Complete tutorial for TreeSize Free on Windows

Managing disk space in Windows can become a real headache when the system starts to slow down or display low disk space warnings. TreeSize Free has a very visual disk analyzer which allows you to instantly see which folders and files are taking up the most space, without going crazy navigating folder by folder.

This program functions as an advanced file explorer, displaying disk usage in a tree structure with graphs. Thanks to this, You can quickly locate giant folders, clean junk files, and better manage your hard drive or SSD. and avoid running out of space at the worst possible times. Throughout this tutorial, we'll see exactly what it's for, how to download and install it on Windows, and how to get the most out of its main features.

What is TreeSize Free and what is it used for?

TreeSize Free is a file explorer specializing in disk space analysis.Its goal is to clearly show what's taking up every corner of your drives: folder sizes, subfolders, and individual files, all organized in a tree view very similar to Windows Explorer itself, but with much more useful information.

Unlike manually checking the size folder by folder, TreeSize Free scans the entire drive you select, measuring the space occupied by each directory And it presents them to you ordered from largest to smallest. This way, in a matter of seconds you can find out where the "monsters" that are eating up your disk are and decide whether to keep them, move them elsewhere, or delete them.

In addition to the tree view, The tool includes graphs that visually represent disk usage.This makes it easy to see at a glance which areas of the file system are taking up the most space. If you tend to accumulate downloads, old backups, or large projects, TreeSize Free becomes a perfect ally.

Another key point is that You can run TreeSize Free normally or with administrator privilegesIf you open it as administrator, you'll have access to many more protected system folders, which is necessary for a truly thorough analysis. If you don't, the program itself will block or prevent you from displaying the contents of the most sensitive system directories to prevent you from accidentally manipulating them.

The Windows version analyzed in this tutorial is 4.7.3.550A mature and stable edition that includes all the essential functions to manage your disk space without complications.

Main features of TreeSize Free

TreeSize Free doesn't just show you folder sizes, it goes much further. Its strength lies in combining a very clear tree view with various types of graphics. that make it easier to understand what's happening with your storage space.

Firstly, It offers a "treemap" type graphic or tree map It visually represents directories and files as blocks of varying sizes. The larger a block is, the more disk space it consumes. It's a very intuitive way to detect "giant blocks" that might be game folders, virtual machines, large media libraries, etc.

It also incorporates a graphical representation of the directory treewhere folders are displayed hierarchically along with colored bars in the background indicating their relative space usage. These bars make navigating through hundreds of folders much easier, because your eye is drawn directly to the largest ones.

Another notable feature is the possibility of Generate reports of the analyzed directoryYou can save the scan results for later review, compare them with other dates, or share them with another system administrator. This is especially useful in work environments or on servers, where it's important to document how disk usage changes.

Default, The space distribution is shown graphically and in a tree structure similar to Windows Explorer.So any user familiar with the Windows environment will quickly feel at home. You don't need to be a techie to understand which folder takes up the most space and what you can safely delete or move.

Detailed analysis of disk usage

One of the great virtues of TreeSize Free is that It allows you to analyze the space down to the individual file level.It doesn't just show the size of the main folders: you can go into each subfolder and see in detail which specific files are responsible for taking up so many gigabytes.

The interface presents a tree view listing all folders and subfolders sorted by sizeThis means that the largest folders appear at the top, and as you scroll down you see smaller directories. It's a very convenient way to "scroll down" the culprits behind excessive space consumption.

In addition, TreeSize Free incorporates a treemap graphic showing space usage proportionallyThis chart is ideal for those who prefer a more visual approach: instead of reading numbers and percentages, you see blocks of varying sizes representing your folders and files. If you spot an unusually large block, you know there's something there that needs to be reviewed.

The app too Visualize folder sizes using colored bars in the background from the list. These bars act as a quick guide: the longer and more prominent the bar, the greater the fraction of space that folder consumes compared to the rest. This greatly speeds up the task when you're cleaning up your disk and need to work quickly.

Likewise, You can change the drive or root folder to start a new scan at any time.You're not limited to your system disk; you can scan external drives, other partitions, network drives, and more. Simply select the source you want to analyze, and TreeSize Free will repeat the process, displaying the complete tree again.

Compatibility with local drives, network, and cloud

TreeSize Free doesn't just stay on your internal hard drives. The program is capable of examining local drives, network shares, and even some cloud storage solutions.provided they are mounted as drives accessible from Windows Explorer.

For example, if your company has a file server or a shared folder on a LAN, You can point TreeSize Free to that network path And in just a few minutes, you'll know which users or projects are consuming the most space. This is crucial when shared drives start filling up without anyone quite knowing why.

