Find similar files (Offline)

Find Similar Files searches your disk for files whose contents resemble a calibration you choose, ranks them by how close they are, and lets you open or import the matches. It is useful for finding the stock file a tune came from, spotting variants of a calibration, or locating a base to start a new project from. Open it from Search › Find Similar Files…. The window is non-blocking — the scan runs in the background, so you can keep working while it searches.

Figure 1

Choosing the target

The Target (find files similar to) box sets what you are matching against, with two modes:

• A section of an open collection — pick the Collection, Version and Section from the dropdowns; these default to whatever is active, so usually you can leave them.
• A local file — type a path or use Browse… to point at any binary file on disk.

Scan scope

The Scan scope box controls where and how widely to search:

• Folder list with Add Folder… and Remove — the folders to search; add as many as you like.
• Recurse into subfolders — also search inside every folder beneath those.
• Scan all files (not just binary dumps) — by default the scan only considers files that look like binary dumps; tick this to weigh every file in scope.
• Size between … KB and … MB — ignore files outside this size band, which both speeds the scan and filters out files that could not plausibly be a match.
• Min. similarity — the threshold percentage; only files scoring at or above it are listed.

Running the scan

Start begins the search and Stop ends it early. A status line tracks progress as it goes — for example “Scanning… 1,240 files, 3 match(es)” — and reports the totals when it finishes or is stopped. Because the work happens on a background thread, the rest of Tuning Editor stays responsive throughout.

The results

Matches appear in a table sorted by descending closeness, with columns for Similarity, File, Folder and Size. A Filter box narrows the list by file name. Each result offers three actions:

• Open containing folder — reveal the file in your file manager.
• Copy link to file — put its full path on the clipboard.
• Import binary file… — bring the match straight into Tuning Editor.

Note — similarity is judged by fuzzy binary hashing, not an exact checksum. The file’s bytes are reduced to a signature and compared, so the scan finds related calibrations — variants, revisions, the stock base — even when they are not byte-for-byte identical. A higher percentage means a closer match.

Tip — a tight size band and a higher minimum similarity make the scan faster and cut the noise. Point it at your folder of stock files to find the closest base for a new project, then use Import binary file on the best match.

See also

• Find Similar Files Online — the same idea against the online library.
• Find Files Online — browse the online archive by name and brand.
• Importing a binary
• Collections