OmniDiskSweeper

Last updated
OmniDiskSweeper
Developer(s) The Omni Group
Stable release
1.14 [1] / October 21, 2022
Operating system macOS
Type Disk Utility
License Freeware
Website OmniDiskSweeper

OmniDiskSweeper is a freeware disk space analyzer utility for macOS developed by The Omni Group, which recursively searches a filesystem and displays entries sorted and color-coded by size, from largest to smallest. Alternatives include DaisyDisk and GrandPerspective. [2] [3] [4]

Its interface presents a column view similar to the macOS Finder. [5] [6] OmniDiskSweeper supports internal and external drives, and network volumes. [7] It warns users when selecting files that are required by macOS or by installed applications, though this only works for applications installed with macOS's Installer utility, based on BOM files. [3]

The program was first released in April 2001 as shareware. [8] Early versions required payment to delete files, though users could also delete them manually through the Finder. [9] The Omni Group relicensed it as freeware in 2009, stating a need to refocus on their other programs. [10]

Specialist outlets MacGeneration and Macworld describe it as a basic tool, useful to find large but unused files. [2] [3] [11] [12] The Register gave it a rating of 70/100, and included it in their 2010 selection of free essential Mac apps. [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mac OS X Panther</span> Fourth major release of Mac OS X

Mac OS X Panther is the fourth major release of macOS, Apple's desktop and server operating system. It followed Mac OS X Jaguar and preceded Mac OS X Tiger. It was released on October 24, 2003, with the retail price of US$129 for a single user and US$199 for a five user, family license.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spotlight (Apple)</span>

Spotlight is a system-wide desktop search feature of Apple's macOS and iOS operating systems. Spotlight is a selection-based search system, which creates an index of all items and files on the system. It is designed to allow the user to quickly locate a wide variety of items on the computer, including documents, pictures, music, applications, and System Settings. In addition, specific words in documents and in web pages in a web browser's history or bookmarks can be searched. It also allows the user to narrow down searches with creation dates, modification dates, sizes, types and other attributes. Spotlight also offers quick access to definitions from the built-in New Oxford American Dictionary and to calculator functionality. There are also command-line tools to perform functions such as Spotlight searches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transmit (file transfer tool)</span>

Transmit is a file transfer client program for macOS developed by Panic Inc. Transmit is shareware; after a seven-day trial period, the product can only be used for seven-minute sessions until it is purchased. Transmit was originally built as an FTP client and now supports a number of protocols including SFTP and WebDAV and cloud services including Google Drive and Dropbox.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Unarchiver</span> File decompression utility

The Unarchiver is a proprietary freeware data decompression utility, which supports more formats than Archive Utility, the built-in archive unpacker program in macOS. It can also handle filenames in various character encodings, created using operating system versions that use those character encodings. The latest version requires Mac OS X Lion or higher. The Unarchiver does not compress files.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trash (computing)</span> Temporary storage for deleted files

In computing, the trash, also known by other names such as dustbin, wastebasket, and others, is a graphical user interface desktop metaphor for temporary storage for files set aside by the user for deletion, but not yet permanently erased. The concept and name is part of Mac operating systems, a similar implementation is called the Recycle Bin in Microsoft Windows, and other operating systems use other names.

MobileMe is a discontinued subscription-based collection of online services and software offered by Apple Inc. All services were gradually transitioned to and eventually replaced by the free iCloud, and MobileMe ceased on June 30, 2012, with transfers to iCloud being available until July 31, 2012, or data being available for download until that date, when the site finally closed completely. On that date all data was deleted, and email addresses of accounts not transferred to iCloud were marked as unused.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DaisyDisk</span>

DaisyDisk is a paid disk space analyzer for macOS. It displays a sunburst diagram of files on a hard drive to help with the location or deletion of large files. It can display previews of files using Quick Look. It also allows the user to look at the file directly in Finder, in order to delete it or move it elsewhere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DasBoot</span> Software utility made by SubRosaSoft.com

DasBoot is a software utility produced by SubRosaSoft.com Inc. It allows the user to create a bootable Mac OS X USB device for Mac OS X 10.5 and earlier. It is a freeware product. This live USB device can be used for diagnostic, repair, and recovery of Mac OS X systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">OS X Lion</span> Eighth major release of Mac OS X

OS X Lion, also known as Mac OS X Lion, is the eighth major release of macOS, Apple's desktop and server operating system for Mac computers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apple Disk Image</span> Disk image file format developed by Apple and commonly used by macOS

AppleDisk Image is a disk image format commonly used by the macOS operating system. When opened, an Apple Disk Image is mounted as a volume within the Finder.

