Utilities • Updated on Jan.13, 2020
Duplicate files is a silent killer as far as your Mac is concerned. They have troubled you for the past years, and they might trouble us in 2020 as well. But how about getting rid of them for a new year’s resolution?
Duplicate files are shady. You won’t know their impact until you see a ‘Disk Space Full’ warning from your Mac.
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As it happens, however, you cannot prevent macOS from creating duplicate files. When you add music into iTunes, for instance, duplicate files are created. The same goes for the case of Apple Photos.
AutoSave is a different feature which automatically saves your file as you work - just like if you save the file manually - so that you don't have to worry about saving on the go. On the Mac, AutoSave is available in Excel, Word, and PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 for Mac subscribers. When AutoSave is turned on AutoRecover files are rarely needed. Findings keeps all your experiments in one place, neatly arranged and easy to browse. At a glance, see what you have planned for today and this week. Findings for Mac. Findings is a Mac electronic lab notebook designed for scientists that aims to replace the paper lab notebook still in use in most research labs. Lab notebooks are crucial when running experiments to keep track of what one is doing so that results can later be reproduced, assembled and published.
On top of these, you will be adding duplicate copies of photos, documents, music and videos on your own. Think of those repeated file downloads as well. In short, your Mac gets choked with excess files the more you use them.
So, what’s the solution? Well, regularly removing duplicate files would certainly help you, and it’s certainly the way to go in 2020 as you would want a much cleaner and quicker Mac this year.
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Benefits of removing duplicates from Mac
The biggest benefit is that you will be saving a lot of space and keeping you mac clean. Let’s consider this scenario: when you add around 2GB of music to iTunes, you are practically spending 4GB of space from the Mac. For a device that has 128GB or 256GB of onboard storage, that’s not easy.
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Removing duplicate files would also help you organize your Mac in a better way. You will not stumble upon duplicate results when you are searching for a file. If you are someone who uses Spotlight way too often, this is great.
After making duplicate removal a part of our digital routine, we also observed better performance on our Mac. Naturally, when it has fewer files to index and process, the macOS system performs better. We believe that’s indeed a convincing reason.
Meet the best duplicate file finders for Mac
It’s not the best option just sit idle and go through individual directories. Developers know it, and that’s why they have built software to do that.
Duplicate file finders will analyze your Mac for duplicate files and organize them neatly. Once these duplicates are identified, you can just remove them with a single click. Pretty cool, isn’t it?
So, in a minute or two, you will have a more free, organized and well-performing macOS system.
As is the case, there are a number of duplicate file finders for Mac, we wanted to present you the best to help clear the clutter.
To do that, we had set up some basic criteria as well.
- Easy to Use UI is a necessity when it comes to duplicate file finders. You must have an easy option to scan the Mac and analyze the results in the quickest time possible. Because you have to select which files are to be deleted, this is important.
- The best duplicate file finder must work with iTunes and Photos. As we said, most of the duplicates are found in Photos and iTunes. If the tool can’t search inside the two apps, that’s a bummer.
- Filter options are also great when it comes to these tools. Sometimes, you want to delete duplicates that are of certain and sometimes, you just want to delete certain types of files. In either case, you’ll have to use filters.
- Search option also comes in handy. Sometimes, you know that there are certain duplicate files on a Mac. Using the Search function, you can find and get rid of these files in a jiffy. This would also come in handy while filtering files out.
- Last but not least, we also looked for some additional features in the best duplicate file finder. It must have, for instance, file preview and custom-delete option. Both these will help you confirm that you are deleting the right duplicate.
With all these pointers in mind, we chose the following best duplicate file finders for Mac.
- Gemini 2 – Best overall for most people
- Tidy Up 5 – Most powerful for advanced users
- PhotoSweeper X – For duplicate photo finder and cleaner
Disclosure: We sometimes use affiliate links which means that, at zero cost to you, we may earn a commission if you buy something through our links.
