If DiskState found duplicate files in the specified volumes, these file names are shown in a new window - the Duplicates Search results window.
The file listing contains the following columns:
- Absolute file name.
- File size.
- File date.
- Version number of this if it exists in its resource.
- ID. This is just a number to restore the original file ordering with duplicates ordered in families (blocks).
- File type. Examples: text file, PsiSetup.File.1 and so forth.
- Path name. This column is included to enable sorting by path name without the file name.
You can change the sort order by clicking at the column headers. Note: The default sort order is to batch the same types of duplicate files together. It is not possible to change this default setting (safety reason: it is easier to mistakenly select duplicate files of a different type).
Select duplicate files from the list. You can click the column header to sort the list by size. Go for the largest files, like MP3 or any other multimedia types. Click the ID column header to go back to the original sort order (by file contents). When you are finished selecting the files you want to remove, click "Delete". Be sure to enable the automatic backup feature of DiskState (Zip Safety).
Pressing right mouse button in this results window, brings up a context menu shown below:
From this menu, you can:
- Select all files regardlessly for removal. If there are any system files in the list, these are not selected by "Select All" of safety reasons. To override this, enable this option.
- System files are shown default in red color. Customize this color by "Choose Warning Color".
- Toggle the selection of the highlighted file(s). To highlight a selection of file(s), just surround the file with a rectangle box holding down the left mouse button at the same time.
- Toggle the selection of all files.
- Toggle highlighted files for removal.
- Toggle files in a selected folder from the submenu.
- Select and deselected highlighted file(s) for removal.
- Open the folder containing the highlighted file.
- View a file.
- Rename highlighted file(s).
- Move highlighted file(s).
- Add the highlighted files to the duplicates ignore list.
- Add all the folder of the residing highlighted file to the duplicate ignore list.
- Scroll up and down a duplicates family. A family is one type of duplicate files, i.e. all the files in one color is shown in the same background color (gray or white).
- Copy the full path of highlighted file(s) to the clipboard.
- Refresh the duplicate result list.
- Bring up the help system.
- Select All and Select None of the files shown to the right.
- Base Select - a clever way to select files from the list of duplicate files.
- Print the list of duplicates for later reviewing.
- Export the file listing to either clipboard, ASCII file or binary file. The latter is used if the user wants to import the file list at a later point in time. The file selections are remembered while exporting/importing of the file list. Tip: DiskState can generate comma-separated reports, which can be processed by third-party software. If you want to do this, untick the "human readable file sizes" option. This makes DiskState emit file sizes like 1234567 instead of 1'234'567.
- Delete the select files to backup. Be sure to have the checkbox "Move to zip file(s) as backup" enabled. Note: Files larger than 1.2 GB will not be included in the zip file.
- View the selected file or opening it with its associated application.
- Find files. Use the powerful regular expressions to find and select or unselect files of your choice.
- Close the results window when you are satisfied.
Base Select was designed to help users with a very long list of duplicate files. It aims to help selecting files from this huge list. You can use the Find functionality up to some point, but users may want something more sophisticated. The answer is to facilitate the Base Select.
Warning! Base Select must not be 100 % trusted. It depends on your regular expressions - if they are wrong, DiskState selects the wrong files. Remember to keep the backup feature enabled at all times.
There are seven options available for Base Select:
- Select file(s) residing in folder. DiskState uses regular expressions here. If you want to select files in folder I:\my-files\stuff\, you should write: I:\\my-files\\stuff\\.
- Select file(s) residing in upper folder level. This option will keep files deeper down in the folder structure. It favors children nodes instead of parent ones, so to speak. Example: C:\A\a.txt will be selected instead of file C:\B\C\a.txt.
- Select file(s) in folder X and keep duplicate file(s) in folder Y. This is ideal to use with dedicated folders for backups.
- Select files with same file name. This option selects the files of same content that have the same file name except the oldest or newest one. The file name comparison is case-insensitive.
- Keep files with shortest/alphabetic file name. This option is useful if you have a news reader that saves attachments to disk for you. A few program appends ".bak", ".1", ".2" or just number after the original file name. Example: myfile.doc, myfile.doc1, myfile.doc.1. Checking this option will make DiskState keep the original myfile.doc and select the other files for removal.
- Keep files with longest alphabetic file name. This one behaves opposite of the previous option.
- The Folder Points Method allows the user to specify how to select duplicate files for removal. Folders can be added and assigned points. Files in folders with the lowest points are understood by DiskState as of less importance. DiskState will use this information and select duplicate files in folders with the lowest score/points.
Tip: DiskState remembers these options and regular expressions are used here.