Terms

Every word here appears somewhere in Trawler's own screens. Where a term is explained properly on another page, the entry says where.

Words on screen

Term What it means
Acoustic Audio matched by how it sounds rather than by its tags. Shown on a result as "Acoustic · 87%".
Actions The third tab of Scan report — errors from restore, move, archive and delete. Kept for the current run of the app only.
Archive to ZIP The default way to process files: move them into a single ZIP on a drive you choose. Badged "Default · recoverable", because extracting the ZIP gets them back.
Audio · tags Audio matched on its stored artist, title and album, without listening to it.
Automatic (recommended) The default for Session storage — Trawler picks between Temporary and Saved to disk for you.
Balanced The middle thoroughness level. "Quick, plus a closer check on every possible match."
Cloud-only files Files OneDrive, Google Drive or Dropbox has moved off your disk, leaving a placeholder. Skipped by default, because reading one downloads it.
CPU usage cap How many of your cores Trawler uses for comparing files — 25%, 50%, 75% or 100%.
Default scan roots The folder list under Settings → Scanning & performance, described there as "Folders used by startup cleanup and the default workbench session."
Delete permanently Removes files for good. Not the Recycle Bin, and Trawler cannot undo it.
Duplicates The section, and the results tab, for files that are exact copies of each other.
Efficiency mode Lets Windows limit Trawler's power use, so scans run cooler and quieter. Scans take longer.
Exclude duplicates A toggle on the Similar files tabs. On by default, hiding files already listed under Duplicates — they are identical, not merely similar.
Exact copy Two files with the same contents, byte for byte. What Duplicates finds.
FFmpeg A separate program Trawler uses to compare video. Point at it under Settings → Scanning & performance → FFmpeg location, or leave it unset to use one already installed.
Filter presets Saved scan filters — file type, patterns, size and date — that you can pick when starting a scan.
Folder sizes The results tab that shows how much each folder holds, so large ones are visible at a glance.
General errors The second tab of Scan report: failures during an action that could not be tied to a scan.
Group A set of files Trawler considers copies of one another. You keep one and mark the rest.
Keeper The file in a group you are keeping. The others are the ones an action removes.
Largest files The results tab listing your biggest files, largest first.
Marked Ticked for processing. The count and the space it would free are shown as "… marked ·" and "… reclaimable".
Move to another location Relocates marked files to a folder you choose, keeping their structure. Nothing is deleted, and the source drive gains the space.
Move to Recycle Bin Sends files to the Windows Recycle Bin, where you can get them back until you empty it.
Network share A location on another machine, written \\server\share. Add one from the wizard with Add a network drive….
Protected paths Folders you list under Settings → Safety & protection. "Trawler warns you before it touches anything under these paths, and leaves them out of scans." Left out of the scan is the strong half — nothing there reaches your results. The warning covers the case where a file from one is ticked anyway; it tells you, then does what you asked.
Quick The fastest thoroughness level. "Match on filename + size + a quick check."
Reclaimable How much disk space you would get back by processing what is currently marked.
Replace with hardlink Merges duplicate copies so they share one copy of the storage. Same drive only, cannot be undone, and off until you allow it under Settings → Safety & protection. Badged "Advanced".
Saved to disk The Session storage option that keeps scan results in a file — slower, but it copes with far more results. Full version only.
Scan data folder Where the results half of a saved session is written, set under Settings → General. Follows the Session folder until you point it somewhere else.
Scan errors The first tab of Scan report: files skipped or unreadable during a scan or a match.
Scan report The record of everything Trawler couldn't process, at Settings → Scan report. Three tabs. See When something goes wrong.
Session One scan's results, plus the settings that produced them. Save one to reopen it later without scanning again.
Session folder Where the settings half of a saved session is written, set under Settings → General. Documents\Trawler until you change it.
Session storage Where a session's results are kept while you work — Temporary or Saved to disk. See Big scans.
Similarity How close a near-match is, as a percentage. Shown on Similar files results and used as the threshold you can drag.
Similar files Files that resemble each other without being identical — images, videos, audio and documents. Advisory only: nothing is ever picked for you.
Solid (.tar.zst) An archive format offered under Settings → Archive defaults, described as "stores duplicate copies once". Smaller than a ZIP, but it will not open by double-clicking.
Split size Break an archive into parts that fit removable media — CD, DVD, Blu-ray — or keep it as a single archive.
Symlinks Shortcuts and linked folders. Not followed during scans unless you turn on Include symlinks by default.
Temporary The Session storage option that keeps scan results in memory. Faster, and cleared when you close.
Thorough The slowest and most certain thoroughness level. "Reads every byte of every possible match. Every match is guaranteed identical."
Verify exact copies A command on the Duplicates results that re-checks the remaining groups against the full file contents. Your ticks are kept.

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