Best overall for most people: Gemini 2
Gemini 2 has been the gold standard for Mac duplicate removal for some time. After testing tens of tools for duplicate file removal, we think Gemini 2 deserves the top position.
Gemini 2 is one of the most popular duplicate file finders and removers for Mac. Developed by MacPaw, the tool allows you to accurately scan your Mac for duplicate files and remove them. It’s very easy to use and is regularly updated with awesome features. A lot of people choose Gemini 2 when they want a smart way to remove duplicates from their macOS system.
See Gemini 2 in action from the developer:
What makes the app great?
Gemini 2 is great for many reasons. It addresses the three main elements that make a duplicate scanning app great — a user-friendly app design, ability to scan and delete duplicate files with ease, and the integration with photos and media. Here, we will look at each of these factors to find out what they really have to offer.
Design
On the design front, Gemini 2 is well-recognized and has been a favorite for long. It was awarded the Red Dot Communication Award in 2017 in the Communication Design category.
Commenting on the app’s design, Red Dot GmbH had said:
“Its simple ‘scan-clean-done’ mode allows the user to do this job without digging deeper into the interface. Unlike many utilities, the app does not look utilitarian: its design uses the space theme, unwittingly set by its name, to lighten the mood. The sci-fi-inspired visualisation of the achievements gives the user a sense of reward, makes a tedious process more fun and helps to accomplish vital product goals, such as increasing engagement.”
The design is laid out in a way where all the features stand out prominent in an intuitive user interface. The icons are large, and they manage to express the functionalities of the app really well.
The intuitive user interface is pleasant on the eyes and it is fun to use. Besides, Gemini 2 also supports 12 languages, so that’s always a plus point.
Work smarter
What’s better than a duplicate finder working to clear the clutter in an intelligent way, saving you a lot of time and trouble?
Command Prompt Mac Address
One of the best parts of Gemini 2 is that it is so smart. The app can also aptly be said as an ‘Intelligent Duplicate File Finder’. That is because it uses an exclusive algorithm, which not only helps you identify duplicate files, but also spots and detects similar files, easily telling copies from originals, and adapting to the way you work with it.
While using Gemini 2, we found out that it provided us with multiple options to scan folders and directories on our Mac. We could choose between Home Folder scan, Pictures Folder scan, Music Folder scan and Custom Folder scan. The first three modes are nearly automated while the fourth one wanted us to provide the folder details.
Depending on the storage space, consumed space and performance of your Mac, the scanning process may take a few seconds to a few minutes. As a user, you would not really mind this — as long as Gemini 2 finds all duplicate files present.
Another great part which we liked was that when Gemini 2 scans the directory, we could see the amount of duplicate files it has found on the side — it was amazing to have a live track of things.
Once the scanning is done, Gemini 2 intelligently selects which should be deleted. We got two options here.
We could choose between Smart Cleanup and Review Results.
Smart Cleanup is an automated process which removes all the duplicate files that are selected by Gemini 2. As you can see in the picture, Gemini 2 automatically selected 738MB as the ones to delete from the whole 1.84GB of duplicate files it found.
The Review Results option opened up a window where we could find the list of potential duplicate files. As you can see, the whole interface is quite detailed. From the sidebar, we could view each type of duplicate files.
On the Preview pane, we could preview each file on the list.
Gemini 2 also offers an option to customize the whole deal. We could change how duplicate files have been sorted. Once we made changes to the selection, we could click on the Remove button to delete all the selected files.
Finding similar files, and photos
Duplicate files and similar files are different, you know. But, both can be a curse for your storage space at a time.
Gemini 2 has a smarter way to recognize and remove similar files from your Mac. We tried this feature and the results were great.
When we scanned a folder or directory for duplicate files, Gemini 2 also found similar files. We could access this section from the main sidebar. The app goes even a step further with listing two similar files. Thanks to its intelligent design, we could see the difference in terms of file size, modified date or the directory.
