Scanner

If you would like to get a better idea of how your disk is being used, which files and folders take up the most space, then I invite you to try Scanner, a freeware application for Windows developed by Steffen Gerlach. This application will run a scan of your system and then display all major files and folders from all directory levels as a sunburst chart.

Downloading a 208KB archive is the first step you must take, should you decide to give this application a try. After you extract the archive’s contents, to start using Scanner, you need only run the scanner.exe file. You do not have to install anything; just run the executable and enjoy the functionality the Scanner software application has to offer. On top of the Scanner executable, there are a few other files in the archive: a read-me file in English and another in German, a LANG file, and two Windows Registry entries, one to add Scanner to the context menu and one to remove it from the context menu.

The moment you run Scanner, it will go to work, analyze all your drives and display a sunburst chart of your disk. You can easily navigate that chart and view how files and folders are taking up space on your disk. All your drives are listed to the left; click a drive and Scanner will display a chart for that drive. In the upper right hand corner you have buttons to access the Control Panel (the uninstall applications section) and to empty the Recycle Bin.

As I’ve already mentioned above, Scanner is freeware. You will not have to part with your money to use this application. But if you like using it, if you enjoy the functionality it has to offer, consider making a donation to support the developer.

Scanner offers a handy means of viewing disk usage: a sunburst graph that takes all major files and folders from all directory levels into consideration.