Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!mailrus!ncar!boulder!uswat!uswmrg2!steve From: steve@uswmrg2.UUCP (Steve Martin) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.system Subject: Re: How big is my folder? Message-ID: <1990Aug15.151151.24952@uswmrg2.UUCP> Date: 15 Aug 90 15:11:51 GMT References: <3330@tellab5.tellabs.com> Reply-To: steve@uswmrg2.UUCP (Steve Martin) Organization: US West Marketing Resources Group, Aurora CO. Lines: 30 In article <3330@tellab5.tellabs.com> wiseman@tellabs.com (Jeff Wiseman) writes: >In article rq02+@andrew.cmu.edu (Richard Quadrel) writes: >>If I display the contents of a folder "By Size", the Finder will tell me >>the size of each of the files, but prints the size of a folder as "--". > >Just a thought on this subject (I've been asked about this a couple times). The >mac file system behaves similar to a unix system. There are different "types" >of file. A "folder" type file (similar to the unix "directory" type) does not >really physically "contain" other files such as applications or document types. >What it does contain is mainly POINTERS to each of the files "contained" in the >folder. Yes, but in the Mac desktop metaphor, the user knows that a folder is just a container and wants to see what the size of all of the objects in the folder combine to make. When I look in my file cabinet I see folders of differing sizes and know that the size of a folder is dependent upon how much is inside of it. I think that even Apple could see the usefulness of displaying this information in the directory windows. On the other hand, I am sure that one of the big reasons that this information is not shown is related to technology. In order to display a folders size in the Get Info box, the Mac must traverse all of the "Pointers" and add up the size of each individual document "contained" in the folder. This is very time consuming and would make directory displays very slow if the information was to be displayed every time a folder was opened in the finder. -- Steve Martin | Nothing I say can be held against U S West Marketing Resources Group | Me or my employer! (...uswat.uswest.com!uswmrg2!steve)