DLS Review: Scanner disk-space visualization software

Filed under: Utilities, Productivity

Scanner lets you visualize disk space usage using a futuristic-looking, color-coded pie chart. Having tested it, I must say it does not come close in usefulness (or even visual appeal, but that's subjective) to WinDirStat, which is my go-to for this type of thing.

Pros:

• Once scanning is done, navigation is very snappy.
• It looks nice!
• Easily remove unwanted files using the context menu (right-click > "Remove" or "Recycle").
• It's free -- actually, open-source.
• No installation needed -- perfectly portable, and small.

Cons:

• The window is not very large, and cannot be resized.
• It feels somewhat dated. Maybe that's because it's written in Delphi, or the UI toolkit it's using, I'm not sure.
• I find the interface less than intuitive, but that's just me. This kind of pie chart makes it difficult for me to drill in and out of my filesystem and maintain a clear mental image of what's where.
• When you run it, it immediately starts scanning your entire system, which is a time-consuming operation. What if I just want to scan a single drive?
• The name is not Google-friendly. Googling "Scanner disk space" does work, though.

Bottom line:

The concept is interesting, and might work using a more modern UI toolkit. Kudos on making it free and OSS. I would give it 6 out of 10, and stick to WinDirStat.

DLS Review: Scanner disk-space visualization software originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 21 Apr 2010 17:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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