WatchDISK Help Index
Current Directory and Browse Button
Current Directory and Browse Button
Near the top of the WatchDISK window, you will find a box containing the current scan path. This is the directory where WatchDISK will start scanning for disk space usage. You can type the desired path in, or click the Browse button to select the current directory graphically. Note that when choosing a directory with the Browse button, selecting a file is not necessary--files are only shown to help give you decide where you want to scan.
As the scan directory changes, the Disk Space Grid will automatically update to display any data for the displayed directory.
If a network drive is chosen, WatchDISK will attempt to convert the path into UNC format (ie \\Server\volume\directory\subdirectory). This enables the directory information to be related to an absolute location, rather than to a drive letter which can change from user to user, or can even change often for the same user.
Scan Button
The Scan button tells WatchDISK to go to work. It starts from the directory specified in the Directory field, and tallies disk space usage in all subdirectories. A progress indicator bar will appear to give you a rough idea as to how far along you are.
Newly scanned data can automatically be saved if the proper option is selected in the Preferences dialog. Also, you can choose to manually save the data by pressing the Save button.
After any scan happens, basic statistics including the total space used are displayed.
Alert Button
One of WatchDISK’s newest features is its ability to periodically run and alert you if a directory has grown by too much (specified by % or absolute disk space change), or if the total free space on a drive has decreased below some threshhold. In addition, you can pass your own custom command line to WatchDISK and have it run whenever you want.
When you need to be notified of an alert condition, WatchDISK pops up a Message Box by default telling you about the path and threshhold that were passed. You can choose to have this information forwarded to you via your own program if you wish. This allows WatchDISK to utilize any communications mechanism you might currently be using (such as network broadcast messages, etc.). See the /NOTIFY option in the command line options section below.
Print Button
Pressing the print button gives you the option to print to the default Windows printer (the one that is assigned as Default Printer in Control Panel) or print to a text file. If you print to a printer, a temporary file is actually created, and that file is then printed by the Windows NOTEPAD.EXE application.
Because this application supports long filenames, the printed data could be too wide to fit on a page. For this reason, you are able to print only the number of columns of data (1-6) that you would like. Simply indicate the number of columns to print in the space provided on the dialog.
Lastly, if you want to import the data into another program (spreadsheet, database, etc.), you can print to file in comma separated form. The format is as follows:
Row 1 are the textual lables for the columns. The column text will be "Directory" for column 1, and the rest of the columns will be the date of the column.
Rows 2+ are the individual directories that were scanned. The first column of the row will be the directory name, and the rest of the columns will be the size (in bytes) of that particular scan.
Preferences Button
The Preferences button displays a dialog that allows you to control how WatchDISK runs. The settings you choose are user specific, so if two people use WatchDISK on the same computer, they can both have their own settings.
The selectable preferences are:
- Display Units
- Cluster Size
- Sort Method
- Data
Rescan directory when double clicked on: In the Disk Space Grid, you can double click on the directory name. When clicked on, the Current Directory is updated to what was clicked on. When that happens, a scan can automatically begin if this option is chosen.
Data storage path: The data sets are stored in the location specified by the path in this edit box.
In addition to these, the Preferences dialog is an easy way to get to the WatchDISK About Box.
Help Button
The help button simply brings you to this help!
Save Button
Pressing Save saves the current data set. Where the data actually gets saved is based on the setting in the Preferences dialog.
Exit Button
Exit the WatchDISK program. Note that any alerts you have created will still be active and be checked at the appropriate time.
Disk Space Grid
The Disk Space Grid is how you see where all of your drive space is disappearing to. You can sort the data by directory name, size or change in size.
You can choose how directory sizes are displayed in the Preferences dialog.
By double clicking on the directory name shown, the scan directory will change to the new directory.
Registering WatchDISK will:
- Get rid of the registration screen that keeps popping up when WatchDISK starts
- Your Registration Name will be displayed at the top of the WatchDISK screen and on all printed reports.
Complete registration instructions are shown on the initial registration screen. Be sure to send an e-mail address when you register so I can send your Registration Name and Registration ID via e-mail (I typically get e-mail out much quicker than postal mail).
Registration happens on a per-user basis. So, if two users use WatchDISK on the same computer, both users need to register.
Until you register, the registration dialog will come up every run of the program. You can also access the registration dialog from the About WatchDISK dialog (which can be accessed via the Preferences Button).
Once you are registered, you can freely download all newer versions and automatically be registered with the newer version too! That's my way of saying thanks for your support.
Scan Statistics
After a scan takes place, the above statistics are displayed. Additionally, note that Scanned Directory Size and Total Used are part of the saved data, so they will be shown for the most recent scan (which means they are not necessarily accurate if things have changed since the last scan).
Cluster Size is an important statistic to make note of. This is the value that is used to determine how much actual disk space each file takes up. Files are allocated in chunks, or in clusters. Files are allocated using complete clusters, so a 1 byte file takes up an entire cluster (which in the example above is 4K). A 12K+100byte file would take 4 clusters (12K / 4K = 3 clusters plus the rest of the file (100 bytes) which need an additional cluster).
If you are using disk compression, the cluster size defaults to 256 bytes which is probably a good guess. If compression is detected, the Cluster Size text in the above graphic will have an asterisk to the left (as in Cluster Size* :).
Also, if there is an error reading the cluster size, you’ll get an error message indicating the problem the first time you select that drive. Thereafter you will not receive the warning. The Cluster Size text above will have a ? appended, as in "Cluster Size? :" if there was an error reading the cluster size.
