Duplicate
A duplicate is anything that is an exact copy of another thing. For example, with computers, a duplicate file is an exact copy of a file.
Creating a duplicate of a file
To create a duplicate of a file. Locate the file in a file manager (e.g., Windows Explorer), copy it from one directory, and paste it into another.
Can you have a duplicate file in the same directory?
No. An exact duplicate cannot be in the same directory because each file must have a unique file name in the same directory. When a file is copied to the same directory, it's considered a copy, not a duplicate. The file contents are the same, but because the file name differs, it's not an exact copy. As seen in the animated picture, when copying and pasting a file in the same directory, the operating system added "- Copy" to keep it unique.
Can I use the save function to create a duplicate?
As long as no file compression occurs or other changes are made, the save function can create a duplicate. For example, a text document is saved without compression and could be used to create a duplicate. However, with most images and videos, some form of compression occurs when saving the file in an editor.
Because it's difficult to know exactly how a program saves a file, we recommend using a file manager to create an exact duplicate and not the save feature in a program.
When dealing with any file that could be compressed during a save or upload (e.g., images and video), keep a copy of the original uncompressed version. Keeping the original separate from edited versions helps ensure you have the highest quality version of the file if it's needed again.
How to delete duplicate lines
If the program or text editor you're using supports the ability to delete duplicate text lines, it can be done through the program options. For example, in Notepad++, a plugin can be installed to give you this ability. For programs or devices without this ability, copy the text from your program into our Text Tool to remove duplicate lines or perform other text operations.