A Guide to Using HashOnClick
HashOnClick is very simple to use.
Brief Explanation
In Windows Explorer select the files you want the hash values calculated for, click the right mouse button, and select 'Calculate Hash Value', then select the appropriate hash type from the pop-up sub-menu (either 'MD5 Hash Value', 'SHA-1 Hash Value', or 'CRC32 Hash Value'). The values will then be calculated and displayed. You can then copy the data to the clipboard, for pasting in another application, or save the results to a file.
Detailed Explanation
Windows Explorer lets you browse and select any file or folder on your local computer, as well as showing the files and folders on connected devices like CD, DVD, USB External Drives, Memory Sticks etc.
Open Windows Explorer by right clicking 'Start'. A pop-up menu will appear. Select 'Explore':
Alternatively you may wish to quickly open Windows Explorer by pressing the 'Windows' and 'E' keys:
Windows Explorer will now open showing your folders, files, and connected drives etc.
The example below shows how Windows Explorer has been used to browse to the 'Local Disk (F:)' (which is actually an external USB Hard Drive). On the right panel a document called 'My PDF 1' has been right clicked with the mouse button, and the menu item 'Calculate Hash Value' has been selected from the pop-up menu. A sub-menu also appears showing the three types of Hash Values that can be calculated. The example below shows the MD5 Hash Value as being selected:
Note that different hash values will have different probabilities of confirming an exact match. Sometimes external sources like websites may only provide a particular hash value to compare against.
An MD5 hash value is a 32-character string that identifies the contents of a file. If two files have the same contents then it is extremely probable they will have the same MD5 hash value. Here's the resulting window for the MD5 Hash Value:
You may alternatively select the SHA-1 hash value from the 'Calculate Hash Value' sub-menu:
An SHA-1 hash value is a 40-character string that identifies the contents of a file. If two files have the same contents then it is guaranteed they will have the same SHA-1 hash value. Here's the result for the SHA-1 Hash Value:
Finally, you might select the CRC32 Hash Value:
A CRC32 hash value is an 8-character string that identifies the contents of a file. If two files have the same contents then they will probably have the same CRC32 hash value. The Zip format uses CRC32 values to verify the contents of files. Here's the CRC32 Hash Value for the same file:
You can now save the value to a file. Clicking the 'Save to file' button will open an Explorer type window. Using the left navigational buttons and drop-down menu, browse to the location to where you would like to save the hash value and click 'Save':
You may also copy the hash value to the clipboard using the 'Copy to clipboard' button:
Click the 'OK' button to exit HashOnClick.
Note that you will need to exit HashOnClick if you wish to continue using Windows Explorer.
You can confirm the HashOnClick program is open by referring to your toolbar. In the example below you can see the 'MD5 Hash Value' window is open and selected:
Whenever you see the OnClick icon in the toolbar, you'll know HashOnClick is in use. Here's a closer look at the OnClick icon:
Frequently Asked Questions
FAQs about using HashOnClick follow on the next page of this help file.