Then, with a single click, Gemini 2 removes all of them from the system.
This works particularly well with photos on your Mac. For instance, if you have a series of burst photos stored in a folder, the difference between them might not really be noticeable, but the space occupied can be large. With Gemini 2, you can browse through the duplicate photos, pick the ones you want to keep, and discard the rest. Everyone’s set of files are different, but judging from the scan of our Dropbox folder, this feature could save Gemini customers a lot of additional storage space.
Pricing and availability
Gemini 2 is available for Mac only. You can purchase Gemini 2 via Subscription model or as one-time purchase. 1-Year subscription costs $19.95 while one-time purchase is at $44.95. Gemini 2 is available on Setapp as well.
Most powerful for advanced users: Tidy Up 5
There are times when you need better control and customization over the duplicate file finder and removal process in your Mac. In other words, when you are an advanced user, you need a more powerful duplicate finder tool. Fortunately, we have come across the most powerful tool — Tidy Up 5. In comparison with the previous tool, Tidy Up 5 offers a lot more.
What makes the app great?
Tidy Up 5 has numerous features that can help you fine tune the entire process of removing duplicates from you Mac.
To begin with, it is so easy to get used to Tidy Up 5. You can choose between the Simple Mode and Advanced Mode. Even the Simple Mode offers better control over the search process. You can tell the app about the type of content you want to find — Images, Photos, Music, Folders, Documents etc. You can also decide if you want to search for a particular file format in the results.
A powerful Advanced mode
In the Advanced Mode, you can go to further depths of finding the right files. For instance, while searching for Photographs, you get a variety of filtering options. You can even select photos that were captured at a particular place on earth. In the case of songs, you can set up criteria based on name, size and the genre that the track is from.
Handy customization features
In other words, the performance levels offered by Tidy Up 5 is off the charts. Even when you are looking for the most specific files, Tidy Up 5 would not have trouble in helping you find them. Just so you know, you can also change the Source files and Drives from the left sidebars. Altogether, customization is the core element when it comes to Tidy Up 5.
We wish, however, if Tidy Up 5 had a more intuitive UI. It does not feel that easy to use the app for finding and removing files. While the extra power is commendable, the UI does not worth the overall praise. If you have not used a duplicate remover before, you may have trouble with Tidy Up 5. At the same time, we think the Review page is not so bad.
Availability and pricing
Tidy Up 5 tool is available for Mac and the pricing starts at $29.99. You can always download the free trial to test the tool. For three-devices licenses, you can also get their Duplicate Remover Suite Bundle at 25% Off here.
For duplicate photo finder: PhotoSweeper X
If most of the space on your computer is consumed by photos, then PhotoSweeper is nice and dedicated Mac duplicate photo finder built to help you. As it happens, the interface is different from what you would expect.
What makes the app great?
Let’s look at some of the factors that made us include this app in our list of top picks for 2020.
Effective photo-based filters
Compared to other tools in the list, PhotoSweeper X offers photo-based filters as well. For instance, when it comes to searching for duplicate files, you can set up the right criteria, such as not choosing the photographs that were clicked a long time ago. It’s also great that PhotoSweeper X provides metadata and other data about the image on the sidebar.
Easy photograph comparison
PhotoSweeper X has been designed in such a way that you can compare two photographs with the ultimate ease. The app performs impressively well when it comes to finding duplicate and similar photographs. We think the UI plays the most important role here. You can even choose between the Viewing Modes — such as One by One, Face to Face, and All-in-One.
We should understand that PhotoSweeper X has been designed for duplicate photo finding only. For someone with that level of expertise, it is a privilege to have control over the scanning and removal process. Also, you would not end up deleting an important photograph from the library. By the way, PhotoSweeper X lets you access photo library from Adobe Lightroom as well.
Pricing and availability
PhotoSweeper X is available for Mac and you can download the free trial. The license costs $9.99.
