Reveal Hidden Folder Sizes in macOS Finder With These Tricks
Apr 17, 2025 am 01:11 AM
When using macOS Finder in List view, you'll see the sizes of individual files – but not folders.
Instead, folders show a pair of dashes (--) in the Size column. macOS skips calculating folder sizes by default to keep List view performance fast, especially in directories with many nested files. But if you want to keep an eye on folder sizes in certain locations, or even globally, there are a few ways to do it. Here's how.
What if you want to use List view and still keep an eye on the size of a handful of folders in a specific location – in Documents, for instance, or in a directory synced to a cloud storage service? Or what if you have a super-fast SSD that can handle the pressure of calculating the size of lots of folders on the fly? Thankfully, there are several ways to make Finder show folder sizes, even in List view.
Enable Calculate All Sizes
Open the folder in question, select View ? Show View Options from the menu bar or press the keys Command J, and check Calculate All Sizes. Finder will now remember your viewing preference for that particular location only.
Turn On Preview Panel
If you're looking for a more global solution for keeping tabs on folder sizes that will work in any Finder view mode, you might consider enabling the Preview panel. To do this, open a Finder window and select the menu bar option View ? Show Preview, or press the keys Shift Command P.
In the Preview panel, the size of the selected folder always appears immediately below the folder name. If this is the only folder information you want to see in the Preview panel, you can select the menu bar option View ? Show Preview Options and uncheck all other metadata options.
Use Get Info
Of course, you may find that relying on the Preview panel to keep a check on individual folder sizes isn't an ideal use of Finder window space. This is where the menu bar option File ? Get Info (or key combo Command I) can come in helpful. Opening a separate Get Info panel lets you see the size of the item in question, regardless of whether it's a file or a folder.
The downside? Each Get Info panel is static and specific to the item selected. Opening several at once can clutter your desktop, since each new window stays open until manually closed.
Use Inspector for Live Folder Info
Fortunately, this inconvenience can be easily solved: Click File in the menu bar and hold the Option key, and Get Info will turn into Show Inspector. Unlike a Get Info panel, the Inspector panel is dynamically updated and will always display information for the active Finder window's currently selected file or folder – including, of course, its size.
In summary, for casual folder-size checking, use the Preview panel. For detailed or multiple folders, enable Calculate All Sizes in View Options. And if you need real-time updates without clutter, use Show Inspector.
The above is the detailed content of Reveal Hidden Folder Sizes in macOS Finder With These Tricks. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!
Hot AI Tools
Undress AI Tool
Undress images for free
Undresser.AI Undress
AI-powered app for creating realistic nude photos
AI Clothes Remover
Online AI tool for removing clothes from photos.
Clothoff.io
AI clothes remover
Video Face Swap
Swap faces in any video effortlessly with our completely free AI face swap tool!
Hot Article
Hot Tools
Notepad++7.3.1
Easy-to-use and free code editor
SublimeText3 Chinese version
Chinese version, very easy to use
Zend Studio 13.0.1
Powerful PHP integrated development environment
Dreamweaver CS6
Visual web development tools
SublimeText3 Mac version
God-level code editing software (SublimeText3)
Hot Topics
'I don't even know if I wanna play anymore' - Pokémon player left devastated after Nintendo Switch 2 system transfer lost over 1,000 hours of gameplay and 20 years of data
Jun 18, 2025 am 09:43 AM
One Pokémon player has lost over 1,000 hours of Pokémon Scarlet gameplay and 20 years of progress after transferring their data to the Nintendo Switch 2Redditor ThatOtaku26, and other users, have said their save files for the game are gone
How to Install the macOS Tahoe Developer Beta
Jun 19, 2025 am 12:53 AM
Apple has made the first macOS Tahoe developer beta available for testing before its official release in the fall, but don't be fooled into thinking only developers can download it. Keep reading to learn whether you should install it on your Mac, and
After more than 12 hours with Survival Kids on Switch 2, I've found it to be a kid-friendly puzzle platformer that’s equal parts simple and satisfying
Jun 17, 2025 pm 01:50 PM
The Nintendo Switch 2 has finally arrived, and along with it, so have a handful of launch games. Some old, some new, and some, well, they land somewhere between those two categories.Meet Survival Kids, a cooperative platformer, built on the bones of
I think the Nintendo Switch 2 is great, but as a deals expert I’m not buying it just yet – allow me to explain.
Jun 18, 2025 am 10:37 AM
Look, I get it: there’s not much else more special in the gaming or tech world than the smell of a new console freshly unboxed.Add in that the new console of the moment is the Nintendo Switch 2, and with it all the promise of new exclusive games an
iPhone Long Press Too Slow? Speed Up Haptic Touch in Seconds
Jun 20, 2025 am 12:54 AM
In iOS 17 and later, Apple includes an accessibility setting that makes the haptic feedback feature activate faster than in previous versions of its mobile operating system. If you fondly hearken back for the days of 3D Touch, you might just prefer i
Review: ViewSonic's VP2788-5K Display Offers a Cheaper Alternative to Apple's Studio Display
Jun 20, 2025 am 06:02 AM
After years of there being few alternatives to the Apple-approved LG UltraFine 5K and later the Apple Studio Display in the 27-inch 5K display market, a number of new entrants have recently appeared to offer more options for consumers. ViewSonic 2788
Is your Nintendo Switch 2’s battery always running low? These 3 chargers will keep it going for longer
Jun 19, 2025 am 09:48 AM
I’ve been playing the Nintendo Switch 2 almost non-stop since it was released just over a week ago. My enjoyment of Mario Kart World has mutated into something of an addiction; I can’t get enough of the new Knockout mode, collecting new costu
The Alters might be the best indie game I've played all year, even if some of my clones hate me because I made them go to therapy
Jun 18, 2025 am 09:30 AM
I wasn't quite sure what to expect from The Alters, the latest game from developer and publisher 11 Bit Studios. From the trailers I'd watched, it seemed almost like parts of several different games were grabbed and hastily cobbled together into some