In case of an error reading the cluster size, a dialog will appear that allows you to specify the cluster size of the target drive. This value will be saved away and you won’t be asked about that drive again. A check box is also displayed that, if set, will never pop-up that cluster size dialog, but rather will ALWAYS use the value you enter for all drives for which the cluster size can’t be automatically determined.
In all cases, Cluster Size will indicate the value that is being used for calculations.
WatchDISK has the abililty to run in an automated fashion using command line arguments. The following arguments can be passed to WatchDISK on the command line:
/DIR=scandir
Set scandir to the directory you want to use
The /DIR option can also be used by itself to command WatchDISK to come up with the specified default directory.
NOTE: None of the other options work unless a directory has been set using the /DIR= parameter
/SAVE
This option causes the scan to be saved when done
/SCAN
This option causes a scan to happen
/PRINT={LPT1|FILE=filename}
This option causes a disk space report to be printed
/DEBUG=dump.txt
Causes diagnostic output to be written to the file dump.txt. Use this option if you should ever need to send me feedback about a problem you’re having (hopefully you’ll never use this one!)
/ALERTPERCENT=number
You will be alerted if the size of the directory specified by /DIR= has grown by number% or more. Typically you would also use the /SCAN option so you're checking current data. number should be an integer greater than 0.
/ALERTSIZE=number
You will be alerted if the size of the directory specified by /DIR= has grown by number K bytes (1024 bytes). Typically you would also use the /SCAN option so you're checking current data. number should be an integer greater than 0. Remember, number is the size in K that you are comparing against.
/FREEALERT=number
WatchDISK will check the drive/directory specified by /DIR= and alert you if the available free space on the drive drops below number K bytes (1024 bytes).
/NOTIFY=your command line
When one of the three alert conditions above occurs, WatchDISK will check the command line for a /NOTIFY directive. If it doesn't find one, a MessageBox will be popped up. If it does find one, the program specified after /NOTIFY= will be run passing the rest of the command line to it.
IMPORTANT: /NOTIFY must be the very last command on the command line.
If you want your custom program to know the directory, the size or a message from WatchDISK to be used, you can put the following strings on the command line and the proper values will be substituted before calling your program:
$DIR$ - Turns into whatever was passed in the /DIR= command
$SIZE$ - The current size of the directory
$MSG$ - The message string that would have shown up in the Message Box.
The substitutions do NOT take quotes into consideration. In other words, ALL occurances of the keywords above will be substituted.
The example below will broadcast a message to the Administrator user (on a Windows NT network) any time \\SERVER\USERS free space drops below 1 GB:
WATCHDSK.EXE /DIR=\\SERVER\USERS /FREEALERT=1000000 /NOTIFY=C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32\NET.EXE SEND /MISDOMAIN:Administrators "Disk Space on $DIR$ has dropped to $SIZE$"
NOTE: SEND.EXE can be used on Novell networks to accomplish the same alerting task as NET.EXE SEND does on Windows NT networks.
NOTE: Previous versions of WatchDISK showed a progess dialog during a scan even when being run from the command line. Version 2.0 does not display this dialog.
Examples:
The following line will scan C:\WINDOWS and save the data when done:
/DIR=C:\WINDOWS /SAVE /SCAN
The line below will simply print the current data (ie, not do another scan) to D:\DATA\DIRSIZE.TXT for the directory of U:\USERS:
/DIR=U:\USERS /PRINT=FILE=D:\DATA\DIRSIZE.TXT
The line below will alert you if the \\SERVER\USERS directory has grown by more than 10 MB
/DIR = \\SERVER\USERS /ALERTSIZE=10000 /SCAN
The example below will broadcast a message to the Administrator user (on a Windows NT network) any time \\SERVER\USERS free space drops below 1 GB:
/DIR=\\SERVER\USERS /FREEALERT=1000000 /NOTIFY=C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32\NET.EXE SEND /MISDOMAIN:Administrators "Disk Space on $DIR$ has dropped to $SIZE$"
NOTE: SEND.EXE can be used on Novell networks to accomplish the same alerting task as NET.EXE SEND does on Windows NT networks.
All of the settings that WatchDISK uses are stored in the system registry. You can access those settings by running REGEDIT and selecting:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Dnebeker\WATCHDSK
Be careful not to change the Registration Name or Registration ID if you’re already registered or you might accidentally unregister yourself!
These registry settings are not meant to be editted manually, but I thought you should know where they are just in case...
The only setting that you might want to look at is the Settings\DaysBetweenChecks. WatchDISK now has the ability to check the internet for updates, and also update the WatchDISK homepage and contact postal and e-mail addresses. WatchDISK should only check for an update if you are already connected to the Internet. If WatchDISK does cause a connection, change the Settings\DaysBetweenChecks to 1000000 (hex or decimal -- it doesn't matter).
WatchDISK About Box
The About Box for WatchDISK has a wealth of information. Here you can find out which version (and build number) you are running. You can find the current home page and contact information for WatchDISK. If you haven't registered yet, this is a convenient place to access the Registration dialog.
In addition, the About Box allows you to connect to the Internet and find out if there have been any updates made to WatchDISK. This includes any changes that might have occurred to the homepage (such as it moving), or if there is a new version of the product that you can download. Once you are registered, you can freely download all newer versions and automatically be registered with the newer version too! That's my way of saying thanks for your support.
Disk Space Considerations
Sometimes the disk space numbers that WatchDISK calculates will not match number you get with another method. For example, some people use the DOS dir /s command and compare the results, or use some disk volume software to compare.
Some things to keep in mind:
dir /s always under estimates the disk space used. And even more disk space gets wasted as the cluster size goes up. This wasted disk space problem is known as Internal Fragmentation dir /s don't, and thus they are under estimating the amount of disk space used.