Release Notes, System Requirements & History

2013 releases

Find Duplicate Files 2013.433 for OS X 14 February 2013

Information This product has been retired. This is therefore the final release.

Information This version is a free upgrade for all our existing FDF customers. If you are using the non-Mac App Store version of FDF and support has expired on your serial number, please contact us with your serial number for a free replacement.

This release fixes a problem calculating free disk space on 32-bit machines running Snow Leopard. It is recommended for all users. Note that the OS X Supplemental Update is required for correct operation on both OS X 10.8.2 and OS X 10.7.5, so please ensure your system is fully up-to-date before installing this release.

System requirements

This release is tested and supported on the following platforms:

Information Find Duplicate Files has not been tested on newer versions of macOS. Bugs and incompatibilities are therefore likely.

Changes

  • FDF no longer incorrectly reports that there is insufficient disk space when copying files on 32-bit machines running OS X 10.6.8 Snow Leopard. I13546
  • The major version number has been changed to 2013, reflecting the year of release. I13556

Download (non-Mac App Store version)

VersionBuild date
2013.43328 January 2013

Find Duplicate Files 2012.423 for OS X 11 December 2012

This release fixes a hanging problem unlikely to affect most users. Note that the OS X Supplemental Update is required for correct operation on both OS X 10.8.2 and OS X 10.7.5, so please ensure your system is fully up-to-date before installing this release. Araxis recommends that all users upgrade to the latest release.

System requirements

This release is tested and supported on the following platforms:

Defects fixed

  • The application no longer hangs when scanning folders containing FIFO (named pipe) files. This problem was unlikely to affect most users. I13519

Download (non-Mac App Store version)

VersionBuild date
2012.42310 December 2012

Find Duplicate Files 2012.422 for OS X 22 October 2012

This release improved compatibility with OS X Mountain Lion, featured minor enhancements (including additional Retina-resolution artwork), and addressed several bugs. Note that the OS X Supplemental Update is required for correct operation on both OS X 10.8.2 and OS X 10.7.5, so please ensure your system is fully up-to-date before installing this release. Araxis recommends that all users upgrade to the latest release.

System requirements

This release was tested and supported on the following platforms:

Enhancements

  • The application icon artwork has been updated for Retina displays. The application itself continues its full support of Retina display resolutions. I13402
  • The non-Mac App Store version of Araxis Find Duplicate Files has been signed with an Apple Developer ID, enabling it to run with the default Gatekeeper security settings in OS X Mountain Lion. I13290
  • The Put Back Items capability has been completely rewritten to work with the default settings of the Gatekeeper security feature introduced in OS X Mountain Lion. I13363I13364
  • The application is better able to detect when files are being moved from iPhoto libraries with non-default names. I13416
  • Serial numbers with support expiry dates later than 2017 are supported. This is only relevant to the non-Mac App Store version of Find Duplicate Files. I13361
  • Minor improvements have been made to the online help. I13339I13342I13346I13358
  • The Mac App Store version now has a one-time request to rate the app on the store. Please consider taking advantage of this if Araxis Find Duplicate Files is useful to you. I13305I13410
  • Minor cosmetic improvements have been made to the user interface. I13458I13461

Defects fixed

  • The redundant Notifications tab has been removed from the Preferences window of the Mac App Store version. I13344I13337I13162
  • The bottom border of preview panel remains visible when the application window height is small. I13304
  • Error handling has been improved to cope with a bug accessing the system keychain in pre OS X 10.8.2 versions of Mountain Lion. I13329
  • The text formatting in the evaluation notification message (non-Mac App Store version only) has been improved. I13331
  • After dismissing the Registration window (non-Mac App Store version only), the About window appears on top of the main application window, rather than behind it. I13332
  • The application no longer becomes unresponsive for a time when changing the sort order of the scan results table with thousands of items selected. I13352
  • When moving files, situations where the operating system maximum path length is exceeded are now handled gracefully. I13388
  • The application now ignores the attempted re-addition of a folder that already exists in the list of folders to be scanned. I13465
  • Automatic crash reporting (non-Mac App Store version only) now looks for the correct crash reports. I13180

Find Duplicate Files 2012.374 for OS X 24 February 2012

This was a previous production-quality release of Araxis Find Duplicate Files for Mac OS X. Araxis recommends that all users upgrade to the latest release.

