DeleteIf Same

[TheSaint]

Just a little program I whipped up a few days ago, that I thought some might appreciate.

It uses hash checking to match source with destination, and if equal, deletes the source.

It is pretty basic code, but does some nice tricky things ... including working by drag & drop for source and destination.

NOTE - Source and Destination paths are never the same. The source file or folder must exist in the Destination folder.

Essentially, I use this to clear folders on my transfer thumb drive ... thus making sure I have indeed backed up all. In reality, just a form of double-checking, because I do a lot of transfers between Netbook and Laptop and eventually external HDDs, using a thumb drive as the transfer medium ... between the PCs anyway. I keep multiple copies of everything ... and yes, even online (Google Drive) for smaller size content.

Hopefully its basic usage should be self evident. Enjoy!

WARNING - The process is an immediate one, when source is dragged & dropped on that input (providing Destination has already been set). There are no prompts.

DeleteIf Same v1.1.zip  515.95 kB  (148 downloads) (includes source, but not the icon which I got for myself as an online freebie)

DeleteIf Same v1.2.zip  522.24 kB  (159 downloads) (includes source) update detail at Post #4

DeleteIf Same v1.3.zip (includes source) update detail at Post #5

  

Older Screenshots

Spoiler

P.S. I have belatedly realized (as is often the case) that I should have labelled the first input as, Destination Path To Compare Inside, and other as, Source To Delete If A Match Within Destination. Oh well, just a slight amendment to each, but does make things clearer.

Edited September 11, 2023 by TheSaint

[TheSaint]

After just using the program again this arvo, it has occurred to me, that a check & delete an empty folder option would be a great addition ... I am always making sure a folder is really empty before deleting it ... so drag & drop simplicity would be cool.

[Earthshine]

Check out google DiffMatchPatch if you ever need to sync text

Edited February 24, 2018 by Earthshine

[TheSaint]

DeleteIf Same has been updated to v1.2. See first post,, which includes latest screenshot.

(v1.2) Added options for 'Deleting an empty folder' and 'Report only', plus relocated the 'Remove the Thumbs.db files' to a checkbox option (rather than a dialog OK button toggle). After a source has been deleted its path now gets greyed out in the source input. Renamed 'Destination' and 'Source' input titles, plus modified the greyed out advice text shown in each input. An error is now reported when a file is dropped on the Destination input field. Major rewrite of checking & deleting code to accommodate new features. Log entries are now added to start of Log file, not end.

NOTES - With this new version, and the 'Report only' option, you can now use the program as a comparison tool only (no delete). However it only advises if a match or not. Three checks are involved - (1) Folder or File existence in destination folder. (2) Folder & File list  (including all sub-folders & content) and layout. (3) Hash check using that facility in AutoIt's Crypt.au3 (Crypt Management UDF).

An empty folder also applies when containing empty sub-folders. So long as no files exist within the hierarchy, then the parent folder is deemed empty.

TOP

Edited February 25, 2018 by TheSaint

[TheSaint]

DeleteIf Same has been updated to v1.3. See first post,, which includes new screenshots.

(v1.3)
Removed the 'Minimize' button, and made the GUI a normal one with System menu and Minimize, then added a 'Batch List' dropbox button and process.
Logfile now also gets a source path entry before checking starts, so that time taken can be determined later, if desired.

NOTE - Many times I had been wishing the program had a batch mode, and finally I made it so. This is particularly handy when wanting to delete more than one large file or folder, as it means you can set and forget. I've yet to test the 'ESC' to cancel option in Batch List mode, which uses Adlib and gets polled every 1500 millisecs.