The other duplicate finders we considered
Now, these were some of our top picks, but there are also other options out there that are quite good. Here, we will look at some other options that are out there to clean duplicate files on Mac.
Built-in Finder
Yes, macOS gives you the option to locate files that are duplicate by using the Smart Folders features that comes in the Finder.
You can do this by navigating to File and clicking on New Smart Folder. Then, you click on the ‘+’ button which is in the upper right corner.
Once you are in that window, you can search for photos, music, documents, and several other file types. The efficiency of your work depends on how well you sort the results. For instance, if you order then my name, you will be able to see duplicates more easily.
Yes, you can take this course to delete duplicate files on your Mac. However, this process is time consuming as the list of duplicates might be long.
Easy Duplicate Finder
If you are looking for a basic duplicate file remover for Mac, you should consider Easy Duplicate Finder. This tool does not have anything fancy to offer here. You have a three-tabbed interface that navigates you in the whole duplicate-finding process. However, we found that the scanning process is comparatively slower than our top picks.
The way Easy Duplicate Finder works is really straightforward. Once you have found the duplicate files, you can go ahead and review the files. Unlike Gemini or PhotoSweeper, Easy Duplicate Finder does not offer any option for customization.
Easy Duplicate Finder is available for both Windows and macOS and free to use. The trial version provides unlimited scanning and lets you manage 10 groups of duplicate files. After that, file management options become locked and the scanning remains available, you should upgrade with the price at $39.95 for 1 computer.
Cloud Duplicate Finder
While you might be busy cleaning duplicates on your Mac, the fact that you might have plenty of duplicates on your cloud storage might just pass by unnoticed. Cloud Duplicate Finder (CDF) is a web application which lets you remove duplicates from the cloud. It supports OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, Amazon S3 and Box.
While you are using this web app, you can be assured that your privacy is well taken care of as it doesn’t access the actual data or content in the cloud.
You can subscribe to the app with a starting price of $5.83 per month for a yearly subscription. The price is cheaper — $4 per month — if you purchase a 2-year subscription.
Duplicate Detective
Duplicate Detective is a pretty straightforward duplicate file remover for Mac. It comes from Fiplab, which has developed a number of Mac utilities in the past. Instead of investing in fancy features, this app is trying to offer the seamless experience. You can select the folder and the app would start the scanning in some time. In the next step, you can review the results as always.
For a simple tool like Duplicate Detective, we think the Review UI is impressive. You can choose between the various viewing modes and easily compare two duplicate files. Even better, Duplicate Detective has separate viewing options for documents, images, music etc. Although not as smart as Gemini, this app too has a Smart Select option, which is more than sufficient.
Duplicate Detective is available for Mac and you can get it for just $4.99. A free trial is also available.
Dupin
Dupin is an app that manages your duplicate tracks and helps you to delete them. It is compatible with the Finder, iCloud music library and Apple Music, and comes with keyboard shortcuts as well as customizable toolbars.
The app lets you automatically select the “Keeper” tracks from the duplicates through different filtering options. From there, you can consolidate the play, skip, and even access ratings information from all tracks. This way, you can re-populate your playlists by replacing “non-Keeper” tracks with “Keeper” tracks.
Dupin is available for a free trial and a registration code can be purchased for $15.
dupeGuru
dupeGuru can help you find duplicate files on your Mac by scanning either filenames and contents. The filename scan comes with a “fuzzy matching algorithm” which is known to find duplicate filenames even when the files are not quite the same.
dupeGuru works with your music as well. It scans tags and show the relevant information. For pictures, the app even shows you pictures that are similar, but not the same. It is highly customizable. You can tweak the settings to find duplicates that you exactly want.
Wrapping it up
We hope that this list helped you with finding out the best app to get rid of duplicates on your Mac. With a duplicate-free Mac, you can ensure more productivity along with saving those precious gigabytes. Our best picks — Gemini 2, Tidy Up 5, and PhotoSweeper X — really do the job in a flash with minimal effort.
