Complete WizTree tutorial: Analyze and clean your disk

If your PC is running slower than usual, running out of space frequently, and you're not quite sure what's wrong, then you're not sure what the problem is. where storage is being wastedWizTree is one of those programs that's worth having on hand. It's lightweight, free for personal use, and, above all, absurdly fast compared to almost everything else in Windows for checking your disk.

In this tutorial I'm going to teach you step by step how to get the most out of WizTree to analyze, understand and clean up the space on your disksFrom basic use to see which folders are taking up the most space, to advanced searches, powerful filters, CSV data export, command-line use, and even automatic disk map image creation, you'll find that with a little practice, it becomes a Swiss Army knife for managing your storage.

What is WizTree and why is it so fast?

WizTree is a Windows application designed for analyze the use of space on hard drives and SSDs It's very visual and extremely fast. Its main function is to show you which folders and files are taking up a lot of storage space, so you can easily decide what to delete, move, or review.

Unlike other, slower disk analyzers, WizTree uses the NTFS file system MFT (Master File Table) When possible. This means that, instead of reading file by file, it directly queries the internal database that Windows maintains with the entire file structure, which significantly speeds up the analysis.

The program offers both an installable and a portable version, with a The free edition is more than enough for most home users. and paid versions for professional or business use. Visually, it relies on two main views: a folder tree in the style of File Explorer and a treemap that represents the relative size of the files.

In addition to showing sizes, WizTree provides you with very useful information such as total disk space, used space, free space, allocated size, number of files and directories within each folder, and percentages of space used by file type, which greatly helps to detect where space is being wasted.

Download, installation and first options

To begin, you need to download WizTree from the project's official website, in the downloads section. diskanalyzer.comFrom there you can choose between the traditional installable version or the portable version, which you can carry on a USB drive without installation.

If you choose the installable edition, simply run the downloaded file and follow the standard Windows wizard. During installation, you can configure a desktop shortcut And, very importantly, allow it to be integrated into the Windows context menu, so that you can then analyze folders with a right click.

Once the installation is complete, when you open WizTree you will find a Very clean and straightforward interfaceAt the top, you can select the disk or folder to analyze, view the total, used, and free space, and launch the analysis with the corresponding button. If you're using the portable version, simply run the .exe file and you'll see the same main window.

Within the "Options" menu at the top, the program allows you to adjust various details, such as the format in which file sizes are displayed (KB, MB, GB, binary values, etc.), whether the program should always run as administrator, or the color palette used in the graphic map, to make it easier for you to distinguish file types.

It is advisable to select the option of Run WizTree as administrator If you want to maximize its speed on NTFS drives, you'll need those permissions for faster MFT access. Otherwise, it will still work, but scans may be slightly slower.

How to analyze disk space with WizTree

The basic workflow for using WizTree is very simple: choose the unit you want to checkClick on analyze and review the results in the different views. In a few seconds you'll have a very clear picture of what's happening on your disk.

The first step is to select the unit you want to check from the drop-down menu at the top, for example the classic C disc: where Windows is installed, another secondary drive, or even a specific folder. Next to the dropdown menu, you'll see the total capacity, used space, and remaining space for that drive.

Once you have selected the drive or folder, press the "Analyze" or "Scan" button. WizTree will begin to traverse the disk contents using the MFT whenever possibleSo, in just a few tenths of a second, even with large disks, you'll have the results ready. A progress bar at the bottom shows you how the scan is progressing.

After the analysis, the interface is mainly organized into two zones: the top part shows a tree view of folders and files, with columns for total size, allocated size, percentage of disk, number of files and subfolders; the bottom part shows a treemap or box diagram where each rectangle represents a file, and its visual size is proportional to the space it occupies.

On the side (depending on the version) you can also find a list by file extensions and total size occupiedThis lets you see at a glance whether videos, backups, images, music, etc., are taking up the most space. This is especially useful for figuring out if the problem is coming from, for example, your TV series library or a program that generates a lot of logs.

Interpreting the tree view and the graphic map

WizTree's tree view works similarly to Windows File Explorer, but with much more information. Each folder displays its contents. total size including all the files it contains (including subfolders), the allocated disk space, the percentage relative to the analyzed drive, and how many files and directories are inside.

You can expand and collapse folders to descend the structure and locate Which subfolders are largely responsible for space consumption?By sorting by columns (for example, by size) you can easily identify which paths contain the most gigabytes.

Just below, the treemap visually represents the same thing: each file occupies a color block proportional to its size on diskThe largest blocks are the files that take up the most space, and different colors allow you to distinguish file types or locations according to the color configuration.

