No Folder Size in Details Pane or Details View ?!

[Synapse Syndrome]

No Folder Size in Details Pane or Details View ?!

Did Microsoft not allow this to piss me off or what?

ss.

 

[Josh]

At first i would have said performance reasons, but the tool tip on the
folder has the info on folder size. I assume it is done for network perf
reasons? Sure seems by design though

 

[Chad Harris]

Mr. Synapse--

Absolutely there is and much more.

I don't doubt there are a couple thousand at Redmond feverishly trying to
piss you off--and they are obsessed with nothing else. I saw a lot of those
pics at Building 26 with those wild and crazy PMs running around with signs
that said "Piss the synapes off at all costs."

Meanwhile you can organize explorer folders in Vista dozens of ways, and
size is available in any view but you're looking for it in the wrong area.

Open a folder>right click on the lower left square where the folder is
pictured or the icon you have subbed for the folder (with the number of
items listed to the right of it)>in the context menu>sort by/group by/stack
by(size, etc.)/ and if you click the listing "more" at the bottom of the
context menu, there are well over 100 criteria including size.

CH

 

[Jeff Gaines]

No Folder Size in Details Pane or Details View ?!

Did Microsoft not allow this to piss me off or what?

ss.

There has never been an entry for size of a folder has there, only files
have a size.

Have you noticed that whatever view you choose in Explorer the ListViev
columns still show?

 

[Chad Harris]

1) I have hundreds of folders within folders, files within those folders,
and files within the larger folders that house more folders. I have
thoroughly integrated them since the first time I used a flavor of Windows
years ago. In Vista and XP the size is a category in ANY VIEW offered--I
could easily screenshot--and both FILES and FOLDERS have their size given in
a size category in ANY view and on mouseover and they are not just files.

2) It is simply not correct that there is no folder or file size in any
view.

3) It is simply not true that whatever view you choose in explorer the "List
view columns show." On the contrary. Whatever columns show IN ANY VIEW is
completely determined by this and if you say that, you haven't tried it or
found it:

This is the way you tailor what columns show in any view and it has NOTHING
to do with a persistence in ANY VIEW INCLUDING LIST:

1) Go to the bottom of the folder on the left where if you create a new
folder on your desktop there will be a new folder icon in the lower left
corner or if like I always do you substitute one of thousands of favicons in
your favicon collection or one of thousands of icons native to Windows
Vista, it's .dlls, .exes, and its downloaded programs and zip files via the
Change or Modify Icon dialogue box. If you have named the folder it will
have the name of the folder. If you have subbed an icon for the folder,
that icon will be there.

2) Right click that folder or icon and in the categories listed there that
look like this:

Sort By
Group By
Stack By

Name
Date Modified
Type
Size
Ascending
Descending

More

Click MORE and you will have the opportunity to customize and choose and
TAILOR WHICH OF OVER 120 column headings you want to confer on whichever
view you then choose and whichever way you choose to sort, group, or stack.

The way I do it because it works for me and is analagous to the Show in
Groups that was brought in during Windows XP is to go up to name where y ou
can choose

Sort
Group
Stack by Name

and I choose Stck by Name because this is analagous to the bold headings of
an index in a book except that they are headings now in Vista and I would
have made them more bold. By name means they will be grouped alphabetically
and then for the column headings I want, I do what I described above.

For my downloads folder, I choose Sort by "Date Modified" or I just do that
after a download so that I can easily locate many of the non-ituitively
named downloads with characters and less obvious names on them. Everyone
knows what I mean by that, because everyone sees those.


For ref:

Vista Folder FAQ
http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/8eb3b0f8-533a-4e63-b967-b090a7912cc71033.mspx

Press Alt Key to Show Menus in Explorer Folders Vista
http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/637ba0fa-7408-48bf-b7d5-7b0085dd9e081033.mspx

Windows Explorer Vista
http://www.computerperformance.co.uk/vista/vista_explorer.htm

Organize Folders Vista
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/experiences/productivity.mspx

Windows Vista Folders
http://www.computerperformance.co.uk/vista/vista_virtual.htm

http://www.tech-recipes.com/windows_tips1409.html

Shell Team Video Exploring and Using Vista
http://channel9.msdn.com/Showpost.aspx?postid=114710

Paul Thurrott Explorer in Vista
http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/winvista_05.asp

http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/winvista_beta1_02.asp

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/experiences/design.mspx

CH

 

[John Barnes]

If you right click on any folder and select properties you will get the size
and size on disk as well as sub file and folder count.

