How to Find Duplicate Files and Images with Different Names

To find duplicate files with different names, use a duplicate file finder that compares file contents rather than relying on filenames or file sizes alone. Cisdem Duplicate Finder can identify these duplicates even when their names are different. In this article, we’ll show you how to quickly find them, review the results, and remove unwanted duplicates.

 Cisdem Duplicate Finder

Find Duplicate Files with Different Names

• Identify duplicate documents, photos, videos, audio files, and more by comparing file contents, regardless of filenames
• Support Windows PC, Mac, external storage devices, cloud drives, and more
• Offer 3 modes to view duplicates, with side-by-side photo previews
• Automatically select all but one file in each duplicate group for deletion
• Allow you to adjust selections manually, or choose from 9 rules (e.g. Select Newest)
• Move duplicate files to the Recycle Bin or a certain folder, or delete them permanently
• Easy to use for everyone

Free Download Windows 10 or later Free Download macOS 10.11 or later GET IT ON Google Play Download on the App Store

Method 1: Find duplicate files with different names using Cisdem Duplicate Finder

Cisdem Duplicate Finder identifies duplicate documents, audio files, images, videos, and other files by comparing their contents. It groups duplicates for you to easy preview and helps you decide which files to delete, such as older copies, or those stored in specific folders.

Below are the steps:

Step 1. Install Cisdem Duplicate Finder

Download and install the tool on your computer. Open it.

Free Download Windows 10 or later Free Download macOS 10.11 or later

Step 2. Add the folders or drives to scan

Drag the folders or drives into the Local File Scan area. To find duplicates across two folders, you can add both.

Step 3. Start the scan

Click the Scan Now button, and Cisdem Duplicate Finder will start comparing files by their contents and identifying those with exactly identical content as duplicates.

Step 4. View detected duplicate files

When the scan is complete, the results window will appear, displaying all found duplicate files. You can conveniently view, sort and search them.

Step 5. Select duplicates for removal

In each set of duplicate files, the tool has automatically selected all but one file for removal. You can manually adjust the selection if needed.

In addition, there are preset rules for mass selection. On the left side of the results window, highlight the sets to which you want to apply a rule. Next, choose a preferred rule. For example, choosing the Select Newest rule will select all but the oldest file for deletion in each set.

Step 6. Delete all duplicates at once

Click the Delete button to remove all the selected duplicate files. Confirm the deletion.

By default, the deleted files will go to the Recycle Bin (on Windows) or Trash (on Mac). And this allows easy restoring of files when needed.

A tip for finding duplicate images with different names

The steps above also work for exact identical images that have been renamed. For example, if you import a copy of “IMG_12.jpg” and rename it “autumn-trip.jpg”. They are still duplicates and can be detected by Cisdem Duplicate Finder.

Here’s another scenario: images that have been resized, saved in other formats, or taken in burst mode may look alike but have different file contents. These are similar images rather than exact duplicates. Cisdem Duplicate Finder’s AI-powered image similarity detection engine helps you find and compare them, even when their names are different.

1. Open Cisdem Duplicate Finder. Add the folders or drives you want to scan.

2. Click Settings > Similar images.

3. Select the Enable similar images function checkbox. Adjust the similarity level if needed. Click OK.

4. Click Scan Now.

5. In the results window, click Images. Compare the detected images side by side and check their file sizes, resolutions, locations, etc.

6. Select the versions you no longer need. Or use the selection rules to help you mass select.

7. Click Delete.

Method 2: Find duplicate files with different names using PowerShell

This is a free method and users who are familiar with command-line tools may like it. PowerShell is a command-line tool built into Windows. You can use its Get-FileHash command to calculate the hash value of each file. Files with identical contents have the same hash values, regardless of their filenames.

Step 1. Open PowerShell.

Search for PowerShell in Windows search bar and open it.

Step 2. Change the working directory.

Use the cd command to switch to the folder you want to scan. For example, to find duplicates in the Downloads folder, enter the following commands:

cd C:\Users\Your Windows username\Downloads

Press Enter.

Step 3. Calculate file hashes.

Use the Get-FileHash command to calculate file hashes of each file in this folder. Enter the following commands:

Get-ChildItem -Recurse | Get-FileHash | Group-Object -Property Hash | Where-Object { $_.Count -gt 1 } | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Group | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Path

Press Enter.

Step 4. Review the duplicate files.

Wait for the command to finish. Then you’d better to locate the listed files in File Explorer and review them before deleting. Check file details to avoid removing files you still need.

Step 5. Delete the duplicate files.

The following command deletes all files except the first one in each group of duplicates.

Files are deleted permanently rather than moved to the Recycle Bin. Back up important files before running this command.

Get-ChildItem -Recurse | Get-FileHash | Group-Object -Property Hash | Where-Object { $_.Count -gt 1 } | foreach {

    $group = $_.Group | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Path

    $group | Select-Object -Skip 1 | Remove-Item -Force

}

Press Enter.

Which method should you choose?

Both methods in this article can find and delete duplicate files with different names. This table below helps you choose the method that best suits your needs.

FAQs

Does the name matter in identifying duplicate files?

It depends on how the identification is done.

When you look for duplicate files manually, the name can be helpful. For example, when you see these two files: “IMG_0050.jpg” and “IMG_0050 copy.jpg”, you can know from the name that they may be duplicates. If they have completely different names, you will probably miss them.

When duplicate file finder software uses algorithms to automatically detect duplicate files, the names don’t matter. For example, Cisdem Duplicate Finder focuses on comparing hash values of files. Each file has a unique hash value that represents its content. This is just like each person has a unique fingerprint. File names don’t affect hash values.

In summary, names can help you spot potential duplicate files in manual identification, but software tools don’t consider names.

Can different files have the same hash value?

In theory, it's possible for two different files to have the same hash value, but the chances are so low that it never happens in reality. Therefore, comparing hash values is the an efficient and reliable way to identifying duplicate files while ignoring their names.