look for files with unique data by comparing their contents to a reference set.
look for files with unique data by comparing their contents to a reference set.
basically you have 100 folders, each with 100 subfolders, containing 100 text files—everything except one is identical. to spot the unique file, you need to compare patterns or use a method that highlights differences.
In the Windows search bar located at the top left corner of File Explorer, utilize the content prefix. For example, if a document contains the word "different" while others don't, type "content:different" into the search field. Alternatively, you can look for *.txt files and arrange them by size to spot variations. Differences in file size often indicate distinct documents.
I'm looking for Linux solutions on macOS and other non-Windows platforms.
In this scenario, using grep -Rvl "Word to exclude" <directory> should help. -v displays a list of files matching your exclusion criteria. It's wise to familiarize yourself with grep options beforehand. You'll likely want to apply -R for searching across multiple files and -l to show the names of those that fit.
Search terms from http://linuxcommand.org/lc3_man_pages/grep1.html