 

[Jeff Gaines]

1) I have hundreds of folders within folders, files within those folders,
and files within the larger folders that house more folders. I have
thoroughly integrated them since the first time I used a flavor of Windows
years ago. In Vista and XP the size is a category in ANY VIEW offered--I
could easily screenshot--and both FILES and FOLDERS have their size given
in a size category in ANY view and on mouseover and they are not just
files.

I have just checked in XP and there is no entry in the 'Size' column for
folders, never has been. I turn off the pop up stuff, it just gets in the
way.

2) It is simply not correct that there is no folder or file size in any
view.

It's certainly true for me, in W2K, XP and Vista.

3) It is simply not true that whatever view you choose in explorer the
"List view columns show." On the contrary. Whatever columns show IN ANY
VIEW is completely determined by this and if you say that, you haven't
tried it or found it:

I select the view from the drop down menu, if I switch views the columns
are still there.

This is the way you tailor what columns show in any view and it has
NOTHING to do with a persistence in ANY VIEW INCLUDING LIST:

[snipped]

I don't use custom views, I always use details view. It was when I was
experimenting I discovered the column headers still show whatever view I
choose.

 

[Synapse Syndrome]

It's certainly true for me, in W2K, XP and Vista.

With XP I use this program called TreeSize Pro, which gives a column in
details view of folder sizes, as well as other cool things. In Vista this
column doesn't appear.

If Treesize can do this in XP, I don't really see why MS decided not to.

http://www.jam-software.com/treesize/

http://www.jam-software.com/treesize/screenshots/TreeSizeExplorerContext_en.gif

ss.

 

[Chad Harris]

Jeff --

If I'm understanding you correctly, I think that you can modify those column
heads by going to that icon/folder at the lower left of your explorer folder
window and right clicking>and highlighting sort by/group by/stack by/and by
clicking on any of those menu choices click "more" which gives you over 120
choices for COLUMN HEADERS which will apply whichever view you use including
DETAILS. It's working for me.

CH

1) I have hundreds of folders within folders, files within those folders,
and files within the larger folders that house more folders. I have
thoroughly integrated them since the first time I used a flavor of Windows
years ago. In Vista and XP the size is a category in ANY VIEW offered--I
could easily screenshot--and both FILES and FOLDERS have their size given
in a size category in ANY view and on mouseover and they are not just
files.

I have just checked in XP and there is no entry in the 'Size' column for
folders, never has been. I turn off the pop up stuff, it just gets in the
way.

2) It is simply not correct that there is no folder or file size in any
view.

It's certainly true for me, in W2K, XP and Vista.

3) It is simply not true that whatever view you choose in explorer the
"List view columns show." On the contrary. Whatever columns show IN ANY
VIEW is completely determined by this and if you say that, you haven't
tried it or found it:

I select the view from the drop down menu, if I switch views the columns
are still there.

This is the way you tailor what columns show in any view and it has
NOTHING to do with a persistence in ANY VIEW INCLUDING LIST:

[snipped]

I don't use custom views, I always use details view. It was when I was
experimenting I discovered the column headers still show whatever view I
choose.

 

[Synapse Syndrome]

Mr. Synapse--

Absolutely there is and much more.

I don't doubt there are a couple thousand at Redmond feverishly trying to
piss you off--and they are obsessed with nothing else. I saw a lot of
those pics at Building 26 with those wild and crazy PMs running around
with signs that said "Piss the synapes off at all costs."

I actually believe you.

Meanwhile you can organize explorer folders in Vista dozens of ways, and
size is available in any view but you're looking for it in the wrong area.

Open a folder>right click on the lower left square where the folder is
pictured or the icon you have subbed for the folder (with the number of
items listed to the right of it)>in the context menu>sort by/group
by/stack by(size, etc.)/ and if you click the listing "more" at the bottom
of the context menu, there are well over 100 criteria including size.