While most of these apps have a handy interface that make sure that you do not delete your important files and folders, we really recommend backing up your Mac using Time Machine alternatives or online backup tools before trying to remove duplicates. So, even if something goes wrong, you will have a backup.
What is Findings?
Findings is a Mac electronic lab notebook designed for scientists that aims to replace the paper lab notebook still in use in most research labs. Lab notebooks are crucial when running experiments to keep track of what one is doing so that results can later be reproduced, assembled and published. There is something great about paper and the freedom and flexibility it affords, however since 2014 paper has started to show its limits in areas where computers are taking over such as storing results, analysing data, searching, replicating, sharing, preserving, and more. Findings is a good fit for “academic” research, where new assays and new types of experiments are designed and used every day, and where flexibility is key.
Findings ambition is simple: making your computer THE tool to run experiments and keep lab records so that results can later be reproduced, assembled and published effortlessly.
Experiments
In the lab, an experiment aims to answer a simple scientific question. In Findings, an experiment is a document where you log the steps you follow and store the results. Because Findings is running on a computer, there are many ways you can view an experiment and interact with it, depending on the context, and depending on what you are trying to achieve.
Experiment library. All your experiments are displayed in the main ‘Experiments’ view, which you can select by clicking the flasks icon on the top left of the window. Inside this view, each experiment is represented by a “card”. The list of visible experiments can be filtered based on the project they belong to (see more on projects below), whether they are still ongoing or are already completed, and finally based on the simple search string. You can easily toggle between ongoing and completed experiments using the segmented button on top of the experiment cards.
Ongoing experiments. When going through your day or planning your week, you will typically show the “ongoing” experiments. These are simply the experiments still running and requiring your attention. Findings displays a simple summary of each of them: the title, a simplified calendar strip and the next task. In the calendar strip, days with content are shown in a darker color, and days in the past are filled. For experiments with task running today, a different color is used, and the circle representing today in the calendar strip gets filled as you make progress throgh your day. The bottom of an experiment card displays the next task to perform. You can mark the task done by clicking on the checkmark on the left side of the task (to undo, use the circular arrow icon on the right side).
Completed experiments. You typically switch to the “completed” experiments when you need to review your past work, for instance to prepare a report, an article or a presentation. An experiment is automatically moved to the completed section, when there are no more task to be done today or in the future. The completed experiments still show the title and a simple calendar strip, and are simply sorted based on time.
Creating an experiment. When you are browsing your experiments, you can simply create a new one using the '+' button in the title bar, or using the File menu. If you have selected an experiment card, or already have an experiment opened, you can also choose to duplicate the experiment. This will create a complete copy, including a copy of the files you may have inserted. This is a great way to repeat an interesting result that can be published with confidence.
Projects. Each experiment can be assigned to a specific project (see “Opening an experiment” below). This allows to filter based on projects, using the popup menu on the top left of the experiment cards. This menu can also be used to rename the currently selected project, and to create a new project (project deletion is coming soon!).
Experiment Editing
Opening an experiment. To open an experiment, double-click on the card, which also creates a tab in the title bar. You can thus open a subset of your experiments in tabs, to make it easier to go back to them as needed by simply selecting the corresponding tab. Under the tab, there are two main sections. The top header with a blue background is where you can see and edit the metadata: project, title, aims, rating and thumbnail (currently only showing a default icon). Below the header, is the actual content, which can be displayed in one of three modes, using the segmented control at the bottom right of the header. The first mode displays the content as text. The second and third mode displays the content of the experiment as a calendar view, with or without a protocol browser. Both modes are described in more detail below.