The program also allows analyze mounted drives using WebDAVThis is a protocol that many online storage solutions use to expose folders as if they were local drives. If you've configured a cloud service to appear as an additional drive in "This PC," TreeSize Free will recognize and be able to access it.

Do not forget that It also works with external drives and USB disksIf you connect a portable hard drive or flash memory full of old data, TreeSize Free will help you locate those forgotten folders that are taking up gigabytes for no reason, so you can clean up or copy only what is truly necessary.

In summary, its ability to work with local drives, network resources, and certain cloud storage This makes it a fairly flexible tool for managing space in both domestic and professional settings.

Mobile device and MTP support

In addition to conventional disk drives, TreeSize Free can analyze devices connected using the MTP (Media Transfer Protocol) protocol.This includes a large number of Android mobile phones and tablets, digital cameras, and other devices that connect to the PC via USB.

When you connect an Android phone to your computer and put it in file transfer mode, Windows typically displays the content using MTP instead of as a traditional disk driveTreeSize Free is designed to work with this type of connection, so you can explore the device's internal memory or SD card and see which folders are full.

This behavior is very useful when your phone tells you that There is no space left for new photos, videos, or apps. And you're not sure what's eating up your memory. With TreeSize Free, you can detect, for example, apps that store a lot of cache data, messaging folders with thousands of media files, or duplicate backups.

Together with MTP, WebDAV support also allows certain cloud services to be treated as if they were more like dedicated devices. that can be scanned. If your remote storage solution exposes data via WebDAV, TreeSize Free can help you monitor how much space you're using there.

Ultimately, It's not limited to the typical C: drive:It can also be used as an ally to free up space on smartphones, cameras and other devices connected to the computer, as long as these are accessible from Windows using the protocols mentioned.

NTFS compression and optimized files

Another advanced feature of TreeSize Free is its ability to display information about NTFS compression in your files and foldersWindows allows data compression at the file system level using various algorithms, and TreeSize Free is able to detect and display it.

Specifically, the program Identifies files and folders compressed with LZX and XPressThese are two of the compression algorithms used by Windows in the NTFS file system. This is interesting because it lets you know which elements are taking advantage of compression to save space, and to what extent.

Furthermore, You can check the compression level of certain directories and see where you could consider enabling or disabling this feature to free up some space without significantly impacting performance. In many cases, compressing large amounts of data that you don't use often (such as archive files or old backups) can help you significantly reduce the space occupied.

Keep in mind that, NTFS makes it possible to compress entire folder branchesThis means that all the contents of a folder and its subfolders can be transparently compressed. TreeSize Free makes this visible, so you'll know if your compression strategy is working as expected.

Thanks to this information, You can make better decisions about which folders to compress. and which ones are better left uncompressed for performance reasons, especially on computers with more modest hardware or on very active drives.

Filters, patterns, and regular expressions

When working with very large volumes of data, it's essential to be able to focus only on what interests you. TreeSize Free includes a fairly powerful filtering system to refine the analysis results and focus on specific types of files or paths.

Possible Apply filters based on different criteria, such as names, file types, or custom patternsIf, for example, you only want to find video files, you can filter by common extensions like .mp4, .mkv, etc. If you're interested in images or office documents, you can do something similar with their extensions.

Furthermore, TreeSize Free supports the use of wildcards and regular expressions to define much more complex patterns. This is a great advantage for advanced users or system administrators who need very refined searches, such as locating all temporary files of a certain program, or files with specific prefixes or suffixes in their name.

Filters can be combined with the tree view, so that The interface should only display results that meet the established criteria.This reduces visual noise and makes it much easier to focus on the items you really want to review or remove.

Lastly, These filters are also useful when preparing reports or exporting results.You can ensure that, for example, only folders with a certain minimum size, or files of a specific type that you want to document, are included in the report.

Integration with Windows Explorer

One of the things that brings the most convenience to the daily use of TreeSize Free is its integration with the Windows context menuInstead of first opening TreeSize and then searching for which drive you want to analyze, you can do it directly from Explorer.

When installing the program, An option is added to the context menu of drives and folders.This means that, by right-clicking on a specific disk, partition, or folder, you will have an option to launch TreeSize Free and analyze that particular item.

Thanks to this integration, You can use the space manager at any time with a couple of clicks.For example, if you notice that your Downloads folder has become full of things and you want to see what weighs the most, simply right-click on it and run TreeSize Free directly from there.

This way of working greatly reduces the necessary steps and This transforms the tool into something you can use constantly, not just when your disk is already at its limit.Having it always at hand improves your maintenance and cleaning habits, preventing trash from accumulating for years.