Space Gremlin is a disk space analysis tool for Mac OS X.

ZSoft Uninstaller is a freeware software utility from ZSoft Software for the Microsoft Windows operating system. When programs are deleted using the default program uninstaller, it may leave behind some files and registry entries. ZSoft Uninstaller offers a way to completely delete the remaining data by taking a snapshot from the hard drive and registry before and after installing the program.

Disk Drill is a data recovery utility for Windows and macOS developed by Cleverfiles. It was introduced in 2010, and is primarily designed to recover deleted or lost files from hard disk drives, USB flash drives and SSD drives with the help of Recovery Vault technology. While Disk Drill was originally exclusive to the Mac, a Windows version was released in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haiku Applications</span> List of applications bundled with the Haiku operating system

Haiku is a free and open-source operating system compatible with the now discontinued BeOS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Classic Mac OS</span> Original operating system of Apple Mac (1984–2001)

Mac OS is the series of operating systems developed for the Macintosh family of personal computers by Apple Computer from 1984 to 2001, starting with System 1 and ending with Mac OS 9. The Macintosh operating system is credited with having popularized the graphical user interface concept. It was included with every Macintosh that was sold during the era in which it was developed, and many updates to the system software were done in conjunction with the introduction of new Macintosh systems.

macOS Sierra Thirteenth major release of macOS

macOS Sierra is the thirteenth major release of macOS, Apple Inc.'s desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers. The name "macOS" stems from the intention to unify the operating system's name with that of iOS, iPadOS, watchOS and tvOS. Sierra is named after the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California and Nevada. Its major new features concern Continuity, iCloud, and windowing, as well as support for Apple Pay and Siri.

macOS Ventura 19th major version of the macOS operating system

macOS Ventura is the latest major release of macOS, Apple's operating system for Macintosh computers. The successor to macOS Monterey, it was announced at WWDC 2022 on June 6, 2022, and launched on October 24, 2022. It is named after Ventura County and is the tenth macOS release to bear a name from the company's home state of California. The macOS 13 Ventura logo, official graphics and default wallpaper resemble an abstract California poppy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carbon Copy Cloner</span> Backup software

Carbon Copy Cloner is a backup and disk cloning utility for macOS made by Bombich.

References

  1. "OmniDiskSweeper Release Notes". The Omni Group . Archived from the original on October 23, 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  2. 1 2 Moussie, Stéphane. "OmniDiskSweeper recense toujours les plus gros fichiers de votre Mac". MacGeneration (in French). Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 Frakes, Dan. "Byte breakdown". Macworld. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  4. Fleishman, Glenn. "Spring cleaning for your Mac: How to consolidate files and remove duplicates". Macworld. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  5. Hattersley, Mark (23 November 2010). "Using OmniDiskSweeper to Clear Out Files". Mac Secrets. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN   978-1-118-02460-7.
  6. Dorsch, Hans (2005). Mac professionell - für Freiberufler und Selbständige: Innovativ und effizient arbeiten dank der Erfolgs-Tools von Apple (in German). Ralf Seelig. pp. 216–218. ISBN   978-3-908497-24-0.
  7. "OmniDiskSweeper". Le Parisien . Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  8. Cohen, Peter. "OmniDiskSweeper 1.0 released". Macworld . Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  9. Cohen, Peter. "OmniDiskSweeper 1.0b3 released". Macworld. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  10. Cheng, Jacqui (25 February 2009). "OmniWeb and three other Omni apps set free, as in beer". Ars Technica. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  11. Breen, Christopher. "Slimming your hard drive". Macworld. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  12. Breen, Christopher. "Dealing with a full hard drive". Macworld. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  13. Smith, Tony. "Ten free apps to install on every new Mac". The Register . Retrieved 1 June 2023.