From time to time, I like to clean out the unused files or folders on my hard dr
ID: 661737 • Letter: F
Question
From time to time, I like to clean out the unused files or folders on my hard drive(s) or removable media (external drives, flash drives, memory cards, etc.) on my computers that are running OS X so that I keep my hard disk space usage as low as possible.
Ideally, I would like to find some software that can do the following:
Analyze a hard disk and display a listing of how much space files and folders are taking up on my hard drive based on their size. Ideally, a chart of some sort would be best to make it easier to interface with. For example, if a pie chart was used, the pie slices would be proportional to the sizes of the files or folders.
Ability to select files or folders and perform actions on them, preview, move, delete, archive, etc., so that the space can be reclaimed.
Ability for the program to, optionally, also perform a duplicate file search when it is analyzing the computer's hard disk space usage to further help reduce the file space usage by allowing the user to remove suspected duplicated files.
Ability for the program to interface with time machine and remove history of deleted files.
Explanation / Answer
There is an app called DaisyDisk that does #1 and #2 of my requirements very well and the application is very fast at searching my hard disk.
It doesn't meet criteria #3 and #4, so I'm not marking this as an accepted answer, but wanted to share this application information in case someone else finds it useful.
Info from their site:
All disks at glance
DaisyDisk gives you a perfect overview of all the disks connected to your Mac, be it Macintosh HD, flash card, Thunderbolt disk or network storage. The list and disk usage gauges are updated in real time, so you always can tell if there's enough space for installing a new game or downloading an HD movie.
Need a detailed look? Just scan a disk and see all of your files and folders as a visual interactive map. Found an unusually large file? Preview its content and delete if you don't need it anymore.
Why DaisyDisk?
DaisyDisk remains the tool of choice for film makers (including companies like Pixar), digital artists, IT professionals and hundreds of thousands of Mac users worldwide when it comes to disk space management. Constantly improving since its initial introduction, the app easily blows away competition in terms of speed, efficiency and user experience.
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