Free drive manager
WinDirStat is a free disk cleanup tool that lets you manage your drives. WinDirStat analyses the disks of your choice and a complete directory list will appear to let you know the exact amount of storage space each file is using. This app is only available for Microsoft Windows PC operating systems.
SequoiaView, TreeSize, and WizTree are alternatives to WinDirStat. These applications scan your PC drives to deliver a visual representation of the files that are using the most storage space with graphs filled with squares and rectangles that represent files.
WinDirStat is safe for PC users and is a lightweight software under 1 MB. You can use WinDirStat to create additional space on your hard drive or solid-state drives. Since the app is used to make space on your OS, the small program size is important. WinDirStat is open source and the source code is open for you to modify within the GNU GPLv2 license.
Is WinDirStat safe?
Does WinDirStat work on Windows 10?
WinDirStat works on Windows 10 operating systems. You can download and install WinDirStat on all of the most recent versions of the Windows OS. Although WinDirStat does not work on Linux nor MacOS, you can get KDirStat for Linux and QDirStat for Mac.
What is WinDirStat used for?
WinDirStat delivers a comprehensive file list of the disk usage on your HD or SSD. You can scan individual or multiple drives at the same time. An ‘All Local Drives’ button lets you conveniently scan every drive or you can scan individual folders.
A list of the disk inventory is located on the left. The disk statistics for the entire analysis are in the right panel. The bottom portion of the interface includes a treemap of the directory statistics. The files are represented by rectangles. The sizes of the rectangles are proportional to the amount of disk space each of the files are using.
How do I use WinDirStat in Windows 10?
The directory tree lets you expand each segment. The ‘addition sign’ next to the items will let you open the trees while the ‘minus sign’ will minimise the subtrees. The whole contents of your disk drive will be listed in descending order on the right. The extension list is categorised by colour and size.
You can click on items in either of the lists to see the section in the statistics viewer. The tree view of the whole directory lets you completely expand the contents of each folder. The usage statistics will be available for all the records, even when the file types use zero space. The largest archives will be listed at the top.
WinDirStat lets you know what percentage of the drive is being used by each folder and file. The name, percentage bar, and size are listed for each level of the directory tree. The folders list the total number of items and files inside. WinDirStat lets you view the items in your Windows Explorer menu. You can right-click on the records to press ‘Explorer Here’.
The file explorer window will appear to let you safely click on the contents of a folder. You can view the files to ensure that you do not delete important items. The files can be deleted directly in your Windows Explorer menu or the WinDirStat user interface. You can delete single or multiple items at once.
If you erase files outside of the WinDirStat UI, then you can tap the refresh button in the icon bar to resync. You can see the progress percentage of the scanning process in the upper left corner. The files that you deleted in the Windows Explorer window should be removed from WinDirStat after the reload.
Practical application to clean PCs
WinDirStat is a popular utility that lets you easily reduce files on your PC. The freeware presents useful views to interact with the files and folders. You can click on the sections within the lists and maps to see the locations of each item in real-time. The area of the map will be highlighted up when you choose a directory in either of lists.
What’s new?
The official developers of the disk manager are Bernhard Seifert and Oliver Schneider. WinDirStat is not updated on a consistent basis. The open source nature lets you make modifications to the platform when you want. You can explore the recent releases of the software on the official website.