System requirements

This release of Araxis Find Duplicate Files is tested and supported on the following platforms:

  • OS X 10.7.3 Lion
  • OS X 10.6.8 Snow Leopard (32-bit and 64-bit)

Defects fixed

  • The help relating to deleting items from iTunes and iPhoto libraries no longer appears in spurious circumstances. I13129
  • A message no longer appears in the OS X system console when selecting all items (Cmd+A) in the image preview pane. I13134

Find Duplicate Files 2012.370 for OS X 8 February 2012

This was a major new release of Araxis Find Duplicate Files for OS X. It provided a significantly more refined user experience, and incorporated numerous enhancements and bug fixes. Araxis recommends that all users upgrade to the latest release.

System requirements

This release of Araxis Find Duplicate Files is tested and supported on the following platforms:

  • OS X 10.7.3 Lion
  • OS X 10.6.8 Snow Leopard (32-bit and 64-bit)

Enhancements

  • The user interface has been significantly refined to make FDF easier and more enjoyable to use. I12924I13005I13022
  • Support for OS X Lion fullscreen mode has been added. I12847
  • Finder’s Quick Look feature is supported from within FDF. I10635
  • The resume feature of OS X Lion is supported. For this to work, the OS X General▸Restore windows when quitting and re-opening apps setting must be enabled in the System Preferences. I12846
  • FDF runs in a security sandbox on OS X Lion. I12800I13061
  • The scan results table is much more flexible. It can show All scanned items, All occurrences of items with duplicates, The first occurrence of each duplicated item, The other occurrences of each duplicated item, or Items without duplicates. For more information, please see the Using Araxis Find Duplicate Files help topic. I12918I11511I13036
  • Separate Delete Selected and Move Selected To… buttons have replaced the previously configurable file deletion method preference. I13010I13043I12880I13021I13037
  • A last resort ‘put back’ capability is provided for files that have been moved (but not deleted). For more information, please see the Using Araxis Find Duplicate Files help topic. I13023I13033I12883I12929I13026
  • It is possible to save the list of items displayed in the scan results table to a text file. I12918
  • More aesthetically pleasing colours are now used to highlight duplicate items. I13019
  • The ability to process items with an external application works directly on the items selected in the scan results table. (File▸Process Items Selected in the Scan Results Table…) I12918I13072
  • The toolbar has been removed and its functionality moved to the main user interface. I12890I10941
  • The Size column of the scan results table now shows item sizes in human-friendly units. I10808
  • When trying to delete or move files and user intervention is required, there is now an option to apply the Yes, No or Cancel choice to all other files with the same problem. I11541
  • Appropriate guidance and caution is offered when FDF notices that the user is trying to delete or move files from an iPhoto or iTunes library. I12894I13085
  • Confirmation is now required when an attempt is made to delete all copies of a particular item. Deleting all the copies of a particular item is usually inadvertent, since it is usual to wish to keep at least one copy of each item. I12928
  • A warning will be given if you attempt to delete certain important system files from within FDF. I12384
  • When moving files (rather than deleting them), a warning will be given in potentially problematic scenarios, such as insufficient disk space being available on the destination volume. I12893I13034
  • Confirmation is requested when the user asks to open a great many items in one go. I12754
  • The file type annotations in the preview panel are shown in a fractionally larger font than before, making them easier to read. I12689
  • The first selected item is made visible after changing the sort order of the scan results table. I13065
  • The horizontal background stripes have been removed from the list of folders to be scanned. I12688
  • When the table of folders to be scanned has focus, the Backspace key will now remove selected folders. I13009
  • When sorting the scan results table by file or location, ordering is now case insensitive, in line with the behaviour of Finder. I13029I13062I13064
  • The right-click context menus for the scan results table and the preview panel now show shortcut keys. I13074
  • For consistency with Finder, the shortcut for deleting selected items has been changed to Cmd+Backspace. I13076
  • Images in the preview panel now fill a greater proportion of their selection rectangles. I13080
  • Various corrections and improvements have been made to the online help. I12812I10995I13044
  • The major version number has been changed to 2012, reflecting the year of release. I13042

