Deleting safely
Nothing is removed without a way back, except when you choose to erase.
Where files go
| Setting | What happens |
|---|---|
| Recycle Bin | The normal route. Restore anything from the Recycle Bin as usual. |
| Move to a folder… | Copies are moved into a folder you pick instead of being deleted at all. |
| Quarantine folder | A recoverable holding area Deduplo manages itself. |
| Replace with a link to the copy you keep | The extra keeps its name and folder but stops using space — it becomes a second name for the copy you keep. Only for exact copies on the same drive; undo makes it a real file again. |
| Copy to a folder… | Nothing is removed: the ticked files are copied out, and your library stays exactly as it was. |
| Save as one ZIP file… | Nothing is removed: the ticked files are written into one archive you name. |
You choose this each time, in the window titled Confirm removal.
On a USB stick, memory card or network drive, a Recycle Bin delete is often permanent — the drive has no Recycle Bin. Deduplo detects this, warns you before anything happens, and offers the recoverable quarantine folder instead.
The four guarantees
| Guarantee | What it means |
|---|---|
| One copy always survives | A set can never be emptied, however you tick it. The last remaining file is protected even in bulk operations. |
| Checked immediately before | A file whose size or date changed since the scan is left untouched — an edited copy is never removed on stale information. |
| Undo, step by step | Every batch can be undone, and redone, in order. Toolbox ▸ What happened so far shows them all. |
| Protected folders | Folders you marked are never ticked and never removed. |
Before you press Delete
- A confirmation dialog lists exactly what is about to go. Turn it off under Always show confirmation dialog before deleting if you prefer.
- Create ZIP backup before bulk delete takes a snapshot of the files first, so even a permanent removal is recoverable.
- Warn when deleting from cloud-sync folders flags files inside OneDrive, Dropbox and similar, because removing them there removes them everywhere.
Afterwards
Folders left empty by a removal are cleaned up with your confirmation, working upwards so parent folders that also emptied go too. The folders you scanned, and any protected folder, are never removed.
The results list updates in place — there is no need to scan again after deleting.
Deletion history
Toolbox ▸ What happened so far keeps a record of what was removed and when, so you can answer "what happened to that file?" long after the fact.