Determining How Much Space the Files in a Folder Require

When you are working with the files on your disk drive, it is often helpful to know how much space is used by all the files within a particular folder. This is especially true when you want to know if you've got enough space on a flash drive or some removable media for that folder and its contents.

The traditional way to check how much space the files require is to open the folder, press Ctrl+A to select all the files, and then look at the status bar of the Explorer window to see how much space is used. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. Seeing how much space files require.

If pressing Ctrl+A selects quite a few files, the status bar may not show the aggregate size, at first. Instead you may see a link that says "Show more details...". This is just Windows' way of saying it is lazy and that it won't calculate the space unless you really want it to. Click the link, though, and it chunks through all the files and you'll shortly see the size of the selected files.

There's an even easier way to view the aggregate size of all the files in a folder, though. All you need to do is hover the mouse pointer over the file folder, and shortly you'll see the information you want. (See Figure 2.)

Figure 2. Hover the mouse to see the space requirements.

If you don't see the file size information on your folders, it is possible that someone has turned off that feature. To check, follow these steps:

1. Open an Explorer window.
2. Display the Folder Options dialog box. There are various ways to do this, depending on your version of Windows and how your system is configured. In Windows 8 and Windows 10, display the View tab of the ribbon, click the Options tool (right side of the ribbon), and then choose Change Folder and Search Options. In Windows 7, click Organize | Folder and Search Options. (If you are using classic menus in Windows 7, click Tools | Folder Options.)
3. Make sure the View tab is displayed. (See Figure 3.)



Figure 3. The View tab of the Folder Options dialog box.

4. Make sure the Display File Size Information in Folder Tips check box is selected.
5. Click OK.

 This tip (7007) applies to Windows 7, 8, and 10.