Find Duplicate Attachments

Microsoft Outlook is a widely used email client and personal information manager. However, it has some pain points, such as duplicate appearance and limited mailbox size. One common cause of Outlook's cluttered mailbox is duplicate attachments.

This utility is designed to help users find duplicate attached documents in different Outlook items. It tags the items with the same attached files, allowing users to identify and manage them more effectively. You can apply filters to select Outlook items for processing and include or exclude particular files using a file mask. This tool helps keep your Outlook mailbox organized and frees up space.

Main features

• Searches for duplicates in multiple Outlook folders at once, saving time and effort.
• Uses file mask to include or exclude certain files from the search process.
• Allows you to select which types of Outlook items to include in the search.
• Enables searching for duplicates within a specific time period by providing a filter by date.
• Assigns special categories to detected Outlook items, allowing users to determine what to do with identical attachments.
• Finds duplicate attachments in batch mode using the command line app in the Professional Version of the utility.
• Enables scheduled automated search for the duplicates with the command line app and Windows Task Scheduler.

Why are attachments duplicated in Outlook?

Duplicate attachments may occur in Outlook due to various reasons, such as receiving the same attached document from different sources, copying items in other folders, or syncing issues.

Duplicated items with attachments are another reason for attachment duplication. To avoid this issue, see how to prevent and remove Outlook duplicates.

Why mark Outlook emails with duplicate attachments

Assigning special categories to Outlook messages with the same attachments can help identify original and unnecessary information and handle mail more efficiently.

Additionally, categorizing such emails helps keep the Outlook mailbox organized and uncluttered.

Categorized messages make manual operations with duplicates much easier. The categories assigned by this utility contain file names and a separate code for each unique attachment. Once the folder's view is grouped by "Categories" and sorted by the "Received" field, you can identify completely identical attached documents or duplicates with different names. Unnecessary attachments can then be deleted with a special tool, and another utility will clean up the no longer needed categories. Read more about how to do this in our blog article, which offers various options for dealing with duplicate Outlook attachments.

How to find duplicate Outlook attachments manually

You can use the Outlook Search feature to manually find the same Outlook attachments. You can also sort the items by attachments and compare them one by one. In the >View > View Settings > Sort… menu, select "Attachment" from the "Sort items by" list.

Once you have identified the same attached files, you can then decide which ones to delete.

There are several drawbacks to finding and tagging duplicate Outlook attachments in a manual way:

• Time-consuming. Manually searching through emails and attachments for duplicates is a slow process, especially if there are a large number of emails and other items to inspect.
• Error-prone. Manually identifying duplicates is prone to errors. It is easy to miss or to incorrectly delete important information.
• Tedious. Manually tagging attachments is inefficient, as it requires the user to navigate through the email client and go through all the attached files.

How to find duplicate attachments in Outlook automatically

Automatic detection of duplicate attachments in Outlook greatly simplifies the process. This tool automatically searches for and marks identical attached files. It offers advanced features such as file mask and selection of Outlook items by type and creation date.

Benefits of the automatic duplicate search

• Search for identical attachments in multiple folders at once. 
• Using file mask to include or exclude attached files of a certain file type or name.
• Applying filters by Outlook item types and dates.
• Automatic search for duplicate attachments in batch mode.

Steps to find duplicate attachments in Outlook

1. Launch the utility from the ReliefJet tab of the Outlook ribbon or from a separate app.
2. Click the Configure button to select Outlook folders to handle.
3. Use the file mask to include or exclude the attached documents with a particular name or of a certain type.
4. Choose which Outlook items are to be processed by selecting the item types.
5. Define the period when the items to be handled were created. Or select the "anytime" option.
6. Run the search and review the results.
7. Decide which attachments to delete or save.

Use the Remove Attachments utility for further deletion of unwanted attachments. To clear the assigned categories, apply the Categorize Outlook Items tool.

How to find duplicate Outlook attachments in batch mode

You can search for the same attached files in multiple Outlook profiles using the command line app in the Professional Edition of the product. The command line can be used to run the utility on a schedule or in .bat files, as well as for batch processing of PST files and Exchange mailboxes.

FAQ

How do I find duplicate attachments in Outlook?

You can use the Outlook search feature to find the identical attached documents manually or use this special add-in to automatically find and tag duplicate attached files.

Can I search for duplicate attachments in multiple folders?

Yes. You can use the utility to run the search in multiple Outlook and Exchange Server folders at once.

Why should I remove duplicate attachments?

Removing duplicates helps in keeping your Outlook mailbox organized and unoccupied.

How can I get rid of duplicate attachments without deleting them permanently?

You can use the Remove Duplicate Attachments tool to automatically replace duplicate attached files with links.

How can I mark Outlook messages with duplicate attachments?

Outlook's built-in categorization feature allows you to mark items with the same attachments, but you have to search for them manually. It is inconvenient, takes a long time, and is risky to make a mistake.

This utility automatically assigns special categories to Outlook messages with equal attached files. It helps identify them more effectively, easily, and safely.