Even though duplicate files have been pestering computer users for some time, nowadays it’s easy to tackle the problem by using simple software programs that are specifically designed to tackle them.
However, it’s still a bit difficult to weed them out if it involves identifying and removing visually similar images. Visually similar images won’t appear the same in the eyes of the machine, but a human being probably will be fooled into taking them as duplicates. This guide uses PictureEcho to identify and remove visually similar images swiftly.
Solution
It’s quite easy to identify and remove duplicate files with ease with the following steps, as this method only utilizes File Explorer and PictureEcho. The former is used to filter out the images by their created and modified dates, and PictureEcho is used to identify visually similar duplicate images among them.
- Navigate to the Pictures folder via File Explorer.
- Use one of the advanced query syntaxes in the search bar of the File Explorer.
Entering the query syntax in the search bar > kind:photo date:16-Mar-2018 (Brings up images that were created/ snapped on 16th March 2018)
> kind:photo datemodified:16-Mar-2018 (Brings up images that were modified on 16th March 2018)
> kind:photo datemodified:<16-Mar-2018 (Brings up images that were modified earlier than 16th March 2018)
> kind:photo datemodified:>16-Mar-2018 (Brings up images that were modified after 16th March 2018)
> kind:photo datemodified:16-Mar-2018..16-May-2018 (Brings up images that were modified between the specified dates (inclusive search)) - The search result of the above query syntax will appear in the main panel of the File Explorer momentarily. Move all the photos to another folder.
- Download and install PictureEcho.
- Launch it and click the Add Path button to add the folder in which you moved the photos in step # 3.
- Select both Similar Match and Show preview. Selecting the checkbox for the latter ensures you can also view the previews of the images in the user interface, which is very useful in determining the images to be retained as well as removed.
Selecting Similar Match and Show preview - Click Start Search to spring the scan into action. Wait for a while before the scan concludes and loads up the results in the user interface.
- Simply click the Select Duplicates button on the right half of the footer and select the option of your liking. Note that PictureEcho highlights the images which will face the delete/ move action (depending on your choice) in the next step.
The Select Duplicates menu options - Click the Select Action button, and select to either delete the visually similar photos or move them to a folder.
The Select Action menu options - Finally, move all the remaining from this folder (specified in step # 3) to the Pictures folder.