Defects fixed

  • Find Duplicate Files has a robust new scanning engine. Though as fast and efficient as before, multiple instances of the same file will never now appear in the scan results, even in unusual circumstances such as a file being the target of multiple hard links. I12974
  • An appropriate error message is shown when attempting to delete files for which the user does not have delete permission. I12748
  • Moving an item to a folder will either succeed or fail. Previously, it was possible for the item to be copied to its new location but then for it to fail to be deleted from its old, resulting in the file appearing in both places. I12923
  • The Stop Scan button works even in the duplicate identification phase. I13066
  • In the non-Mac App Store version of FDF, the background colour of the serial number entry field in the registration dialog now changes immediately once a valid serial number has been entered. I12964
  • The All files (*) file kinds pattern is now set by default for fresh FDF installations. I12743
  • A helpful message will now be displayed if the Compare with Araxis Merge menu item is chosen when Araxis Merge is not installed. I12744
  • When FDF is set to open automatically when a user logs in, an application window will now always be displayed. I12711
  • It is no longer possible for the folders to be scanned table to be shrunk so that no entries can be seen. I12919I13084I13079I13091

Find Duplicate Files 2011.200 for OS X 30 June 2011

This was a previous production-quality release of Araxis Find Duplicate Files for Mac OS X. Araxis recommends that all users upgrade to the latest release.

Changes

  • Find Duplicate Files is now available in the Mac App Store. I12596
  • Mac OS X 10.7 Lion is now supported (tested with Developer Preview 4 + update). This replaces support for Mac OS X Leopard. Customers using Leopard may, of course, continue to use older releases of FDF. I12678
  • The Using Araxis Find Duplicate Files help topic now recommends against scanning your entire system drive, but suggests instead that specific folders (for example, those containing documents or images) be scanned. Although Find Duplicate Files is highly optimized to scan folders quickly, including unnecessary folders can significantly increase the time it takes to generate results. Scanning the entire system drive also risks including essential system or application files in the results, which you might then accidentally delete. I12568
  • When manually selecting files in the Items found in the last scan table, the corresponding files will now also be pre-selected in the preview pane. (Note that changing the selection in the preview pane continues not to affect the selection in the found items table.) I12665
  • The FDF application bundle has been renamed to ‘Araxis Find Duplicate Files’ from ‘Find Duplicate Files’. Copying this release to your Applications folder will not therefore replace an older release. You may therefore wish to move the older release to the Trash. I12642
  • Filenames are no longer overly abbreviated in the preview pane. I12662
  • The highlight colour of selected items in the preview pane now changes depending upon whether the preview pane has input focus. I12664
  • Preview thumbnails are now centred rather than bottom-aligned in their containing space. Filenames are highlighted with the system highlight colour specified in the Mac OS X System Preferences. The background colour for selected item icons now matches that used in Finder (typically a light grey). I12649
  • The Folders to be scanned table can now be resized down to just two rows. This allows more room for the items found table and preview pane on small displays. I12650
  • The preview pane no longer shows vertical scroll bars when they are not needed. I12657
  • Selected items in the preview pane no longer have their tops truncated when they are scrolled out of, and then back into, view. I12691
  • The application window is now displayed upon startup on Lion DP4 + update, even when FDF had been download with Safari. I12745
  • The Process Files facility now works correctly on Lion (DP4 + update) when launching a sandboxed application such as Mac OS X Preview. I12634
  • Saved folder sets can now be opened on Lion DP4 + update. This change has necessitated changing the extension of saved folder sets from .fdf to .findduplicatefiles. Rename any existing .fdf files accordingly to use them with this release of FDF. I12624
  • The FDF application bundle .plist file now correctly identifies the version of the application. This should improve compatibility with certain third-party services such as MacUpdate. I12553
  • FDF application window captions now include the name of the application. I10962
  • The small circular panel resize thumbs no longer appear to be slightly blurry at certain window widths. I12681
  • The major version number of FDF is now 2011, to indicate the year of release. I12342
  • The link in the online help to Apple’s list of System-Declared Uniform Type Identifiers (UTIs) has been updated. I12146
  • A typographical error in the help has been addressed. I12012

