Duplicate Sweeper 1.90

Overview

A lot of duplicate files get piled up in your disk when you use your computer without cleaning it or organizing your data. And when that time comes, it’s too difficult to do it manually- but that’s why Duplicate Sweeper exists. It will save you time and effort by scanning your computer for duplicates and giving you the power to get rid of them, without being too complicated a tool. Duplicate Sweeper will find identical files even if they have different filenames.

Installation

Run the installer and follow a few simple steps to complete the installation. There are no advanced settings throughout the procedure, apart from the common ones (installation directory, install just for the current user or for all users). The main installation process will finish quickly and without problems, unless you don’t have .NET Framework 4 installed (in which case the setup wizard will offer to install it for you).

The program is clean from all kinds of malware and doesn’t install any addition 3^rd party software.

Any machine with Windows Vista, 7 and 8 can run this program (sorry XP users).

Interface

The elegant interface makes it easy to start searching for duplicates, since there are no unnecessary buttons and functions to make it confusing. There is a big area in the center of the window where a list with all directories you want to be scanned is displayed. On the right-hand side is a pane with common folders like Desktop, Favorites, Documents, Pictures, Music and Contacts so that you can add them easily instead of browsing for them. When you have added the desired folders to the list, click on the “Start Duplicate Search” button located on the top right corner to start the scan. When the process is over you will see a message with a YouTube video showing you how to remove found duplicates (you can disable this from popping up by unchecking the option at the bottom). Found duplicates are going to be listed in a new window, in groups. If selected files re images, then a preview will be shown in the bottom right screen.

Pros

Duplicate Sweeper has the ability to uncover hidden duplicates even if they don’t have same filenames. This is quite a useful feature since it’s not a rare case to have more than once copies of files with different names.

Although you can select any folders you want to be scanned, the program already has a list of folders that you can quickly select and scan.

When the scan is over, the results are categorized depending on their location and the duplicates are shown in groups. Clicking on a group reveals the two (or more) identical files, and if they are images then you can view them in the preview screen.

A 3D graphical representation of all found duplicates is displayed in the shape of a cone, which tells you in which folders the duplicates consume the most space.

Instead of selecting manually which files you want to keep from the duplicates, there are two options that automatically select the newest or oldest files in every group.

Cons

Not an actual minus but be aware that the Demo mode doesn't allow you to delete found duplicates.

Alternatives

A lot of duplicate cleaning software exist, with the best ones being Duplicate Cleaner (free), Easy Duplicate File Finder (paid), CloneSpy (free), Auslogics Duplicate File Finder (free), AllDup (free) and DoubleKiller (paid).

Conclusion

With Duplicate Sweeper, removing duplicates is now a matter of a few clicks and minutes.