Slim Your Drive

Having trouble figuring out which videos, downloads, and other huge files are hogging your storage? GrandPerspective makes the culprits easy to spot.

After scanning a specific folder or drive, the app displays every file as a colored rectangle. This view may appear intimidating at first, but just remember: The larger the rectangle, the larger the file. Click one to see the file’s size and directory path at the bottom of the window.

Here are three tips for leveraging the full power of this indispensable utility.

Can’t remember the contents of a cryptically named video? Want to listen to a long-forgotten audio file? Select the file and press the Space bar for a Quick Look preview. Then use the buttons along the top to delete the selected file or reveal it in the Finder.

Get more detail by opening the Info window: As you click around, the Focus tab shows you the last time you modified or opened each file.

Want to zero in on files you haven’t opened in a while? Click the Info window and go to the Display tab, then set “Color by” to “Last Access” and “Palette” to “Heatmap 12.”

In this view, the longer you haven’t opened a file, the bluer it appears. (Files on the red end of the spectrum are those you’ve opened recently.) Want to see files you haven’t modified recently instead? Set “Color by” to “Last change.”

Want to hide all the small files that may be cluttering your view? Go to Window > Filter to bring up the filter window, and click New. Give your filter a name (maybe “100MB+”) and select “Huge Files” in the “Available Tests” list. Then click the left arrow button to add the condition, and click OK.

Now select your new filter and click OK to apply it to the current scan.

To narrow your view further, you can create filters with multiple parameters—for example, hiding everything except huge audio files.

GrandPerspective

visualises disk usage

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