Find Duplicate Files 2010.149 for OS X 12 October 2010

This was a previous production-quality release of Araxis Find Duplicate Files for Mac OS X. Araxis recommends that all users upgrade to the latest release.

Changes

  • When the file system root (/) is in the list of folders to be scanned, FDF will no longer scan /Volumes and /dev. To scan a mounted volume, add it to the list of folders to be scanned. I11815
  • It now takes much less time to save a large set of scan results, and to open such previously saved results. As a result of this change, scan results saved with this version of FDF cannot be opened by earlier versions of FDF. I12045
  • The FDF application icon is in the new Araxis product family style. I11883I11905
  • The serial number support expiry notification will now appear briefly whenever the application starts, until it is expressly dismissed. Previously, it appeared only once every 30 days and was therefore easy to miss. I11475
  • The notification messages that appear in the bottom left of the screen now show for slightly longer than before. I12057
  • The alignment of a check box on the Preferences…▸Notifications page has been corrected. I12062
  • A typographical error has been fixed in the online help. I11954

Find Duplicate Files 2010.120 for OS X 15 April 2010

This was a previous production-quality release of Araxis Find Duplicate Files for Mac OS X. Araxis recommends that all users upgrade to the latest release.

Changes

  • A recent Apple security update to Mac OS X 10.5.8 Leopard resulted in Find Duplicate Files crashing on PowerPC machines. This problem has been fixed. I11777
  • The major version number has been changed to 2010, to reflect the year of release. I11678

Find Duplicate Files 2010.113 for Windows 7 7 April 2010

This was the only release of Araxis Find Duplicate Files for Windows 7. Due to insufficient demand, no further releases of Find Duplicate Files for Windows are currently planned. The Mac OS X ersion continues to be actively developed.

Warning This release is not tested or supported on Windows Vista or earlier versions of Windows. It is unlikely to work correctly on Windows Vista, and will not work at all on Windows XP.

Download (non-Mac App Store version)

VersionBuild date
2010.1131 April 2010

Find Duplicate Files 2009.90 for OS X 10 December 2009

This was a previous production-quality release of Araxis Find Duplicate Files for Mac OS X Leopard and Snow Leopard. Araxis recommends that all users upgrade to the latest release.

Changes

  • It is now possible to disable startup upgrade availability and support expiry notification messages. I11398
  • Find Duplicate Files is now able to scan mounted FTP and NFS volumes. I11482I11504
  • When moving files on a network share to Trash, Find Duplicate Files will now warn the user that deleted files can not be recovered. I10785
  • The Folders to be scanned window now displays scroll bars when required. I11454
  • Find Duplicate Files no longer hangs when trying to display previews of EPS files. I11066
  • Clicking Select Duplicate Items when there is a large number of duplicates no longer causes a crash. I11190
  • Crashes caused by Apple’s IKImageBrowserView control no longer occur. I11238
  • Scanning a very large number of files (millions) should no longer result in a crash. I11265

Find Duplicate Files 2009.65 for OS X 21 2009

This was a previous production-quality release of Araxis Find Duplicate Files for Mac OS X Leopard and Snow Leopard. Araxis recommends that all users upgrade to the latest release.

