How To Fix Multiple Copies of Same File In Google Drive
Are you drowning in a sea of duplicate files in your Google Drive? From multiple versions of the same document to hundreds of the same photo, and those forgotten copies you didn't realize you uploaded, duplicates quickly clutter a cloud account and make it harder to keep organized. The good news is fixing this problem doesn't have to be a tedious, manual task.
With Cloud Duplicate Finder by your side, all these unwanted copies will become visible and be easily erased, freeing up the precious space within your storage and ensuring your files are streamlined and managed. In the following step-by-step guide, we will show exactly how you can clean duplicate files from your Google Drive.
Why Do You Have Duplicate Files in Google Drive?
Following are the reasons that are usually responsible for the creation of duplicates:
- Uploading the Same File Multiple Times: This can happen when you accidentally upload different versions of the same file in your Drive.
- Copying Files Between Folders: Often, when you are transferring or copying files to folders, you create multiple copies without realizing it.
- Syncing Issues:If the Google Drive file is spread across devices or used on multiple platforms, sync problems may cause the same file to appear multiple times.
Steps to Fix Multiple Copies of the Same File Using Cloud Duplicate Finder
CDF Google Drive Duplicate File Finder helps you delete dupes without hassle, thereby releasing storage space.
Step 1: Sign Up and Connect Google Drive
- Create an Account: Visit the Cloud Duplicate Finder website where you can sign up for a free account or subscribe to the plan that best fits your requirements.
- Connect Your Google Drive: From your Cloud Duplicate Finder account, login and click on the "Add Cloud Storage" button. Under the list of supported cloud services, choose Google Drive. You will have to sign into your Google account, then you will need to authorize Cloud Duplicate Finder to access your Drive.
Step 2: Configure Scan Settings
- Select Folders to Scan: After connecting your Google Drive you can choose to scan a specific folder or the entire Google drive. It is recommended that you choose your entire Google drive to get a scan of all your data for comprehensive results.
- Choose Scan Filters: Cloud Duplicate Finder is designed with several filters that enable you to customize your scan. You can choose to scan based on:
- File Name: Detects duplicates based on identical file names.
- File Size: Duplicate files are the same size.
- Content: Scans for identical content, regardless of file name and size
Note: Recommended to use "Content" in order to have a thorough scan and find all duplicate files that are hidden under different file names.
Step 3: Start the Scan
Once you have selected your preferences, you can click the Start Scan button. Cloud Duplicate Finder will now begin scanning through your Google Drive. Depending on how much information exists in your Google Drive, the scan should be relatively fast, taking only a couple of minutes.
Step 4: Review the Results
- View Duplicates: Once the scanning is done, you will have a list of duplicate files. The files will be arranged such that it becomes easier to determine which files duplicate each other. Results entail important file names, sizes, and locations.
- Preview Files: You will preview the content of the respective file before deleting it in order to avoid mistakenly deleting an important file by clicking on the file.
Step 5: Remove Duplicate File Copies
- Select File Copies to Delete: Cloud Duplicate Finder offers two methods of duplicate management:
- Delete Duplicates: You can choose to delete the duplicate files completely from your Google Drive to free up some of that space.
- Move to Trash: If you’re unsure, you can send all these duplicates to your trash and allow you to recover them later if needed.
- Delete or Move to Trash: After selecting the files to delete, you just need to click on the "Delete" button. The application will then remove the duplicates so only one version remains in your Google Drive.
Step 6: Check for Remaining Duplicates
Once you've run the process, always do a quick second scan to see if any duplicates were missed. Sometimes, files miss a sweep when they are contained within folders or have different metadata, such as a different file extension.
It takes some time to identify and delete duplicate files using Google Drive, but with the help of Cloud Duplicate Finder, you can easily identify and remove duplicate files with just a few clicks. By following this tutorial, you'll not only recover valuable storage space, but also get your files better organized.