Visual aid to find same size files within a folder

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Telemacus
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Visual aid to find same size files within a folder

Post by Telemacus »

I was wondering whether there was any visual aid to find 2 files of the same size within a folder when you sort them using the size column.
The reason I'm asking is because sometimes I have thousands of files within one of my folders, and checking files of the same size can be a pretty long experience. I'm aware that there are other ways to search for duplicates, etc. but the sorting is so quick... it would be nice if I could get those files in bold or colours, etc.
Perhaps even "Enhanced sorting"? you know, something similar would be useful for the date column (files with same date creation criteria, etc.) and the other columns.
Kilmatead
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Re: Visual aid to find same size files within a folder

Post by Kilmatead »

Telemacus wrote:I'm aware that there are other ways to search for duplicates, etc...
You seem to rather easily dismiss the very thing you want to use. :?

Tools -> Check Duplicates (as described in detail on page 182 of the PDF) is the most direct means of highlighting relational identities of a group of objects - by size, date, content and/or any of the columns available in your version of Windows. (In this sense, the term "duplicates" applies to the files' broader extended details on a content-agnostic basis, unless content itself is specifically targeted.)

As x2's Colour Coding feature is only done on a conditional basis (i.e., it only marks files according to an abstract rule set, not according to other content from or in the same container) the more fanciful means of automatic highlighting (colours, bold-face, etc) cannot be applied. So, Checking Duplicates limits you to stock highlighting only, with "alternating elements" tossed in for good measure. But, it gets the job done.

Again, as this is a relational comparison it requires more processing than ordinary sorting, so it can't be applied as part of the normal browsing nonchalance - it may only be done as a targeted procedure (after all, that's why simple "sorting" is so quick - it doesn't have to concern itself with multiple schemata).

Anyway, as above, see the manual for a fuller explanation of how this sort of thing may be applied.

(Keep in mind that if only checking by "size", as in your case, it is also a good idea to add in "by type" as well, otherwise if [for example] an .AVI file "just happens" to have the same size as a text file, they would be marked as duplicates, which could lead to confusion - remember, x2 is only as smart as the plonker sitting there staring at the screen wishing he was in Tahiti instead. :wink:)
Last edited by Kilmatead on 2013 Nov 07, 22:35, edited 2 times in total.
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Telemacus
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Re: Visual aid to find same size files within a folder

Post by Telemacus »

The problem with that is that when a duplicate is found in the scrap container, it can't be deleted directly from the scrap container, I have to go back to the directory, don't I? (perhaps that's no longer the case in the new versions).
If you work everyday doing such tasks, it kind of multiplies the number of clicks. That's why sorting using columns is much quicker, except that you have to identify the duplicates using your eyes, and hence my question.
Nothing wrong with the search option, but I mainly use that for multiple subdirectories, etc. whereas I only need it for files within one same directory.
Last edited by Telemacus on 2013 Nov 07, 22:48, edited 1 time in total.
Kilmatead
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Re: Visual aid to find same size files within a folder

Post by Kilmatead »

Using the (right-click) context-menu Delete (or File -> Delete <Ctrl+Del>) from within a scrap container will delete the original files too, not simply remove them from the container.
Telemacus wrote:Nothing wrong with the search option, but I mainly use that for multiple subdirectories, etc. whereas I only need it for files within one same directory.
To ignore subfolders, you may need to select only the files from a folder and use <Ctrl+S> to put them in a scrap container first (as folders are flattened by default, making a mess of things). Curiously, hiding the subfolders <Alt+J> does not work, as Check Duplicates invoked from a normal pane seems to ignore even applied filters. Personally, I'd consider this a bug, but Nikos gets prickly when I (righteously) whine about what he perceives as "mere minutia". :shrug:
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Telemacus
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Re: Visual aid to find same size files within a folder

Post by Telemacus »

Ctrl + del. Been using Xplorer for all these years and I still dind't know about that! :oops:

Thanks a lot! :)
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Re: Visual aid to find same size files within a folder

Post by Kilmatead »

Another user has recently petitioned to have the <Del> key operate "normally" in scrap containers in the interests of similarly not confusing people, so perhaps Nikos might pay more attention to such things in the future. (But I wouldn't hold my breath on that, as he can be quite stubborn about that "mere minutia" stuff, in complete defiance of common sense. :wink:)
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