Changes

  • The user interface is now even easier to use and more self-explanatory. I10931I10939I10961
  • By default, a confirmation sheet is now shown when you ask Find Duplicate Files to delete files. I10961
  • The Using Araxis Find Duplicate Files help topic has been considerably improved. I10961
  • Application windows may no longer be sized smaller than a certain minimum size. I10932
  • A crash due to an ‘uncaught exception “NSInternalInconsistencyException”’ should no longer occur. I10908
  • Find Duplicate Files should no longer crash when it encounters certain files with character encoding errors. I10662
  • A problem with hash-value generation has been addressed. I10977
  • A broken hyperlink in the documentation to the Apple system-declared UTI list has been fixed. I10971
  • The message shown on the re-registration dialog when an evaluation has ended now mentions Find Duplicate Files and not Araxis Merge. I10783
  • A problem has been fixed whereby support would prematurely expire if the Find Duplicate Files application bundle were altered by disk-space reduction applications. I10864

Find Duplicate Files 2009.54 for OS X 20 2009

This was a previous production-quality release of Araxis Find Duplicate Files for Mac OS X Leopard. Araxis recommends that all users upgrade to the latest release.

Changes

  • The Folders to be scanned list may now be re-ordered using drag-and-drop. This is useful because the order of folders in this list is important for the Delete Duplicate Files… operation. I10642
  • Newly non-duplicate items are now hidden automatically following a delete of their duplicates when Show only duplicate items is checked. I10644
  • Find Duplicate Files now has the ability to further process the duplicate files found using an external program. For more information, see Process Selected Items Panel. I10633
  • Extended attribute files (whose names are prefixed by ._), which are managed by the operating system and appear only on file systems that do not support extended attributes directly, are now excluded from appearing in search results. For example, ._Untitled.rtf would be the extended attributes file associated with Untited.rtf, and only the latter would now appear in search results. When a file with separate extended attributes is deleted or moved, the associated extended attributes file will also be processed in the same way. This addresses a problem whereby files on a FAT-formatted USB drive could not be deleted. I10687
  • The product major version number has been updated to 2009, to reflect the year of release. I10715

Find Duplicate Files 2008.38 for OS X 18 November 2008

This was a previous production-quality release of Araxis Find Duplicate Files for Mac OS X Leopard. Araxis recommends that all users upgrade to the latest release.

Changes

  • Find Duplicate Files now has support for 64-bit processor architectures, enabling it to handle massive directory hierarchies on 64-bit machines. I10487
  • A crash that sometimes occurred when opening a blank Find window has been fixed. I10608
  • A minor problem in the handling of invalid serial numbers on PowerPC machines has been addressed. I10614
  • The free fully functional evaluation period is now 7 days. I10313

Find Duplicate Files 2008.30 for OS X 17 April 2008

This was a previous production-quality release of Araxis Find Duplicate Files for Mac OS X Leopard. Araxis recommends that all users upgrade to the latest release.

Changes

  • When deleting all duplicates of a file, the first duplicate encountered during a folder scan is now retained and the others deleted. Previously, the ordering was undefined. Changing the order of folders to be scanned therefore provides a mechanism to control which duplicate is kept. I10047
  • FDF no longer crashes when backspace is used to delete multiple duplicates. I10071
  • Another cause of occasional crashing has been fixed. I10076

Find Duplicate Files 2008.25 for OS X 19 March 2008

This was a previous production-quality release of Araxis Find Duplicate Files for Mac OS X Leopard. Araxis recommends that all users upgrade to the latest release.

Changes

  • There is now support for wildcard patterns when specifying which files should be included in a scan. This is in addition to the pre-existing support for selecting files based on their Uniform Type Identifier (UTI). Please see the Review Preferences section in Using Araxis Find Duplicate Files for further information. I9996I10003I10008
  • Uniform Type Identifiers (UTIs) for Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents have been added to the default list in Preferences, making it easy to include these types of files in a scan. I10003
  • Find Duplicate Files will now notify customers once their year of inclusive support/updates entitlement has expired. I10000

Find Duplicate Files 2008.16 for OS X 10 March 2008

This was the first release of Araxis Find Duplicate Files for Mac OS X Leopard.