Options

Junk File Remover

This page sets the file extensions for scanning of unwanted files. Experts can even add their own extensions . Wildcards (?,*) are accepted. The default settings are enough for normal users.

Adding new file types:
Firstly, it should be strongly noted that adding to or editing the existing file types can lead to hazardous results if you are not experienced with such matters. If you have ANY doubts about your ability to perform such modifications please refrain from doing so. Ace Utilities cannot be held responsible for any problematic results that misuse of these functions may cause.

If you are knowledgeable of windows file types, you may wish to customize the pre-built list. Perhaps you own an application that leaves behind junk and obsolete files because of a general untidy nature or frequent crashes or system freezes. If you know the extension or wildcard filter for the types of files you wish to scan for and remove using this tool, you may add them to the saved list of file types in the following manner:

(1) Click the 'Add' button
(2) In the box that pops up, enter the file type.
(3) Click ok.

To remove a file type, select the entry from the list and click 'Remove'.

Clean Temp Files Folder
Windows have a special folder called the 'Temp' where temporary files and data are stored by applications and the operating system. The files contained in this folder and any subfolders therein can safely assumed to be temporary. If you utilize this option, all files contained in the Windows Temp Folder will be considered eligible for removal.

Clean Temporary Internet Files
As you surf the Internet your browser saves various parts of the web pages you view onto your hard drive in order to speed up the loading process next time you access the site. Using this option, you can conveniently remove these files, clearing the space they occupy.

Don't use ignore list while scanning Temp folders
Since Temp folder only contain temporary files and data are stored by applications and the operating system, you can safely delete these files with out employing the Ace Utilities' built-in ignore feature for file scanning.

Find all zero length files
'Zero length' files are created when a third-party application creates a new document or other file but does not place any data within it. This can happen when you create a new file but forget to save it, or your application or system crashes before your work is saved, etc. These files literally contain no data and should be able to be safely removed, eliminating clutter from your system. So enabling this option will get rid of these files from your system.

Use Ignore list
Normal users must set the 'use ignore list' option. This is to exclude certain files from being included in the scan. Learn more about ignore lists.

Exclude
When you wish exclude any files contained within a certain folder from a scan, You can use the this option and instruct the file scanning process to ignore any files found within specified folder locations. These folders will be skipped if you check mark them. Add your folders having backup files. To add folders,

(1) Click 'Add' button.
(2) You'll be presented with a box that will allow you to browse your drives for the specific folder location you would like to add. Select this folder. You can also use wildcards (* and ? ) too.
(3) Click 'Ok'

Include
There may be times when you wish consider all of the files within a certain folder to be removed. This can be done in the following manner.

(1) Click 'Add' button.
(2) You'll be presented with a 'Browse for folder' box  that will allow you to browse your drives for the specific folder location you would like to add. Select this folder.
(3) Click 'Ok'

Removal
This section deals with the way Ace Utilities handles 'file deletion', i.e., when you click the 'Delete' option. Three ways are provided which are as given below.

Send to the Recycle Bin
This is the safest and most wise method of removal. Files that are moved to the Windows Recycle Bin retain information about their original location etc. Chances are very good that if you need to reverse a file removal that has been stored in the Recycle Bin, you will be able to accomplish this easily. The downside of using the Recycle Bin is that the space occupied by the removed files is not freed until you actually empty the bin through Windows.

Delete permanently
This will delete the files permanently i.e., they are not sent to the recycle bin. Files removed via this fashion should be very carefully scrutinized before doing so because it will be extremely difficult and in most cases impossible to recover them once this type of removal is performed. Use this method only if you are sure the files in question are absolutely no longer needed. Ace Utilities cannot be held responsible for lost files, data, or information due to the use or misuse of this function.

Backup to this folder
Sometimes, rather than permanently deleting files or moving them to the Recycle Bin, it is useful to separate and move them into a specific folder. Files removed in this manner are zipped and stored in the backup location. They remain intact and can be examined before permanent removal. Browse and set the backup folder by clicking the 'Browse' button. To restore deleted entries, use the 'Restore' Tool. Please not that files backed up with this option can be restored only using the Restore Tool.

Registry Cleaner

In this section you can set a number of options available to you in order to allow you to manipulate the way that the registry cleaner tool will scan your registry. These options are described below:

Backup registry entries deleted to the folder

In here, you can specify the name of the backup folder in which an undo-file containing the deleted entries will be stored. To select folder,

(1) Click 'Browse' button.
(2) You'll be presented with a 'Browse for folder' box  that will allow you to browse your drives for the specific folder location you would like to add. Select this folder.
(3) Click 'Ok'

To restore deleted entries, you can use the 'Restore' tool.

