Duplicate File Finder Free mode vs. Pro mode
Relevant for the version downloaded from the App Store

It’s hard to imagine that the number of duplicate files that exist on your Mac and the significant space they consume. Manually searching for duplicates is not that easy and takes a lot of time. That’s why we recommend using Duplicate File Finder, which is designed to help you quickly find and remove completely identical files that may be located in different places on your Mac or external drive.

Duplicate File Finder is free to download from the App Store. In addition, the application provides a Pro mode that is available via in-App Purchase and gives you more possibilities for quick duplicate cleanup.

In this article, we will highlight each mode’s benefits and explain how to upgrade to Pro.

Contents:

1. Duplicate File Finder: Free mode vs. Pro mode
2. Benefits of Duplicate File Finder Free
3. Benefits of Duplicate File Finder Pro
4. How to upgrade to Pro

Duplicate File Finder: Free mode vs. Pro mode

 

Benefits of Duplicate File Finder Free

The Free version of Duplicate File Finder is enough to easily remove duplicate files. Besides that, it provides many useful features that will make your experience with the app easy and enjoyable.

Support of any drive type

Duplicate File Finder allows you to identify double files on any disk or folder on your local disk, external drive, or network drive.
Please note that the scanning time depends on the speed of your disk, its connection speed, and the drive capacity.
Additionally, you can scan single folders on the drive or set the minimal file size of files for the scan.

Duplicate File Finder showing the button to add folders for scan

Quick Look preview option

Analyzing and selecting unneeded duplicates is easy and safe, as you can preview them in each file type category.

Preview of a duplicate file

Duplicate files directory

In each section of duplicate files, you can view the folders’ hierarchy, where duplicates are located. For the parent folder and its subfolders, you can set up the following commands:

  • Select All Copies in the folder
  • Keep All Copies in the folder
  • Add the folder to the Skip List
  • Add the folder to Always Select List
  • Add the folder to Never Select List.
Contex menu showing the option to select duplicate copies

Sorting of duplicates by different categories

Use the “Sort by…” option to sort your duplicate files by convenient categories:

  • Size
  • Name
  • Date
  • File type
  • Count
  • Selected
Sorting duplicate files on Mac

Auto Select feature

The Auto Select option allows you to automatically select all duplicate copies in each group of duplicate files and keep only one copy. This means that the app always keeps one file among the duplicates. You can navigate the duplicates group and click the arrow to the right of the Auto Select button. Then choose one of the options:

  1. Select Oldest duplicates.
  2. Select Newest duplicates.

Use this feature when you have many folders with duplicates, and it’s not important in which folder to keep a file or from which folders to remove its duplicates.

Mac duplicate finder showing the Auto Select button

Tuning the speed of duplicates search process

You can speed up the duplicate search by changing the file size threshold to be searched. This allows you to skip scanning the smallest files and find the largest duplicates. This option will help you to quickly free up space on your drive when immediate reductions are needed.

Duplicate File Finder preferences window

Skip list

If you want to exclude particular folders and files from the scan, go to Preferences and add them to the Skip List.
The app will then skip the specified files and folders when scanning for duplicates.

Duplicate File Finder preferences window showing the skip list tab

Finding Similar pictures

Similar pictures are images that look alike but are not absolutely identical. These files have small differences, imperceptible at first glance.
Manually removing look-alike photos from your Mac may become very time-consuming. Fortunately, if you want to organize or remove similar images, the application will make this task easier and simpler for you. Just go to the Similar Photos tab to find nearly-identical pictures and selfies, which occupy large amounts of disk space.

Duplicate File Finder showing similar photos

Searching for duplicates in Photos Library

The Photos app is a default Apple tool that stores all the photos you import from iCloud or iOS devices. Multiple downloads of the same photos or many shots of the same item on your iPhone all have one result- many duplicate and similar images eating up valuable space on your Mac’s storage. But now it’s not a problem because, with Duplicate File Finder, you can scan the Photos Library and find duplicate and similar images.

Duplicate File Finder showing Photos Library to be scanned

The Benefits of Duplicate File Finder Pro

While the free mode suits users who don’t have too many duplicates, the Pro version is recommended for those who may have tons of duplicates and need the most efficient version. Those who upgrade to Pro will find the cleanup process even faster and more useful features available. These features include:

Remove duplicate folders

You may have different folders that are completely identical. While with the Free mode, you can find and preview duplicate folders, the Pro mode allows you to also-select and remove them. With this time-saving option, your disk cleanup requires less time and allows you to keep a consistently optimized disk.

Duplicate File Finder showing duplicate folders

Remove duplicates in similar folders

Similar Folders are those that contain not only duplicate files, but also unique files. You can preview all these folders in the Similar Folders tab and compare their content. Another great feature is that you don’t have to worry about your unique files, as the application allows you to select and remove only duplicates in these folders. The unique files stay untouched. Read more about Similars folders

Duplicate File Finder showing the Similar Folders tab

Merge folders

Sometimes you may face a complicated structure of duplicate files and folders, and need to both remove your duplicates and organize them. In this case, use the Merge feature. When you merge folders, the application moves or copies unique files from one folder to another. As a result, merging similar folders allows you to combine dozens of duplicate files and folders, making the structure a whole lot easier.

erging folders with duplicate file finder

Select duplicates in particular folders – Select in bulk

You can choose in which folders you want to select and remove all file copies. With this feature, you save time and do not have to review and select each duplicate file individually. Just tick the checkbox of the folder from which you want to remove duplicates, and mark a folder using the Star icon where you want to keep duplicates.

Duplicate File Finder showing an option to select files in particular folder

Recover removed duplicates from the Trash

Duplicate File Finder stores a log of removed duplicates. You can view groups of duplicates by date and deletion sessions. If the files are still in the Trash folder or in the folder where you moved files using the feature “Move duplicates to a folder,” you can restore them. For this, select the files you want to recover and click Restore.

Restoring removed duplicates window

Premium Support

With Premium Support, you get prioritized responses from our developers as they explore your unique situation. With their help, you can quickly resolve even the most complex issues, should they arise.

duplicate File Finder help

How to upgrade to Pro

  1. Launch the application and click the Get Pro button. Or go to the Menu BarDuplicate File Finder → click Get Pro.
Duplicate File Finder showing the Get Pro button
  1. In a pop-up window that appears, choose the license option and click the Buy Now button.

Pricing plans of Duplicate File Finder

  1. You will see a default App Store login window. Fill in the fields with your Apple ID information and confirm the purchase by clicking the Sign in button.

Congratulations! Now you can enjoy the full PRO version of Duplicate File Finder.

*Note, if you have previously purchased the app or, after the purchase, the app hasn’t upgraded to Pro, you should restore the app. This may sometimes happen because of an unstable internet connection or Apple Service needing more time to process the transaction. Just reboot your Mac → go again to Upgrade to Pro → and click the Restore button.


 

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