Calendar view. In many fields of science, it can be very useful to think of experiments as the implementation of a series of protocols. You can very easily combine protocols using the calendar view: just drag and drop them from the protocol browser on the right, and into the days you plan to run them. Each protocol will appear as a vertical series of boxes. You can then easily move those protocols around to your liking, or remove them by clicking the 'x' icon. A protocol can span several days, and you can have multiple protocols running in parallel, but thanks to the calendar view, you can get a birds eye view of your week and make sure it can fit in your schedule.
Text view. In the text mode, the content of the experiment is always shown in temporal order, in an editor similar to any other text editor, but with only the tools that make sense for a document of that kind. If you have prepared the outline of your experiment in the calendar view, by combining protocols, most of the detailed content of your experiment will already be in there, but you can also start with an empty page and type the content directly as you go. It is up to you to decide what an experiment looks like.
Experiment structure. The structure of an experiment is thus very flexible. However, Findings also allows you to add a simple structure that will keep your lab notebook consistent and easier to browse to you and to others. Your document can follow a simple hierachy with three levels of headers: day headers, then “protocol headers” and section headers. The protocol headers are created when you drag entire protocols in the calendar view, as detailed above. Below that level, the section headers are a great way to divide large protocols in multiple groups of tasks. The sections headers will also appear in the calendar view, and can then be easily reordered, so they are very useful in adding more fine-grained information. You can use the triangle icons in the left gutter to fold/unfold the entire content of a day, a protocol or a section.
Text formatting. In addition to the different headers, a number of options are available to format the text of your experiment. At the paragraph levels, you can have bulleted or numbered lists, fixed-width text (great for DNA sequences, or to align numbers in a table-like arrangement, or to display code) and notes of different kinds (three colors available). Within a paragraph, simple styling options allow you to apply bold, italics, superscript and subscript. The goal of these different options is to keep the text editor simple, and to let you focus on the content, while still allowing for simple variations that make sense for displaying a scientific experiment.
Adding files. In addition to the different formatting options detailed above, you can also insert files, either by using the corresponding attachment icon in the toolbar, or dragging a file from disk. When adding a file, it is copied inside your Findings library, so that it is always safe and cannot be accidentally removed or overwritten (we will soon provide a way to optionally store an alias to files or directories for larger files, or for files hosted on network drives). Findings will display a preview in the experiment itself if possible (using the Quicklook functionality of Mac OS X). The file can also be double-clicked to open and edit it in the application of your choice. The text next to an attachment can be edited, so each attachment can have a custom legend.
Protocols
Protocols are the methods you follow when running an experiment. In Findings, protocols are building blocks for your experiment (see above as well). You can combine them and drag them into your calendar.
Protocol library. Protocols have a special place in Findings, where you can browse, edit, and organize them. Findings comes with a few built-in protocols, to get you started, and to show you examples. Your library of protocols will grow as you create new ones. When browsing protocols, you can filter them based on the science field (biology, physics, etc...), based on the author (all or just yours), or using a simple search string. In addition, the list of protocol can be sorted based on the different columns by simply clicking on the corresponding column headers.
Creating a protocol. When you are browsing your protocols, you can simply create a new one using the '+' button in the title bar, or using the File menu. Newly created protocols will automatically set you as the author, and will be found under 'Your Protocols'.
Editing a protocol. Just like an experiment, a protocol includes a top header (with a light orange background) where you can see and edit the metadata: field, title, summary and rating. Below the header, is the actual text content. The text editor is very similar to the one used for experiments, with the content in chronological order, with day headers corresponding to day 1, day 2, etc... For convenience, is is possible to set a 'day -1', or a 'day 0', which sometimes make more sense for some protocols. Just like with an experiment, it is up to you to decide what a protocol looks like, and how it should be structured. It helps to make use of section headers, though, as this will also make your experiment content more consistent and easier to follow.
FAQs
How to obtain a student discount?
As a student, you can get a 40% discount on a Findings license (and enjoy the exact same benefits as the full-price license). For this, you will need to get a coupon from us before purchasing Findings. We cannot apply the discount if you already purchased Findings at the full-price. To receive a coupon, send an email to feedback@findingsapp.com with a proof of studentship. This can be a scanned picture of your student card, or proof of your name listed on an official document or website of your institution. We will send you a coupon within 48 hours, with instructions on using it to purchase a Findings license.
