GrandPerspective
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GrandPerspective |
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GrandPerspective is a small utility application for Mac OS X that graphically shows the disk usage within a file system. It can help you to manage your disk, as you can easily spot which files and folders take up the most space. It uses a so called tree map for visualisation. Each file is shown as a rectangle with an area proportional to the file's size. Files in the same folder appear together, but their placement is otherwise arbitrary.
22 Dec 2008 Christmas has come early this year. Carefully crafted over a period of three years, preceded by more than a dozen releases, it is finally here: GrandPerspective 1.0. The most striking change is the improved appearance, featuring amongst others a customizable toolbar. On top of that, there have been a bucket load of minor improvements. Download it today to let your year end on a high note! :-)
1 Oct 2008 A localized version of GrandPerspective 0.9.13.1 is now available for download. It's available in Japanese, Spanish, French and Dutch. By the way, I am still looking for more translations for the upcoming Version 1.00 release.
29 Aug 2008 GrandPerspective 0.9.13.1 has been released and is available for download. This release fixes two bugs in 0.9.13 that could (on some systems) cause crashes when scanning in folder contents.
26 Aug 2008 GrandPerspective 0.9.13 has been released and is available for download. This release features the ability to store scan results to file and lets you load these results again at a later time. Furthermore, progress reporting for long-running tasks has been improved. There have been several minor improvements as well, and a few bugs have been fixed.
13 Jul 2008 There will likely not be a localized version of GrandPerspective 0.9.12. The reason is that I have not received any updated localizations. The fairly high release rate of GrandPerspective may have been wearing existing localizers out a bit. To give them some well-earned rest, I have not actively chased them for a change. I am now instead aiming for a localized Version 1.00 of GrandPerspective in as many languages as possible.
Of course, should I still receive localizations for Version 0.9.12, or if anyone is interested in a localized release of GrandPerspective with only the Dutch language (laat het mij dan weten), a localized release of GrandPerspective 0.9.12 may still appear.
14 Jun 2008 GrandPerspective 0.9.12.1 is available for download. It fixes a bug in 0.9.12 that could cause the application to crash when using a Path test applied to folders in a filter.
10 Jun 2008 GrandPerspective 0.9.12 has been released and is available for download. It includes three eagerly awaited features: correct handling of hard-links (scan your Time Machine back-ups), optional showing of package contents, and the ability to apply mask and filter rules to folders.
22 Apr 2008 A localized version of GrandPerspective 0.9.11 is now available for download. Unfortunately, it contains fewer localizations than the previous release, mostly because various localizers were too busy to provide an update in their language. Maybe you can help out for the next release? Furthermore, thanks to all who have shown support by making a donation. Thanks to a recent generous donation the upgrade to Leopard is nearly covered (the dollar being a bit weak doesn't help unfortunately) so expect improved support for OS X 10.5 in the next release.
17 Apr 2008 GrandPerspective has been downloaded more than 100.000 times. Happy happy joy joy.
18 Mar 2008 GrandPerspective 0.9.11 has been released and is available for download. It includes two long-awaited features: deletion of files and folders from within the application, and the ability to color files by their file type.
20 Jan 2008 A localized version of GrandPerspective 0.9.10 is now available for download. Sorry that it has taken slightly longer than usual, but that was mostly due to the holidays.
For the historians amongst you, there are even records of older news.
GrandPerspective has been released as Open Source under the GNU General Public License. The official release files are available from the GrandPerspective download area. The latest release (Version 1.0) consists of three files:
This is the main release file. It contains all you need to run the application. To install the application, open the disk image and drag the application icon onto your Applications folder, or wher'ever you want to put it onto your file system. Next, run the application by clicking on the icon.
This is the localized version of GrandPerspective. It includes support for languages other than English.
This contains the source code of the application. It consists of the Objective C source code, as well as various auxiliary files, such as the nib files that are used to construct the GUI. You need this file if you want to create a localization in a language that is not yet supported.
Subscribe to the GrandPerspective announcement mailing list if you want to be notified about new releases.
You can support GrandPerspective by giving feedback, providing localizations, making a donation, or getting the word out. If you need support, you should first check the extensive help documentation that comes with the application. Should that does not help, you can try the Help forum.
You can provide feedback about GrandPerspective in various ways:
GrandPerspective is fully internationalized. This means that it can be localized to support languages other than English. I can manage the translation into Dutch, but for any other language, I will need your help. So, hereby a call for volunteers. If you want to help out with making GrandPerspective available in your mother tongue, or any other language you speak fluently, find out how you can help.
You can show your appreciation for GrandPerspective and support further development by making a donation.
In order to make a donation you need an account at SourceForge.net, which is a website that provides hosting facilities for Open Source projects. SourceForge provides developers of Open Source software free of charge web site hosting, file download functionality (with mirrors across the world), mailing lists, source code management systems, bug tracking systems, user forums, etc. Donations are also handled by SourceForge and they receive a small percentage themselves. Given the amount of infrastructure that SourceForge provides free of charge, that's more than fair. Getting a SourceForge account is free, and comes without any strings attached. So, here's how to make a donation:
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GrandPerspective is certainly not the first of its kind. Tree maps have been around for a while, and their application to file systems is not novel either. A few other disk usage visualisation tools that employ tree maps are:
So, why GrandPerspective? Well, as you may have guessed it's a fun little coding project and I needed to pick something to code on my new Mac Mini. Having said that, it does have a few things going for it. Firstly, GrandPerspective is developed specifically for Mac OS X, which narrows the immediate competition down to Disk Inventory X, as far as I'm aware. Secondly, GrandPerspective has its own way of visualising directory trees. The layout algorithm that is used is simple and effective, but novel to the best of my knowledge. Also, the file rectangles are drawn to be as clear and unobtrusive as possible. Whether you like it or not is a matter of taste, but you've got a choice. Thirdly, GrandPerspective will intentionally be kept as basic as possible. It should do one thing only, and do it well. That means it is a lean and mean application. GrandPerspective's memory requirements and the size it occupies on disk are pretty minimal. For those concerned about disk space, the latter must count for something, right? Finally, it has a cute logo that will enhance anyone's Dock. ;-)
Various web sites have helped to get the word out about GrandPerspective. Thanks to all.
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Still here? Well, then you might also be interested in checking out other stuff I have made:
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Get the grand perspective,
Narrow the field of focus,
Retain a sense of control.
Copyright 2005-2009, Eriban. Last updated: 28 March 2009