Although some people may not find this graphical view very comfortable, it can be very useful for quickly detect huge files or large groups of files without having to navigate so much through the tree. By double-clicking on a rectangle you can focus on that area and see in more detail what files are there.

If you right-click on any file or folder in any of the views, WizTree opens the classic Windows context menuFrom there you can open the folder in Explorer, delete files, rename them, view properties, copy the path, etc. The idea is that you can manage the content just as you would from the system itself.

Advanced file search with WizTree

One of the program's most powerful features is its advanced search system. From the "File View" tab, you can filter all results using highly flexible expressionscombining name, size, date, type, path, and even regular expressions.

To begin, in the "File Search Filter" field you can enter simple terms to locate files by name, or use classic wildcards such as the asterisk (*) and the question mark (?)For example, writing da* It will show everything that begins with "da", while a?d* You will find names where the third letter is a "d".

If you want to search by extension, you can enter something like *.mp3 to locate all MP3 audio files, *. If you're interested in finding files without extensions, this is very useful for detecting orphaned or misnamed files that might be taking up space unnecessarily.

WizTree allows you to combine multiple search terms. The space acts as an AND operator, meaning all criteria must be met. For example, *.mp3 dance It will only show MP3 files that also contain the word "dance" in the name. If you want OR behavior, you can use the vertical bar. |, for example *.mp3|*.wav to view MP3 and WAV.

If you need to search for a string that includes spaces, you can enclose that expression in double quotation marks. For example, *.mp3 "dance hits" It will locate MP3 files whose names contain exactly "dance hits". And whenever you use the vertical bar to separate terms, remember not to leave spaces around the symbol. |because otherwise the search will not be interpreted correctly.

Global inclusion and exclusion filters

In addition to the search field filter, WizTree has a general filtering system that applies to both the tree and file views. You can activate it by clicking on the filter icon located below the scan button or by pressing the Ctrl+Shift+F combination.

The filter includes two sections: "Include Filter" and "Exclude Filter". The first is used to specify which filter to include. Only show files and folders that match the specified patternThe second one does just the opposite: it hides elements that fit that criterion, so you can focus on the rest.

In these filters you can work with full paths or just filenames. If your criteria contains a backslash (\), the program assumes that it should compare against the entire routeThis is very useful, for example, for exclude system folders , the C:\Windows o C:\Program Files from the analysis.

A typical example of exclusion would be something like: "C:\Windows\"|"C:\Program Files\"|"C:\Program Files (x86)\". Thus, WizTree will ignore those routes when scanning.This, in addition to improving the visual appearance, can greatly reduce analysis time on huge disks.

Note that the exclusion filter is applied during the scanning process, while the inclusion filter is applied when the results are displayed. For any filter changes to take effect, you must press the "Apply" button or simply... press the enter key after modifying it.

Search by size, date, time, and route length

WizTree allows you to refine your search much further using comparison operators for file size, modification dates, and even time. This gives you filtering capabilities very similar to those of... queries on a databasebut applied to your disk.

For size, you can use operators like =, >, >=, <, <= and add unit suffixes: k, m, g o t (or their two-letter versions, like mb, gb). For example, <100 returns files smaller than 100 bytes, while >=500m <=1g It displays files between 500 MB and 1 GB.

If you want to filter by allocated size instead of logical size, there are several special operators that begin with "a". For example, a>=100m a<=200m It will locate files whose allocated disk space is between 100 and 200 MB. You can even identify files with a logical size greater than zero but zero allocation. a=0 >0, which helps you detect hard links and special situations.

For dates, the filter accepts the format aaaa/mm/ddSomething like <2020/01/01 It returns everything modified before that date. Additionally, you can use the keyword today to refer to the current day and add or subtract days; for example, >=today-7 It will show the files modified in the last seven days, and >=today-30 those from approximately the last month.

In recent versions, WizTree also allows filtering by a specific time using the variable NOW or specifying times directly. Thus, =13:00:00 o =1:00pm It will locate files modified at exactly 1 p.m., while <=3am will look for changes at three in the morning or earlier, regardless of the day.

You can combine NOW with subtractions of minutes, seconds, or hours using suffixes s, m u h. For example, >NOW-5 It shows files modified in the last 5 minutes, and >NOW-1h Those that changed in the last hour. Similarly, <NOW-1h >NOW-4h Filters files modified between 1 and 4 hours ago.