How to obtain a group discount?
We offer group discounts of 20% or more for purchases of 5 or more licenses. Please contact us by email at feedback@findingsapp.com for more details.
Where is my library stored?
Findings stores all the data on your computer, nothing goes to our servers. You can reveal the location of your Findings library in Finder by going into the menu Findings > Preferences, and then under the Library tab. Click the 'Reveal' button. You can browse the contents of your library, but do not rename any of the files or folders and do not move them. If you need to create a backup, it is best to quit Findings first to make sure you include all the recent changes and that they are consistent. You should not access this library from two different computers running Findings at the same time (e.g. using Dropbox) as this will result in corruption. If you choose to use Dropbox for syncing, the data will be on Dropbox servers, but we also can’t access that.
Can I sync my library with Dropbox and use Findings on two Macs?
Yes. When enabling Dropbox you will be asked to (1) Authenticate with Dropbox, which is done in Safari; this is required to let Findings access its special application folder in Dropbox, and (2) Choose the Dropbox folder on disk so Findings knows where to find the files and is allowed direct access to the files on disk. Please make sure you do a regular backup as well using for example, Time Machine or Super Duper. You can find your folder, if Dropbox sync is enabled, in Dropbox/Apps/Findings.
What are all those files in my library?
The 'Persistent' directory contains some non-critical, basic metadata about your library. The 'Derived' directory contains non-critical derived information about your library, that is used to display your experiments and protocols, and search them. The 'Local' directory contains your actual documents, which are organized in sudirectories 'Experiments' and 'Protocols'. Each document is a file package that contains your data, using the open-source key-value store implementation PARStore. The attachments are also stored inside the file package corresponding to the experiment or protocol, inside a subdirectory 'attachments'. Each of the experiments, protocols and attachments are uniquely identified using a universal identifier (aka UUID).
How to import a protocol from markdown?
For proper import, markdown documents must follow a specific format to include metadata like title, summary and field, and to make sure the days and sections of the protocol are correctly formatted. The metadata should be included at the top, using a simple key-value scheme that is specific to Findings (see example). The metadata ends at the first day of content. Each day should start with a top-level heading, that include the relative day, e.g. 'Day 1'. Level-3 headers can be used for section titles within a day, for instance '### Preparation' (do no use level-2 headers). Bulleted lists, numbered lists and code blocks follow the usual markdown format. Notes are indicated using the markdown convention for quotes at level 2, 3, or 4, as in '>> Note', or '>>> Warning' or finally '>>>> Problem' to get the different note levels supported by Findings. Attachments are added using the markdown convention for images, as a separate paragraph, e.g. '' (paths can be relative or absolute). Here is an example to help you explore the different options for markdown import.
I found out that the attachments that I removed from my experiment are still there.
Indeed, the attachments are not removed when deleted, at the moment. The reason is simply that there are complications with the undo feature, and potential issues with sync. You can manually remove a file if needed, for instance if they are particularly large and eat into your Dropbox account.
Is it possible to use others ways to synchronize our protocols between the Mac and the iPhone app such as using iCloud (or iCloud Drive) or over Wi-Fi or USB cable?
At the moment, we do not support other file synchronization systems than Dropbox. However, our implementation could in theory work with similar systems, including external drives, network drives, Google Drive, MS OneDrive, and potentially iCloud. We cannot promise when we will go beyond Dropbox sync, but we should be able to offer more options in the future. Please let us know your needs by sending an email to feedback@findingsapp.com
I cannot remove days, notes, images or tables.
To remove those elements, you can use the 'X' icon on the left side of the editor. Alternatively, make sure you select the paragraph before and after these elements, then press the delete key.