This doesn't give folder sizes in that column though, only for files.

ss.

 

[Jeff Gaines]

If you right click on any folder and select properties you will get the
size and size on disk as well as sub file and folder count.

I appreciate that but what the OP said was :

No Folder Size in Details Pane or Details View ?!

And I replied that I had never seen an entry for Folder Size on Explorer -
folders don't have a size.

 

[Jeff Gaines]

Jeff --

If I'm understanding you correctly, I think that you can modify those
column heads by going to that icon/folder at the lower left of your
explorer folder window and right clicking>and highlighting sort by/group
by/stack by/and by clicking on any of those menu choices click "more"
which gives you over 120 choices for COLUMN HEADERS which will apply
whichever view you use including DETAILS. It's working for me.

The only problem with choice is you have to make a decision

I still don't believe there is an entry for folder size though which is
what the OP was implying.

Have you noticed the column headers still show even when you're not using
details view?

 

[Jeff]

Hey
Nice Aero color!!
lol
Did ya get my correct e-mail?

Jeffie-lol I said jeffie lol

 

[Jeff Gaines]

Jeff--

The only column headers that show are the ones I choose to have show and I
can change that in any view the way I said or I can make them go away
completely by right clicking that folder icon or other icon on the lower
left. John Barnes pointed out how you can get a size assessment but I am
talking columns that show or don't show according to what I select in the
heading "MORE" as I said.

This is getting a bit convoluted!

The standard behaviour for a ListView is that columns are only shown in
details view. Have a look at Explorer in XP, you shouldn't see any column
headers in any other view except details whatever column choices you have
made. They don't make sense since the data in the ListView is not lined up
with the columns. If I switch to an icon view in Vista the headers are
still there and one icon is in a column called 'Name' and the next icon is
in a column called 'Date Modified' and so on, it doesn't make any sense at
all. Just switch between views and look at it

I reckon an MS programmer has missed that completely and nobody has picked
it up.

 

[Chad Harris]

Jeff--

My intent of course was not to muddy waters. It basically was to focus
attention on the one way I know to get the ability to list from among about
130 or more listings for what you call columns.

That's why I included the screenshot to focus on that lower left icon's
right click and that I can choose List View and have no columns or whichever
I want when I want bu invoking that list of checkboxes via the right click
of that lower left icon> clicking the heading MORE.

I will look at XP when I boot to it. I'm on Vista now. I may be able to
open explorer on XP from my Vista desktop, and if I can I will.

Meanwhile if I were you, and you think a developer has overloooked something
I'd try to contact the Shell Team and you can do this via their blog and
they can surely get your comments to the right people and hopefully get you
some feedback.

Again, in Vista I can choose List or any other category and completely
control columns, eliminate them, or do whatever I want.

I can do the same in XP and I use Show in Groups as well. I can list
columns in any view or not, but the checkbox categories are about 25% of the
variety and number in Vista.

Contact Shell Team via this blog:

http://shellrevealed.com/blogs/shellblog/default.aspx

Best,

CH

 

[Jeff Gaines]

Meanwhile if I were you, and you think a developer has overloooked
something I'd try to contact the Shell Team and you can do this via their
blog and they can surely get your comments to the right people and
hopefully get you some feedback.

I asked in one of the DotNet Groups if this change of behaviour was
something developers should follow and got the following reply:

******************
Hi Jeff,

Yes, you're right. It is a change of behavior in Windows Explorer in Vista.
No matter what kind of view we select for the Windows Explorer, the column
headers are always displayed.

I think one of benefits of this feature is to enable us to sort the
listview in Windows Explorer by clicking the column headers.

Maybe this is a feature that we will follow. But I am not very sure about
it.

******************

And it's right, now that the column headers show all the time you can sort
the folder contents in any view - very neat!

 

[Synapse Syndrome]

There's no way they could have made this mistake. Look at software such as
Folder Size (http://foldersize.sourceforge.net/) it's open source, so it
should be easy to port - and it's very well done.

Have you tried installing this with Vista? Does it work okay?

ss.

 

[Richard Urban]

You want Mac features - get a Mac.

You want Windows features (run programs that won't run on a Mac) get
Windows.

--

Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User
(For email, remove the obvious from my address)