Scan

There are two options available (1) Standard (2) Thorough. The second option performs a more intensive scan algorithm.

Include all references to removable media

If this option is checked, the Registry Cleaner Tool will also scan for any invalid references that have data pointing to files or folders located on removable media like floppy

Include all references to CD Drive

If this option is checked, the Registry Cleaner Tool will also scan for any invalid references that have data pointing to files or folders located on CD-ROMÆs. This is by-default unchecked cause your registry may contain references to files or folders on CD-ROMs that are not currently accessible.

Use Ignore List

Normal users must set the 'use ignore list' option. This is to exclude certain entries from being included in the scan. Experts can learn more about ignore lists.

The default settings are enough for normal users.

Advanced

When you click on the 'Advanced' button, you will be presented with a set of various locations in your Registry that will be scanned when looking for invalid data. It is not of much importance that you understand exactly what these options mean.

Shortcut Cleaner

You have two ways to specify where to look for invalid shortcut files.

Scan only Start Menu and desktop for broken shortcuts
If you would only like to scan your Start Menu and desktop for broken links, select this option.

All the drives specified in the 'Drives' tab
If you would like to scan the selected hard drive partitions on your system you can click on this option.
 

Duplicate File Finder

Select Duplicate file match criteria
The options in this section are utilized to specify the criteria used to determine whether two files are duplicates. The following options are available and described below.

Same Size
For true duplicate matching, same size is a must. This option compares file sizes down to the byte level for extra accuracy. It is very probable that two or more files that are exactly the same size are duplicates of each other.

Same name
Two or more files with the same name is a good indicator of duplicates, however this option should be used alone as it is quite possible that two totally unrelated files may exist with the same name which are not duplicates. This option alone provides very loose matching, and is unneeded if one or more of the other more stringent options are used.

Same contents using CRC-32
This is one of the most powerful options. Using this CRC file checking, the contents of the suspected duplicate files are compared. They will only match if they are truly duplicates of each other. Enabling this option will slow down the scanning process, but its worth the effort as it generates highly reliable output.

Ignore files with size less than 'x' MB
Enabling this option will exclude files whose size is less than that specified by the user.

Scan For

Scan for the following files
To restrict the search for duplicates to certain file types, select this option. Selecting this option will only scan for those file types that are in the pre-set list.

You can add to this pre-set list.

(1) Click the 'Add' button
(2) In the box that pops up, enter the file type.
(3) Click ok.

To remove a file type, select the entry from the list and click 'Remove'.

Scan all files
Enabling this option will look for duplicate files of all types on the selected drive(s).

Exclude
We have provided a pre-set list of some folders to be excluded from scanning. If you would like to exclude a folder that is not currently displayed within the Excluded Folders list, you may do so in the following manner.

(1) Click 'Add' button.
(2) You'll be presented with a box that will allow you to browse your drives for the specific folder location you would like to add. Select this folder. You can also use wildcards (* and ? ) too.
(3) Click 'Ok'

Removal
This section deals with the way Ace Utilities handles 'file deletion', i.e; when you click the 'Delete' option. Two ways are provided which are as given below.

Send to the Recycle Bin
This is the safest and most wise method of removal. Files that are moved to the Windows Recycle Bin retain information about their original location etc. Chances are very good that if you need to reverse a file removal that has been stored in the Recycle Bin, you will be able to accomplish this easily. The downside of using the Recycle Bin is that the space occupied by the removed files is not freed until you actually empty the bin through Windows.

Backup to this folder
Sometimes, rather than permanently deleting files or moving them to the Recycle Bin, it is useful to separate and move them into a specific folder. Files removed in this manner lose any information about where they originally were located, however they remain intact and can be examined before permanent removal. Browse and set the backup folder by clicking the 'Browse' button. To restore deleted entries, use the 'Restore' Tool
 

Miscellaneous

Confirm deletion/removal of file/invalid entry
Enabling this will show a confirmation box before you perform a delete operation.

View

Foreground and background colors
You can select the color scheme of the Ace Utilities GUI using this section. Only elementary changes are supported. Click 'Restore to default' to make the program revert to its original color scheme.

Select Font
You can use this option to change the font scheme. Click 'Restore to default' to make the program revert to its original fonts.