Easy Duplicate Finder 7 7.0.1.9

Overview

A quick desktop search for a file stored in your computer will sometimes display the same result more than once, just because the same file is located in more than one locations. You don’t have to perform this test to convince yourself, but you can use Easy Duplicate Finder, which is a fast, accurate and lightweight tool that can find duplicate files in your computer. It has various scanning options (byte-by-byte or CRC check, etc.) and lets you preview your files before you decide whether to keep them or delete them.

Installation

The installation procedure isn’t very hard. The first substantial setting you have to make is add shell context menu integration or not. Then you’ll be prompted to install the Webminds Toolbar and make Ask your default search provider, homepage and new tab page. Just uncheck the two options to opt-out from those changes and proceed with the final part of installation.

Supported operating systems are Windows XP (SP2), Vista, 7 and 8.

Interface

It has a clean, state of the art interface with modern graphics, but its background is a bit dull due to its grey color. Basically it is split into two horizontal parts; from the upper part you can select the folders you want to scan and make a few scan settings, and in the lower part you can see the results, which you can categorize by type. There is a bar at the bottom of the window for selecting and processing duplicates.

Pros

In your search you have the ability to exclude certain subfolders from the list of folders you want to scan. In addition you can search for specific file types only or exclude certain file types from the search as well, plus set the minimum and maximum size for the files you want to be displayed in the results. All found items initially will be displayed in the same list, but you can separate them into different categories according to their type (Archives, Documents, Music, Pictures, Videos and Others) and view general information about them (e.g. number of scanned, original and duplicate files, used disk space, etc.).

There are plenty of scanning options available to users. CRC32 + Filesize comparison, byte-by-byte comparison, filename only comparison (fast scan) or comparison of music tags (title, artist, album, track, year, genre, duration and bit rate) are supported methods. Furthermore, the program can scan for duplicate emails by checking subject, recipient, sender, content and other features of emails.

The Wizard can help you find duplicate files easier in a step-by-step guide that consists of a few simple steps. First you have to choose what type of duplicate files you want to find (Office, Video, Music or Photo files) and then specify the folders you want to scan for the duplicates. That’s it, there are no settings you need to configure.

The assistant will help you delete duplicates after they have been found. It will ask you if you want to keep the newest, the oldest or the original files and it will automatically delete the rest.

The results can be saved as TXT, CSV or HTML files.

Cons

Comes bundled with toolbars, something you would expect more often from a freeware product not a paid one. These toolbars can be easily unchecked during installation though.

Alternatives

A similar alternative is Fast Duplicate File Finder (paid), which shares many common features with Easy Duplicate Finder. Other alternatives are AllDup (free), Auslogics Duplicate File Finder (free) and CloneSpy (free).

Conclusion

Easy Duplicate Finder is a decent software that is ideal for inexperienced users thanks to its easy-to-use interface and newbie-friendly wizards.