GrandPerspective 4+

I have used this app for many years on various Macs with various versions of Mac OS X. In all this time, it has been the best way to figure out what is filling up a disk. In the early days, there were a few bugs, and I mention this only because the app was so useful, one would put up with a few crashes because Grand Perspective was still the best way to get the job done. Now the app is a simple, solid tool, that I only use occasionally, but it absolutely indespensible when I need it. And it is solid now: I haven't had any trouble in years and years.

The app presents the user with a large rectangular box which respresents the container that is being analyzed. Often the large box is a volume. Often it is a folder that needs a little more scrutiny. The box is filled with smaller boxes. The smaller boxes are the folders or files on the disk. The size of the little boxes represents the size of the files. Files in folders are boxes in boxes. There is a control to zoom in and out. Say, that big box there is my photos. Let's take a look at what is in there. That other box is apps. Wow, that one app is bigger than I thought. That's the idea. When you hover over a box, the interface tells you what the path is, how big the file is, etc.

Anyway, Grand Perspective is a great little program that does it job well. I don't think you will be disappointed.

I've been a fan of Grand Perspective for what feels like ages, way before it even hit the app store. Snapping up a copy as soon as it became available was a no-brainer for me. This tool is my go-to whenever my Mac hits me with the dreaded "your disk is almost full" message. Step one, always: empty the trash. If that doesn't cut it, Grand Perspective is my reliable plan B. Its use of treemaps to show disk usage isn't just effective – it's genuinely fascinating to see. It's not just about freeing up space; it's about understanding what's eating it up, visually. In a nutshell, Grand Perspective makes disk management more than just a chore; it turns it into a visually engaging, almost enjoyable task.

After happily using this tool for years, I realized that I have never provided the positive feedback it deserves.

A crowded hard drive can sneak up on you, and this is the easiest way for me to see immediately where the excess baggage is. If you are a 'visual' personality type, the level of detail is impressive and, frankly, kind of fun to look at. But is at heart a tool and has extended functionality to dig deep into your file structure to see what is actually taking up the space.

Give it a try - the scan of your disk goes quickly, and you can easily and pretty quickly make an inpact on cleanining out you drive.