If a duplicate group contains four duplicate file entries, three of them must be marked for processing while the fourth is left unmarked.Īfter marking the duplicates files you wish to process, click the Move, Delete, or Zip button in the main window ribbon bar to launch the Duplicate File Manager. Importantly, Duplicate File Detective can only create duplicate links in cases where only one member of a duplicate group is left unmarked. Mark the duplicate files in each group that you wish to process (move, archive, or delete). To use it, first search for duplicate files and If the target file is moved or deleted, any symbolic links to it will become invalid.ĭuplicate File Detective supports the creation of links via its powerful Duplicate File Manager tool. If a symbolic link is deleted, the original file will be unaffected. Unlike hard links, symbolic links can span volumes and can even target files on a network share. Importantly, support for symbolic links was introduced with Windows Vista / Server 2008, so older Windows operating systems will not recognize them. Symbolic links are conceptually similar to shell shortcuts (described above), but are stored directly in theįile system rather than being represented as a distinct file. They also require NTFS, though they are supported by all versions of Windows. Nor can you create hard links to a file on a network share. This means you cannot create hard links across drives, One caveat regarding hard links is that they must reside on the same volume as the original file. If a file with multiple hard links is deleted, theįile will persist until all other hard links are removed. If a file is moved, any hard links to it will continue to function. No support is required by the Windows shell, for example, to interpret the linkage. When a user or program opens a file identified by a hard link, they are opening the target file directly. Hard links have the benefit of being highly transparent - they behave identically to the original file. You can think hard links as being like "pointers" to the same physical file on a volume. When a hard link is created, a new name is added for an existing entry in the local Master File Table (MFT). However, removing a shortcut will not affect the original file.Ī big advantage of shell shortcuts is that they are supported on all versions of Windows and any file system type (NTFS, FAT32, etc.). If you replace said data file with a shell shortcut link.Īnother consideration is that removal (or relocation) of a file will usually break any shell shortcuts that point to it, effectively "orphaning" them. Running a program that requires a data file to be present in a prescribed file system location, that program is unlikely to function correctly However, third-party programs may very well not follow shell shortcut links. The Windows shell will open the shortcut target instead. lnk file extension, that contains pointer information to another file (the shortcut target).Ī key point to remember about shell shortcuts is that they are really only recognized (and processed) by the Windows shell.įor example, if a user is browsing files within Windows Explorer and attempts to open a file that has been linked via shell shortcut, In the sections that follow, this paper will elaborate on each of these linking methods, with the goal of helping you choose the best fit for your requirements.Ī Windows shell shortcut is simply a file, usually with a. So the goal is to consolidate duplicate files without adverselyĭuplicate File Detective offers a solution - when removing duplicate files, you can choose to create links back to the original file that you chose to retain.įor example, if you have a group of three duplicate files, you can remove two of them and leave links pointing back to the one that was not removed.ĭuplicate File Detective offers three distinct duplicate file linking options, each with their own unique advantages and considerations. Users may be left unaware of the location of the original file that was retained. Specifically, we'll be taking a closer look at the duplicate file linking capabilities provided by the product.ĭuplicate file linking is designed and engineered to address a specific problem - when duplicate files are removed from shared storage areas, In this article, we're going to focus on the last of the capabilities mentioned above - the processing of duplicate files.
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