GrandPerspective graphically shows disk usage using a tree map

Originally downloaded 6/19/06. This is the freeware package that Macworld recommended recently as a tool for helping you figure out what’s eating up your hard disk space. The other tool that does the same basic thing is called Disk Inventory X, also free. I’ll be trying them both out to see which I prefer.

Update 9/5/06 GrandPerspective is a very nice visual mapping tool for analyzing your hard disk by file size and type. It doesn’t provide much flexibility in the interface or options, and using it to manage your disk space isn’t actually very practical. That’s because Grand Perspective doesn’t let you delete files directly. Instead, you have to use the Reveal button to open files and directories in the Finder. For me, that’s a drop-dead difference between the two free apps.

There’s certainly a great deal of overlap between GrandPerspective and Disk Inventory X, and in general I found Disk Inventory X faster, more intuitive, and more fun to use. However, GrandPerspective does have a trick or two of its own. For example, in its drawer you’ll find a rule-making utility that lets you define filters for masking files with certain attributes (size, name, and others—including attributes you define yourself). However, DiskInventory X’s search, size, type, name, and path filters are much more convenient and robust.

Oh… one final thing. Did I mention that GrandPerspective’s colors aren’t nearly as pretty as Disk Inventory X?

Version as tested: 0.96