Why search all of drive C:\*.* when I only want to search for .mp4's

[Badamsios]

When I load the file duplicate finder I see c:\*.*

I only want to search for .mp4's. I cannot delete c:\*.*

Why is there an option to add file names or extensions when it searches for every thing anyway?

Am I doing something wrong or is this a suggestion for the next release?

[Badamsios]

Wait a minute! I thought I found the answer but it's not giving the results I expect.

Please see attached.

[nukecad]

You have found the 'Add' button then, and the 'Include files and subfolders', that's a good start.

You have it set there to look for duplicate mp4 files on C: drive and in it's sub-folders - but at the moment you are only searching for those that have all 3 of the same name, same size, and same modified date.

The 'Match by' and the 'Ignore' sections are very important.
Match by sets what to look for as being a duplicate.
Ignore can cut out a lot of unwanted/uneeded results. (if you are searching all files and haven't specified a filetype).

For files to be considered duplicates they have to match all of the things ticked in 'Match By'.  (And be none of those types ticked in 'ignore').

eg. As you have it if set there then if they match the name and size, but not the date, then they are not counted as being duplicates.

Try searching with only name ticked, that will find any/all the mp4s that have the same name.
It doesn't matter what they contain or when they were made/modified, it's only looking at the names.
If you search with just size ticked, that will find any/all the mp4s that have the same size.
and so on.

When I am seraching for duplicates of any type then I'm usually loking for files that are the same, no matter what they are called or when they were saved/modified.
So I have mine set to look for 'Content', which automatically ticks 'Size' as well.
(It's faster to check for the same size files first then only check the contents if they are the same size. because if the size isn't the same then the contents can't be the same).
Note also the ignores, I don't want to see any of those.

So say I'm searching songs, that will find the same song that's been saved more than once or copied to a different place and/or renamed - no matter what it has been named when saving it, or what date it was saved - if the contents are the same the files are duplicates.

If you could tell us just what kind of duplicates you are wanting to find them we may be able to give tips on the best way to go about that.

[Badamsios]

I have a lot of movies of family events that I am making one movie out of.

As I edit them, I keep the originals in case I want to edit more. Somehow, I ended up with a complete sub-folder with the same folder names. Worse yet, the sub-folder has SOME of the same file names, but not all of them. 

There is a difference in size of 39.4 Gb. The top level shows a total of 64.9 GB, while the sub-folder shows 25.5 GB.

See what I mean, Jellybean.

 

[nukecad]

If they have just been copied by mistake then  just comparing names would probably be enough.
But as you are editing them and an edited file my still have the same name as an unedited file then to be sure you would need to be comparing the content

One thing that I do note there is that you have your search path set to a 'music' folder.

Shouldn't you be searching- C:\Users\brian\Downloads\Brians Folders\videos\Family\*.mp4  -with subfolders included?
In fact if there are only mp4s in those sub folders I'd probably use \*.* (All files) and not specify mp4..

As these are in the downloads folder then can we assume that you still have the originals elsewhere?
(So they can be downloaded again if necessary).

[Badamsios]

On 03/01/2024 at 14:08, nukecad said:

So say I'm searching songs, that will find the same song that's been saved more than once or copied to a different place and/or renamed - no matter what it has been named when saving it, or what date it was saved - if the contents are the same the files are duplicates.

I'm not sure what you mean by "content".

That makes me think - the contents of a book.

[nukecad]

Contents: (plural noun) - everything that is contained within something.

[Badamsios]

LI had them under music because my wife and I share the same computer. I did not want her to find them because I want it to be a surprise.

I noticed she was making playlists, and was afraid she would stumble on them anyway, so I created an account for her and moved them to the videos folder where they belong.

Regarding downloading the originals the answer is no.

Last monday, I noticed that there was a subfolder under the "to be edited" with some but not all of the same folders and files.

I'll try *,* tomorrow and let you know how it goes. Does sound logical.

And thank you for your help, it is much appreciated.

[nukecad]

I'm afraid that it is going to come down to you seeing (literally viewing) just what is there and tidying it all up as you want it to be.

CCleaners duplicate finder can help with that task by finding exact duplicates so that you know they are exactly the same so don't need to view both.

[Badamsios]

It's working!

Thank a He** of a lot!

[Badamsios]

Interesting. I also had a few duplicates on my external drive and it worked perfectly.

I tried it on c:\ and it still didn't find any.

 

Edited January 8 by Badamsios

[nukecad]

Have you ticked the 'Include files and subfolders' when setting that path for C: ?

If you have and it isn't finding anything then there are no exact duplicates to be found.

Searching on 'Content' will only find exact duplicates.

Remember that something that has been edited is no longer an exact duplicate of the original, it has been changed.

While I know of (and use) duplicate finders that can find images that are 'near-duplicates' - ie.  similar but one has been edited (red eye reduction for example), timestamped/watermarked, cropped, or has a different resolution - I don't know of one that can do the same with video.

The only one I can find that might help find similar but edited videos is this one: https://duplicatevideosearch.com/

Quote

Features

• Detect fully identical and similar video duplicates by contents.
• Detect modified video copies based on cropping, formats, scaling and varied resolutions.

 

I've never used it so can't say anything about it.

[Badamsios]

I'm sure I did tell it to search subfolders, but I will double check.

It ran perfectly on my external drive that I use for backups.

Exact same folder structure. I'm thinking I actually did not choose subfolders on my C drive but did choose it on the external drive.