By Achilles Hill | Last Updated
Windows 10 makes it easy to check file sizes—but what about folder sizes? Unlike individual files, Windows doesn’t display folder size in File Explorer by default. If you’ve ever wondered why or how to get around this limitation, this guide covers everything you need to know.
In File Explorer, the “Size” column works for individual files, but not for folders. This is because calculating folder size (especially with thousands of nested files) can be resource-intensive, slowing down File Explorer performance. However, there are workarounds and tools that allow you to view folder sizes easily.
It is impossible to make the folder size shown as the same as file size. But you can change the settings to make the folder size displayed when hovering mouse on the folder. You can realize this in Advanced settings.
Step 1: Open File Explorer and then click the View> Options on the ribbon.
Step 2: On the Folder Options window, hit the View tab and then you can see all Advanced settings here.
Step 3: Find and check the option—Display file size information in folder tips. Then click OK to save the change. After that, you can access the target folder and hover the mouse on it. You can see the size information of the folder now.
Generally, the folder size will be shown on its properties. You can go to check the folder size there.
Step 1: Right-click the folder and choose Properties from the drop-down menu.
Step 2: In no time, you can find the size section for the folder. This shows the total size of the folder and all its contents, including subfolders.
It is fast to check the folder size, especially for the large folder, via the command lines.
Step 1: Run Command Prompt in Windows 10.
Step 2: Enter the command line: dir /s “folder path”. You need to replace the folder path with your folder location, such as dir /s “C:\Users\Wjy\Desktop\windows-10”.
Step 3: In no time, you can see the directory of your folder is listed. In the end, it will show total files listed. Also, the file size is clearly shown.
If you need to analyze folder sizes frequently, the popular free tools can help you.
TreeSize offers the free version for users to check the disk space and display a breakdown of folder sizes. It integrates with right-click context menu. Besides, you can sort folders by size for quick analysis.
WinDirStat is another disk space analyzer for Windows users, which provides a visual treemap of folder and file sizes. You can also use it to clean up disk space.
Q1: Can you show folder size automatically in File Explorer?
Unfortunately, Windows 10 does not support displaying folder sizes in the “Size” column in File Explorer. While you can hover over a folder to see its size (in some cases), this only works for small folders and isn’t consistent.
Q2: How to see folder sizes at a glance?
Use tools like TreeSize Free or WinDirStat to get a detailed breakdown of folder sizes on your drive.
Q3: How do I check multiple folder sizes and sort folders by size?
You can use a third-party tool, such as TreeSize, to scan and display folder sizes in a sortable tree view. You can follow the listed methods to check the folder size and manage your folder.
Although Windows 10 doesn’t show folder sizes in File Explorer by default, there are multiple ways to view them. With the mentioned tips, you can easily manage disk space and find which folders are taking up the most room.
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