With hard drives getting cheaper and cheaper, it gets less likely that you run out of space than it was a few years ago. Still, you may not want to upgrade that particular drive for one reason or another. Or you are really collecting a lot of stuff.
If you don’t quite know what is taking up the space, then you can call WinDirStat to the rescue. It is a free program which you can download at http://windirstat.sourceforge.net/.
It scans your hard drive – or just some folders if you wish – and then displays how much space the items are taking up.
While it does have a funky-looking graphical display, personally, I find the text display more useful. (My wife really likes the graphic display though.)
And with file-deleting capabilities just a right-click away, it re-calculates file usage immediately when you remove files from within the program.
Maybe you’ll find some long-lost humongous files you forgot about and can delete? I was able to clean up about 20GB of files I had all forgetten about and don’t need any more.
Show The Total Number Of Items In An Outlook 2007 Folder, Not Just Unread Items
Sorry – this doesn’t work on older versions of Outlook.
Right-click the Outlook folder you want to show the all items count for
Click Properties
On the General tab click Show total number of items
Click OK
Keyboard Program Launcher for Windows XP
Launchy for XP
If you have been working any time on Windows Vista, you may have used the searchable start menu.
Launchy is a utility for Windows XP that has similar functionality. No more hunting through the start menu to find the link to the program you know is there somewhere, but instead now it is just a few keystrokes away.
Go To http://www.launchy.net/ to download the software and/or have a look at what you may be missing.
Vista’s File Search Doesn’t Show You Everything That’s There
Vista’s file search is missing some files in the display you see. At least in the standard configuration.
Vista’s file search is supposed to be making searching for files and documents faster and easier.
I agree with many people that it is really not easier to find specific files and that it is faster in part only because it doesn’t search all files you actually have. Oh yes – and it indexes – that’s why it is faster.
For information on how powerful the Vista file search is and how to get the most of it, read the article at windowsvistablog.com.
For more information about the issues that the search doesn’t really find all files – even if they do exist, just read the comments below the article.
And here is my favourite program when I do have to find files: Agent Ransack is a freeware version of a commercial search program that can help you find more files if Windows Vista search doesn’t find them.
File Sharing In Windows Vista
While it is always best to have a server when you need to share files, that isn’t always feasible at home or when travelling.
Windows Vista made quite a few changes in the procedure required for you to share files.
Just go to http://www.lockergnome.com/it/2007/08/21/public-folder-sharing-in-windows-vista/ for a step-by-step procedure for sharing the public folder.
To enable password protection for your file sharing have a look at http://www.lockergnome.com/windows/2007/09/05/password-protect-your-public-folder-in-vista/ and http://www.lockergnome.com/it/2007/08/24/password-protected-file-sharing-in-windows-vista/.