Who this is for
Office manager or operations lead with a shared drive full of copies, such as "final", "final v2" and re-exported spreadsheets, who is afraid to delete the wrong one.
The drive is full of near-copies, nobody knows which version is current, and an earlier clean-up deleted something people needed.
The result
A script you run on a copy of a folder lists groups of exact and near-duplicate files with the method used, a similarity figure, what differs and which file is newest. Files from the same template that differ in names, amounts or dates are listed as "similar, differ in" and never as duplicates. The script has no deleting, moving or renaming code, and your person decides everything.
What is included
- One folder tree of up to 5,000 files: documents (PDF, Word, text) and exports (CSV, spreadsheets)
- Exact copies by file fingerprint, near-copies of documents by text overlap and near-copies of exports by row and column overlap
- Groups with the method, the similarity figure, the newest and largest file, and the lines or columns that differ
- A separate list of look-alike files from one template that differ in key fields
- A dry-run review file with a column for your decision, and nothing applied
You receive
- The groups list with differences
- The look-alike list
- The review file with a decision column
- The script and the command to re-run it
- A note on what the figures mean
What is not included
- Deleting, moving, renaming, archiving or merging any file
- Deciding which file is the right one to keep
- Reading scanned images or handwriting
- Files held in a live drive: you run the script on a copy
- Personal or special-category files, unless you run the script on your own machine and send only the lists
- Legal records holds or retention decisions
What we need from you first
- Roughly how many files and which types
- Where they are stored
- What a wrong delete would cost you
- No logins, keys, customer data or payment details in the first enquiry
Never send passwords, keys, customer records or confidential code in the first enquiry. Secure handover is agreed after scoping.
How we check it is done
- A script search of the delivered code finds no call that deletes, moves, renames or writes a file outside its own output folder, and a fingerprint of the folder before and after a run is identical.
- At least 36 of the 40 planted duplicate groups appear in the list, including at least 18 of the 20 you keep from us until the run. One wrong classification of a held-back look-alike as duplicate fails the whole test; these planted cases are a smoke test, not a general detection-rate claim.
- None of the 10 look-alike pairs (same template, different names, amounts or dates) is listed as a duplicate, and each is listed as "similar, differ in" with the differing fields. One look-alike listed as a duplicate fails the whole test.
- After the matching rules are frozen, you randomly select and label 50 output groups, keeping your labels from us until acceptance; at least 46 must be true duplicates or near-copies under your written rule (observed 92%; exact one-sided 95% lower bound, rounded down: 82%). One group violating a never-duplicate rule fails the whole test.
- A second run gives identical groups, and your team re-runs the command you are given and gets the same lists.
You re-run the acceptance checks with the steps we hand over, read the results and sign off in writing. Payment follows sign-off.
When we would stop or decline
- You want files deleted or moved automatically
- The folder holds legal-hold records you cannot copy
- The files are mostly scans of paper with no text
- You will not review the list yourself
Questions
Does it delete duplicates?
No. It has no code that deletes, moves or renames, and we show you the search that proves it.
What about two invoices from the same template?
They are listed as "similar, differ in" with the fields that differ. They are never listed as duplicates.
Does my content go to an AI?
Not by default. Matching uses fingerprints and text overlap. An optional note on how two files differ can be switched on, and then only the differing lines go to the provider named in the terms.
Does a pass mean it will be right next month?
No. A pass describes items like the test sample on the day of the test. It is not a promise about future items, and it does not replace your own checking.
Price and terms
£195 · untested offer price. £195 after the agreed acceptance checks pass and you sign off. No payment before sign-off.
This is a new service with no published client results. The price is a starting point we have not yet tested with buyers. Nothing is ordered or charged by the enquiry. The full specification is on the Synthetic Industry catalogue.