Furthermore, TreeSize Free's interface maintains an aesthetic similar to Windows Explorer.This makes the transition between the two more natural. You don't have to learn a completely new environment; you simply gain additional information about the space occupied by your units.

Portability and resource consumption

In terms of performance, TreeSize Free is designed to be a lightweight application. The program consumes very little disk space and system resourcesTherefore, it is perfect even for older or modestly specified equipment.

Another interesting advantage is that TreeSize Free can be run seamlessly from a USB drive or other portable devices. This allows you to take the tool with you and use it on different computers without needing to permanently install it on each one.

In many cases, system administrators or advanced users carry out a small collection of utilities on a USB drive for diagnosing and maintaining equipment. TreeSize Free fits very well into that type of kit, as its installation and startup are quick and it doesn't leave a heavy footprint on the system.

At the same time, Scanning the drives is quite efficient and doesn't usually interfere with normal PC use.Except in cases of very large or full disks where millions of files must be scanned. Even then, the impact is usually reasonable, and you can continue working while the scan is completed.

Ultimately, the combination of low power consumption, portability, and fast analysis This makes TreeSize Free a very practical tool to include in your regular repertoire of maintenance utilities.

Install TreeSize Free on Windows step by step

Let's now go through the installation process on Windows, which is very simple. In this section you will see how to download the official installer and complete the basic setup to get TreeSize Free ready to use.

The first step is to access the program's official website. You need to open your browser and go to the TreeSize Free website.where you'll find the downloads section. The main URL to get the free version is as follows:

https://www.jam-software.com/treesize_free

Once on the developer's website, Find the download link for the free edition.You'll see that several versions of TreeSize are offered (including paid versions with more features), but for this tutorial, we'll focus on the free version. Click the download button to get the installer file in .exe format.

When the download is finished, Locate the installer.exe file in your downloads folderTo ensure the installation has all the necessary permissions, it's recommended to right-click on the file and select "Run as administrator." This will prevent permission issues when registering components or integrating the program into the context menu.

Installation Wizard Configuration

When starting the installer, The first step is usually to select the installation languageThe wizard will show you a list of available languages ​​for the installer interface (and in many cases for the application itself). Choose the language you prefer and confirm to continue.

Then The software license agreement will appearIt's important to read it, or at least quickly glance at the key points, to understand the terms of use for TreeSize Free. Once you understand them, check the box to accept the license agreement and click the "Next" button to continue the process.

The assistant's next step will be to Choose the destination folder where you want to install TreeSize FreeBy default, a directory within Program Files will be suggested, which is usually sufficient for most users. If you wish, you can change this path to install it on a different partition or specific folder. Once you have selected the location, click "Next".

After setting the installation path, the wizard will allow you to mark some additional tasksThis includes options such as creating desktop shortcuts, adding the program to the Explorer context menu, or associating specific extensions. Select the options that interest you based on how you prefer to work with the tool, and click "Next" again.

In this point, The installer already has all the necessary informationThe program will then begin copying files and configuring itself on your system. You'll see a progress bar while the components are being installed. Just wait a minute or two, depending on your computer's speed, until the wizard informs you that the process is complete.

Complete installation and first startup

Once the assistant has finished, It will show you a final screen confirming that TreeSize Free has been installed correctly.In this final step, you are usually offered the option to start the program immediately and, sometimes, to choose additional extensions or integrations.

If you wish, tick the box to Launch TreeSize Free immediately after closing the wizard. And check if you want to keep the context menu integration enabled. When everything is to your liking, press the "Finish" button to close the installer.

From this moment, TreeSize Free will be available in the Windows Start menu or as a desktop shortcutDepending on the options you've selected, you should also see the corresponding option when you right-click on drives and folders, allowing you to start scans directly from Explorer.

To get the most out of it from the first use, it is recommended Run TreeSize Free with administrator privileges on first bootThis allows you to analyze areas of the system that might otherwise be hidden or inaccessible, such as some Windows and ProgramData folders.

Once opened, You will see the main interface with the option to select the drive or folder you want to scan.Choose the desired disk or directory and let the program scan its contents. In no time, you'll have a complete overview of space usage and can start making decisions about what to clean up or reorganize.

With everything we've seen, TreeSize Free presents itself as a very complete and lightweight solution for controlling space on your drives, shared folders, and connected devicesThanks to its tree views and graphs, support for MTP and WebDAV, context menu integration, advanced filters, and NTFS compression compatibility, it is an ideal tool for both home users who want to free up a few gigabytes and professionals who need to keep more complex systems organized.