Is it possible to rename the protocol fields and subfields, and add new ones?
At the moment it is not possible to create your own field/subfields in protocols. It is a conscious decision to keep those as a built-in list. It is a compromise to make sure these stay consistent between different users, which will help facilitate exchange of protocols in the near future.We are very much aware that there is a need for more subfields. Given that we will have fairly frequent updates, it is easy for us to add them. Please do let us know what specific field or subfield you would like, by sending us an email at feedback@findingsapp.com
I find it very hard to re-arrange methods and notes in experiments.
It is possible to move sections around in the calendar view. For now this is the best way to do it, though this will be improved in the future. For attachments or notes, these ought to be draggable. It is technically tricky, hence it is not there yet, but it's also on our to-do list. It would indeed increase usability and make the editor more flexible and more enjoyable to use.
Why am I not getting notifications from timers, and why are they not showing in the notification center?
Timers were added to the iOS app and the Mac app in version 1.2. On both platforms, timers are integrated into the notification system and will appear in the notification center. However, if you have denied access to Findings to the notification system when first prompted, you may not see any timer notification. To enable notifications again on iOS, open the Settings app, go into Notifications, select the Findings app, and make sure that notifications are turned on. On Mac, open System Preferences from the Apple menu, then click the Notifications icon, and adjust the settings for Findings.
Is is possible to take pictures from your phone or facetime camera while in the app and import those to an experiment?
It is indeed possible to insert pictures from the iPhone camera in the iOS version of Findings. You can use the '+' button at the bottom of the experiment (the photo will be added at the end of the day), or below a specific paragraph, by tapping the paragraph, then tapping the camera icon.
Is there any possibility to draw directly molecules or chemical reactions in a protocol or experiment? Can we copy molecules or reactions from ChemDraw or ChemDoodle and paste it in a protocol of Findings?
You can paste any file into a protocol (or an experiment) including ChemDraw or ChemDoodle files. Pasting from those programs should result in the pasting of a PDF file, which will retain the ability to be pasted back into ChemDraw and be edited again. The way Findings works is that it simply stores files ('attachments') along your experiment or protocol, and show a preview. When you double-click on the file, it opens in the default app for that type of file, typically Preview.app for PDFs. You should then be able to copy-paste into ChemDraw again. Note that you cannot use the 'copy' function for a file from Findings (a limitation that we hope to lift in a future version of Findings).
Is there a way to add special characters such as Greek letters?
The insertion of special characters is possible using the menu Edit > Special Characters. This opens the system-wide panel for insertion of special characters and symbols. If there are symbols you use often, you can mark them as favorites, making it easier to get back to them quickly. We plan to introduce in a future version an even easier way to insert special characters using the editor toolbar directly. Let us know what type of characters you would like us to support, by sending us an email at feedback@findingsapp.com
How can I subscribe to the beta updates and early pre-release versions of Findings?
To subscribe to the beta updates, you can check the checkbox “include pre-release and beta versions” under Preferences tab -> Options under the Findings menu.
Will there be a release of Findings for iPad in the near future?
We initially developed the iOS version of Findings by designing it for iPhone / iPod Touch. Our goal was to have a user interface really designed for that form factor, taking advantage of the touch interface, the small size, and the camera (and potentially the GPS). It is thus designed for use at the bench, and mostly for running experiments and taking quick notes. Editing is also possible but not the main focus of the app, which we think works best on the Mac at the moment.It works letter-boxed on the iPad for now, and does not use the entire screen. But we are working on adapting the user interface to use more of the screen, so it looks better on iPhone 6+ as well as iPad. It will be universal when it comes on the iPad, and thus won't require a separate download. Next, we might work on an iPad version that brings it more on par with the Mac version, depending on the demand. Let us know what you would like to see on iPad using our feedback email.
Are you considering releasing Findings for Windows?
We do not have a Windows version in development at the moment. Depending on the demand, we will consider developing a separate version in the future.