Organise a collection without losing originals

How this works

1. 

   Start with a tested backup and a small practice copy of the collection. Choose a simple scheme, such as year then event for photographs, or project then document type. Use names that make sense to you later. An app’s album may group references without moving the underlying files, so distinguish an album from a real File Explorer folder.

2. 

   In File Explorer, open the practice collection and use View then Details. Click a column heading such as Name, Date modified or Type to organise the view. Date modified is not necessarily the date a photo was taken. Inspect a sample before using a date as your only grouping rule.

3. 

   Compare suspected duplicates by location, file size and actual contents. Two different crops or document revisions may both be useful. Open only files you recognise, using two quick left clicks, then close their app with its top-right X after checking. A matching name alone is not proof; even matching size alone is not enough.

4. 

   In the practice collection, click New in the command bar, then Folder. Type Review and press Enter. Put items needing another look there instead of deleting them immediately. Click a practice copy once to select it, hold Ctrl and press X, then release both to cut it. Open Review with two quick left clicks, hold Ctrl and press V, then release both to paste. Verify the result. If a name collision appears, cancel until you know what each file contains; do not automatically replace the destination.

5. 

   After a small test, check that files open and can be found by your chosen scheme. Keep originals and the backup until the collection is verified. Bulk rename and duplicate-cleaner tools can act on many items at once; do not give an unfamiliar tool permission to remove files merely because it reports a large space saving.