It is also possible to filter by the length of the name or the full path using the keywords namelen y pathlenThis is useful for detecting excessively long paths that can cause problems in Windows. A filter like this pathlen>200 displays files with paths longer than 200 characters, while namelen=1 It will locate files that only have one character in their name.

NOT operator, search only for files or folders, and regex

WizTree incorporates a negation operator that is very powerful when you want exclude specific patterns in your searchesSimply begin the expression with an exclamation mark. ! to reverse the criterion.

For example, if you write !windowsThe tool will display all files whose name or path does not contain the word "windows". Similarly, music !*.mp3 It could help you locate files that include "music" in their name but are not MP3s. And a combination like >=1 <=100 !=50 It would return files between 1 and 100 bytes, excluding those that weigh exactly 50.

If you need to use quotation marks in the search along with the NOT operator, the exclamation mark must go before the quotation marks, something like !"dance music", to correctly indicate that you are negating that entire string.

Another useful option is to restrict the results to only folders or only files. Special filters are available for this purpose. =folder y =fileThey are very practical when you want to locate problematic directories without being distracted by loose files, or vice versa.

Finally, if you're comfortable with regular expressions (regex), WizTree lets you launch advanced searches by starting the filter with /. For example, /{4}-{2}-{2}\.csv$ This is used to locate CSV files whose name contains a date in the format "YYYY-MM-DD". If the regular expression contains spaces, you can enclose it in double quotes like this: /"{4} {2} {2}\.csv$".

Find duplicate files with WizTree

Another standout feature of WizTree is its ability to detect duplicates. From the file view tab, you can activate the duplicate file search mode via the "duplicate files" dropdown menu.

The program identifies potential duplicates by comparing the file name, size, and optionally, modification dateKeep in mind that it doesn't compare the content byte by byte, so you should double-check before deleting anything to make sure they are real copies and not different files that just happen to have the same name and size.

When WizTree detects a duplicate, a small "+" symbol appears next to the file in the list. Clicking this symbol expands the list below to show all the other files it considers duplicates of that file. This helps you see at a glance where the copies are distributed.

To focus only on duplicates, you can check the "duplicates only" box, which hides everything that isn't a duplicate. Additionally, you can sort the results by columns such as "Dup Count" (number of copies) or "Dup Size" (total duplicate size)which is perfect for tackling the cases that take up the most space first.

Export data to CSV and copy results to clipboard

Often you're interested not only in seeing the data on the screen, but Export WizTree data for analysis with other tools o share it with a technicianThat's what the CSV export option and the data copying to the clipboard are for.

At any time you can press Ctrl+Alt+E or right-click on a selection of files or folders and choose "Export to CSV file…". If If nothing is selected, WizTree will export all results from the tree or file view, depending on the active tab; if you have selected several folders, it will only export those and their contents.

The basic CSV format includes fields such as filename (full path), size, allocated size, modification date, attributes, number of files, and number of foldersIn the case of folders, the name always ends with a backslash, and the sizes include everything inside that folder. In the case of files, the sizes correspond only to that specific file.

If a file is a hard link, the value of "Allocated" is shown with a leading zero to indicate that it is not It takes up additional disk space and should not be counted twice. Dates are normally exported in the format "yyyy/mm/dd HH:mm:ss" and attributes are a numeric value that encodes flags such as read-only, hidden, system, archive, or compressed.

Another useful option is to copy file size and path information to the clipboard. You can generate a list using Ctrl+Alt+C or by selecting "Copy file and size info to clipboard" from the context menu. perfectly legible with user-friendly sizes and indentation that reflects the folder structure. It's ideal for pasting into emails, reports, or support forums without having to format anything.

Using WizTree via command line (CSV, images and MFT)

In addition to its graphical interface, WizTree offers a comprehensive set of command-line parameters. This allows the program to be integrated into... maintenance scripts, scheduled tasks, or automated processes that export information about your disks.

To export directly to CSV from the console, you can use something like wiztree64.exe "C:" /export="c:\temp\export%d_%t.csv" /admin=1. Parameter /export= indicates the output file name, and the sequences %d y %t They are automatically replaced by the current date and time (in YYYYMMDD and HHMMSS format) when you run the command directly in the console.

You can also add inclusion filters with /filter="patrón" and exclusion with /filterexclude="patrón", indicating whether it applies to the entire path or just the name thanks to /filterfullpath=0|1There are parameters to decide whether to export files, folders, or both./exportfiles y /exportfolders), and to choose the sorting criterion (/sortby with different numerical values).

