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Step 24WinDirStat
WinDirStat reads the whole directory tree once and then presents it in three useful views:
* The treemap, which shows the whole contents of the directory tree straight away,
* The extension list, which serves as a legend and shows statistics about the file types.
* Coupling. Select an item in the directory list: The treemap highlights it; and vice versa.
* Zooming.
* Built-in cleanup actions including Open, Show Properties, Delete.
The treemap represents each file as a colored rectangle, the area of which is proportional to the file's size. The rectangles are arranged in such a way, that directories again make up rectangles, which contain all their files and subdirectories. So their area is proportional to the size of the subtrees. The color of a rectangle indicates the type of the file, as shown in the extension list. The cushion shading additionally brings out the directory structure. * The directory list, which resembles the tree view of the Windows Explorer but is sorted by file/subtree size.
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Run the installer and then start the program. When you do, a selection box will pop up and you pick the drive(s) you wish to analyze. Having done that click on the OK button (at the top of the box, not the bottom where you'd usually find one) and the program runs through the various folders on the disk(s) you selected.
In the top left you'll see a directory tree very much like any other directory tree. You can navigate through the various folders using that if you wish. More importantly however, note that this directory tree shows you exactly what percentage of the total used space on the disk is used by that folder and any folders under it. This gives you a much more useful look at the directory tree than Windows itself gives you.
Now, look to the right. This is a particularly helpful display. It shows the various file types on your system and, while it's not shown above, the percentage of the used hard disk space that this file type takes up on the disk. It will also tell you the total space on the disk used by those file types and how many different files take up this space.
The fun part of the program is in the graphic display of this file type information. The graphic represents the entire hard disk(s) analyzed. Each file type is represented in this diagram by a color so as you look at the various colors you can see where the file type(s) are on the disk in relation to all of the files on the disk. Moreover, each very small square in the diagram represents a single file and these squares are then grouped into larger squares and those again into ever larger squares and so on. Each of these larger squares is a subdirectory. So, the entire diagram is the disk, each very large square is a folder off the root of the drive and then each smaller square inside each of these is another subdirectory under the folder above. This continues down the smallest square which represents a file.
Click on a square in the colored area and the explorer display in the upper left will indicate the file that the square represents and the file type display will highlight the particular file type of that file. You can then choose the file (view in explorer) and decide whether or not to delete it. It is useful for finding large videos or other files that can be removed to another hard drive.
WinDirStat Home Page
WinDirStat Download Page
* The treemap, which shows the whole contents of the directory tree straight away,
* The extension list, which serves as a legend and shows statistics about the file types.
* Coupling. Select an item in the directory list: The treemap highlights it; and vice versa.
* Zooming.
* Built-in cleanup actions including Open, Show Properties, Delete.
The treemap represents each file as a colored rectangle, the area of which is proportional to the file's size. The rectangles are arranged in such a way, that directories again make up rectangles, which contain all their files and subdirectories. So their area is proportional to the size of the subtrees. The color of a rectangle indicates the type of the file, as shown in the extension list. The cushion shading additionally brings out the directory structure. * The directory list, which resembles the tree view of the Windows Explorer but is sorted by file/subtree size.
=======================================================================
Run the installer and then start the program. When you do, a selection box will pop up and you pick the drive(s) you wish to analyze. Having done that click on the OK button (at the top of the box, not the bottom where you'd usually find one) and the program runs through the various folders on the disk(s) you selected.
In the top left you'll see a directory tree very much like any other directory tree. You can navigate through the various folders using that if you wish. More importantly however, note that this directory tree shows you exactly what percentage of the total used space on the disk is used by that folder and any folders under it. This gives you a much more useful look at the directory tree than Windows itself gives you.
Now, look to the right. This is a particularly helpful display. It shows the various file types on your system and, while it's not shown above, the percentage of the used hard disk space that this file type takes up on the disk. It will also tell you the total space on the disk used by those file types and how many different files take up this space.
The fun part of the program is in the graphic display of this file type information. The graphic represents the entire hard disk(s) analyzed. Each file type is represented in this diagram by a color so as you look at the various colors you can see where the file type(s) are on the disk in relation to all of the files on the disk. Moreover, each very small square in the diagram represents a single file and these squares are then grouped into larger squares and those again into ever larger squares and so on. Each of these larger squares is a subdirectory. So, the entire diagram is the disk, each very large square is a folder off the root of the drive and then each smaller square inside each of these is another subdirectory under the folder above. This continues down the smallest square which represents a file.
Click on a square in the colored area and the explorer display in the upper left will indicate the file that the square represents and the file type display will highlight the particular file type of that file. You can then choose the file (view in explorer) and decide whether or not to delete it. It is useful for finding large videos or other files that can be removed to another hard drive.
WinDirStat Home Page
WinDirStat Download Page
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