Duplicate Commander

Duplicate files can take up a lot of valuable space on your hard drive, and they accumulate all too quickly when you frequently download, import, edit, and rename numerous files. Duplicate Commander is a simple utility that can help you identify and delete duplicate files. It has more features than some similar programs we've encountered, making it appropriate for both novices and more advanced users.

Duplicate Commander has a plain interface, and the first time the program is launched a pop-up instructs users to click the Search button to get started. We selected a folder that we wanted to scan, and Duplicate Commander quickly scanned our files and returned the results. We liked that the program grouped each set of duplicates together, listing each file's location, size, and date modified. A toolbar across the top made it easy to manage the check boxes used to select files for deletion; we could select the first item in each group, all the items but the first one in each group, the smallest or largest file in each group, the oldest or newest file in each group, and so-on, and the program also has tools to select items of a certain size or extension. A linking feature lets users create both hard and soft links to existing files in order to replace deleted ones. A built-in Help file offers brief but adequate instructions on the program's use. Overall, we found Duplicate Commander to be easy to use, and we impressed with its features. We think it's a great choice for anyone who needs muck out their hard drive.

Duplicate Commander installs a desktop icon without asking and leaves a Start menu item behind upon removal.