern or UTI column are used to match files based on their name or type. To match files by name, use wildcard patterns as shown below:
| Kind | Pattern | Description |
|---|---|---|
| JPEG and PNG files | *.jpg,*.jpeg,*.png | Files with an extension of .jpeg, .jpg, or .png |
| .tmp files | *.tmp | Files with an extension .tmp |
| DSC*.jpg files | DSC*.jpg | Files beginning with DSC and with an extension .jpg |
| Makefiles | Makefile | Files named Makefile |
| Photos/*.raw files | Photos/*.raw | Files with an extension .raw at the top level of folders named Photos |
| Photos/**.raw files | Photos/**.raw | Files with an extension .raw at any level under folders named Photos |
To match files based on their type, you can enter a UTI (Uniform Type Identifier) prefixed with uti:. A list of system-declared UTIs can be found on the Apple website 
. Third-party applications can also declare their own UTIs in addition to those listed on that page.
When deleting files
You can choose what happens to files when you delete them using Find Duplicate Files. You can either have them moved to the Trash, or moved to a folder. This latter option enables you to move duplicate files to a holding area (preserving their relative hierarchy), pending later deletion when you are sure you no longer need them. Click on the folder path to change the folder to which files will be moved.
3. Go!
Click on the Scan Folders 
button in the toolbar. As the scan proceeds, progress is reported at the bottom of the application window.
4. Work with the scan results
When the scan is complete, any duplicate files found are displayed in the Items found in the last scan table. A file and its duplicates are assigned a distinct background color to aid identification.
To switch between viewing all the scanned files and just those that have duplicates:
-
Check or uncheck the Show only items with duplicates checkbox.
All the copies of each particular file are shown in the table. Scanned files that do not have duplicates are not shown unless
this checkbox is unchecked.
To preview a file in the bottom panel:
-
Click on the file in the Items found in the last scan table. Any duplicates of the selected file will also be shown in the preview panel.
To open a file:
-
Double-click the file, or select a file or files and press Enter.
To delete duplicate files:
-
Do one of the following to choose the files to delete:
-
Click the Select Duplicate Items button, then deselect any of the selected files that you want to keep. (You can hold down Cmd while clicking to add to, or remove from, an existing selection.)
The Select Duplicate Items button selects all duplicate copies of all the files found in the scan except the first that it encounters. Recall that the folders in the Folders to be scanned list are scanned in sequence, from the top down. Files in the top folder will therefore be encountered before those in the
lower ones. You can therefore arrange the order of those folders to control which duplicates will be selected by the Select Duplicate Items button.
-
Or, select just the file or files that you want to remove.
-
-
Check each selected file and its location carefully to ensure that you really want to delete it.
Be careful not to select and delete all the duplicates of a particular file. Remember that all the found copies of each file are shown, and you’ll almost certainly want to keep at least one of them! In particular, therefore, do not blindly select all of the files shown and delete them, as this would remove all the copies of all of those files.
To avoid inadvertently deleting files required by your system, or the applications you use, make sure that you only select
and delete files whose purpose you understand. -
When you are sure that you do not want any of the selected files, click the Delete Selected Items button or press the Backspace key.
When files are removed, Find Duplicate Files will try to send them to the destination shown in the Preferences window. If it can’t (for example, if Find Duplicate Files tries to move files on a network share to Trash), the files will
be irrevocably deleted.
If you delete all but one duplicate of a particular file, and Show only items with duplicates is checked, the remaining copy will disappear from the list of found items because it no longer has any duplicates.
To work with a preview thumbnail:
-
Right-click on a filename or a thumbnail preview image to display a context menu and choose an action.
The menu contains several useful commands for operating on files. You can even compare two or three files at a time with
Araxis Merge, if you have that installed. (Note that the Professional Edition of Araxis Merge is required for three-way comparisons.)
If you use the Delete command, again be careful not to select and delete all the duplicates of a particular file – you’ll usually want to keep at least one of them.
To process the files that have been found by running an external program on them:
-
Choose the File > Proces Files... menu item.
-
Work with the Process Files Panel that appears.
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