Google Drive’s web app doesn’t let you control folder sizes. Do not you believe? Check it yourself. Sure, you can download or sync a folder to your PC or Mac and then check its size. However, if there’s a lot of data in the folder, it’s quite a data-heavy issue and you only download it to check a small detail. Fortunately, there are several workaround methods to check folder sizes in Google Drive without having to download your data locally.
If you’re using a Windows PC, you can mount Google Drive as a network drive using an app called RaiDrive. Then easily check the size of any folder. Alternatively, if you know what you’re doing, you can use Google Drive’s Backup and Sync client itself (on both Windows and macOS) to check the size of a folder without syncing anything.
Note: Google Drive doesn’t count certain files into your storage quota, such as Docs, Sheets, and Slides documents. Therefore, RaiDrive and Google Drive Backup and Sync will not display the correct numbers for folders containing such files.
Check Google Drive Folder Sizes – RaiDrive
RaiDrive is a remote file management program for Windows that allows you to add cloud storage services such as Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive to your computer. Then it lets you view all files and folders on the service without downloading any data to local storage. Therefore, you can use RaiDrive to easily check the size of any folder in Google Drive using File Explorer.
However, you must give RaiDrive permission to view, edit, create and delete content in Google Drive. If you don’t like the idea of allowing access to your data, check out the next method, which includes Google’s Backup and Sync client.
Stage 1: Download and install RaiDrive.
Note: Make sure you download the free version of RaiDrive as it’s more than enough for the job at hand.
Step 2: Open RaiDrive and then click on the option labeled Add.
Stage 3: Select Google Drive under the Storage section and then choose an appropriate drive letter (Google Drive will appear as a location in File Explorer). You can also add a tag other than the default ‘Google Drive’ if you want. Finally, click OK.
Step 4: A ‘Sign in with Google’ page will automatically open in your default web browser. Sign in with your Google Account credentials or choose a Google Account if you’re already signed in.
Step 5: Click Allow to grant RaiDrive permissions to access content within Google Drive.
RaiDrive should then add Google Drive to your computer as a remote drive location.
Step 6: Open File Explorer and then double-click on the newly added location.
Step 7: Right-click any folder in Google Drive and then select Properties.
You can find the folder size listed under the General tab of the Properties dialog. Appropriate, right?
RaiDrive not only lets you view folder sizes in Google Drive, but you can also use it to copy files locally from your account and upload data to the cloud. You can also add other Google Drive accounts or supported cloud storage services to RaiDrive and manage them via File Explorer.
Note: If you want to remove Google Drive from RaiDrive, open the RaiDrive program, click Disconnect, then Trash. You may want to go to your Google Account portal online and remove RaiDrive’s access to Google Drive.
Check Google Drive Folder Sizes – Backup and Sync
If you don’t want RaiDrive to access your Google Account data, or if you’re using a Mac (in which case RaiDrive isn’t supported), you can instead use the Google Drive Backup & Sync client to control folder sizes. However, instead of syncing your data locally and then checking folder sizes using File Explorer or Finder, the steps below should show you a method with zero downloads as well as the initial Backup and Sync download.
Stage 1: Download and install Google Drive Backup & Sync.
Step 2: During the third step of the Welcome to Backup and Sync setup, make sure to uncheck the box next to ‘Sync my Drive to this computer’. Click Start to run Google Drive on your PC or Mac without downloading any data.
Note: If you do not want to upload your documents or image to Google Drive, you must specify your preferences in the second step of the Welcome to Backup and Sync setup.
Stage 3: When you want to check the size of a folder, click the Google Drive icon in the system tray (PC) or menu bar (Mac) and then click the More (three dots) icon.
Step 4: Click Preferences.
Step 5: In the Preferences pane that appears, switch to the Google Drive tab and then check the box next to ‘Sync my Drive to this computer’.
Follow along by clicking the radio button next to ‘Sync only these folders’. Then you can check a list of folders (including subfolders) and their relative sizes in Column View.
After checking this, click the Cancel button. If you click OK, Backup and Sync will start syncing the selected folders locally.
the best way
I have no idea why Google made it so hard to control folder sizes in Google Drive. Considering how long the web app has been lacking in functionality, don’t expect it to be available anytime soon. The two methods listed above aren’t perfect, but they should serve you well for now.
Next: Should you use Google Photos or Google Drive for your photos? Click on the link below to read and find the best solution for storing your images.
