Free Disk Space Utilities for Mac

In my previous post about my problems with Superduper! I mentioned I used two free utilities to try and find out where all the space went.

Disk Inventory X

The first utility is Disk Warrior Inventory X which provides a graphical representation of your files. When the program starts you’re asked to pick a drive or folder which is then scanned and the main screen is shown. Click the picture to see it full size. The left pane shows the typical expanding tree view where you can scroll through looking for specific files or directories.

Next to that is the graphical representation. To find the large files just look for the biggest boxes and click on them to get the file name.

The fly-out window on the right lists the files by type and how much space that type of file uses. Right-clicking a file type and selecting “Show Files in Selection List” displays the files of that type in the fly-out window at the bottom. The window can also be displayed by selecting “Windows” -> “Show Selection List” from the menu.

When you select a file in any of the views, a properties screen is displayed that shows information about the file. Click the picture to the left for a full size view of the properties screen. This specific file shown is a Parallels virtual machine and was the largest block in the display, making it easy to find.

The selection window allows you to show the file in finder or move it to the trash directly from Disk Warrior Inventory X.

The Universal version of Disk Warrior Inventory X is labeled “beta” buts it’s the version I use and I haven’t had any problems.

WhatSize

The second disk space utility is WhatSize by ID-Design. WhatSize’s interface lacks the graphics of Disk Warrior Inventory X but it’s interface is easier to use in some cases. All the available drives are listed in the left column. By default the columns to the right function similar to column view in finder. As you select a directory it’s contents appear in a new column to the right. This can be changed to “Outline View” where you expand and collapse directories as you do with Finder’s list view. Like Disk Warrior Inventory X you can right-click a file or directory an show it in Finder or move it to the trash.

The real strength of WhatSize reveals itself when you double-click a directory and the “FlatView” screen is revealed. This lists all the files in the directory tree you double-clicked. The filters at the top of the screen allow you to filter files by size or type. The entire drive can be listed this way in what’s called “Table View”.

Both Disk Warrior Inventory X and WhatSize are on my Mac Software – Utilities page. You can check there for any significant updates in the future.