If you need even more detailed information, you can activate advanced options such as /exportalldates=1 (export creation and last access dates), /exportallsizes=1 (internal folder sizes without subdirectories), /exportsplitfilename=1 (separate root, folder, name and extension), /exportdrivecapacity=1 (add the total capacity of the unit in the first entry) or /exportpercentofparent=1 (percentage relative to the parent folder).

To export statistics by file type instead of by individual file, there is the parameter /exportfiletypes="nombre.csv"which can even be combined with /export to generate two different CSV files from the same scan. There is also a variant /sortbyfiletypes to sort those types by name, size, etc.

Another interesting use is exporting the treemap to a PNG image without needing to open the graphical interface. You can specify /treemapimagefile="c:\temp\cdrive_%d.png" together with /treemapimagewidth y /treemapimageheight to set the size, and parameters such as /treemapimagegray=0|1 o /treemapimagefreespace=0|1 to work in grayscale or to show free space. You can also choose to show assigned size instead of logical size with /treemapimageshowallocated=1.

Finally, WizTree includes the possibility of dump the contents of the MFT to a file using parameters such as wiztree64.exe "D:" /dumpmftfile="c:\mftdumps\ddrive%d%t.MFT"This is intended for forensic audits or very detailed file system analysis.

Installer options and registration configuration

If you want to deploy WizTree in bulk or automatically across multiple computers, the installer supports various parameters for define options from the command lineFor example, you can set the license code for the support version with /supportercode=xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx.

You can also force the program to always run as administrator by adding /runasadmin=TRUE or deactivate it with /runasadmin=FALSESimilarly, it is possible to enable or disable the automatic check for updates to /checkforupdates=TRUE|FALSEThis is useful in controlled environments where you don't want each user managing updates on their own.

The installer is based on InnoSetup, so it supports all the classic parameters for silent installations such as /VERYSILENT, /NORESTART, /MERGETASKSetc. By combining everything, you can launch unattended installations that Don't display windows, don't create icons, and leave the license configured. and the single-command execution mode.

In recent versions, WizTree also allows you to force the configuration using registry keys in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, within the route Software\Antibody Software\WizTree\ConfigOverride\frmWizTreeMainAlmost all program preferences can be defined there as REG_SZ values, using the same names that appear in the WizTree3.ini file.

If you precede the name of one of those values ​​with an exclamation mark, for example !actRunAsAdmin_CheckedThis option becomes read-only for users, ensuring they cannot change it from the interface. Upon startup, the installed version of WizTree first applies these registry settings, and if the user has administrator privileges, it will update them upon shutdown unless they are marked as read-only.

All this centralized configuration is especially useful in corporate or educational networks, where you want to all users see the same behavior of the program and that certain options (such as elevated privilege executions or automatic updates) are controlled by IT.

Practical example: freeing up space on a full disk

Imagine your C: partition is running out of space and Windows is starting to complain. With WizTree, you can quickly locate the problem. the files and folders that are taking up the most space and make decisions with some criteria, instead of deleting randomly.

First, open the program, select drive C: from the dropdown menu at the top, and click "Scan." In a few seconds, the tree view will show you which top-level folders (Users, Windows, Program Files, etc.) are the largest, along with their sizes and percentages.

The usual practice is to expand your user folder (for example, C:\Users\YourNameUse the tree view and graphical map to see if the problem lies in Downloads, Documents, Desktop, or a hidden folder like AppData. The tree view and graphical map help you quickly see if videos, virtual machines, old backups, or installers are consuming the gigabytes.

If you find, for example, a bunch of video files in Downloads that you no longer need, you can select them and remove them directly from WizTree Right-click > Delete. If you prefer to review it first, you can open its folder in Explorer from the same context menu and manage it from there.

In parallel, you can use the "View File" tab with filters like *.iso, *.vdi o >=1gb to quickly locate individual files of enormous sizeThis way, instead of deleting a hundred small files, you might recover tens of gigabytes by deleting two or three disk images or virtual machines.

After a thorough cleaning using a combination of tree view, graphical view, and advanced filters, it's usually easy to recover a significant amount of space without having to touch anything. sensitive system files or Windows itselfAnd if you want to document what you've done, you can always export to CSV or copy the list of sizes and paths to the clipboard to save it for reference.

Thanks to this combination of speed, detailed tree view, graphical map, advanced search system, duplicate detection, and export and automation options, WizTree becomes a very complete ally for keeping your disks under control, preventing them from filling up without you noticing, and easily solving the classic problems of lack of space in Windows.