FolderSizes Help

Not getting the expected result when using the FolderSizes command line or scheduler interface to export data? Let's consider a few common causes and potential solutions.

 

File Format Limitations

 

It's important to keep in mind that not all export file formats are suitable for exporting large quantities of file system report data.

 

For example, there's no limit on the amount of data FolderSizes can export in HTML file format. However, most popular web browsers will not be able to load, parse, and display massive HTML documents. Browsers are just not designed for this purpose, so HTML data exports are best used for small-to-medium sized data exports.

 

Also, MS Excel has limits regarding the number of rows, columns, and other data elements that are supported. So if you find that your Excel export is missing rows, make sure you haven't exceed those limits.

 

We also recommend that you consider how your data exports will actually be used. For example, FolderSizes can generate CSV data exports will millions of rows - but rarely would such data be suitable for human consumption (though CSV and XML are often good candidates for machine integration).

 

Permissions

 

When users contact us to report that their command line (or scheduler) report doesn't export anything at all (no data file exists upon scan completion), the reason is often permissions related.

 

For example - when using the scheduler, keep in mind that the scheduled task will use a specific Windows user account to execute FolderSizes. FolderSizes then "inherits" the permissions of that account, and it needs to have sufficient permissions to access the file system areas that you're scanning. Also, any export file output paths must also be writable by the account executing FolderSizes.

 

Error Logging

 

The FolderSizes scheduler and command line interfaces both expose the ability to save error logs to the file system. If you're not getting the results you expect, consider enabling this option to see what (if any) errors are reported.

 

Also, keep in mind that FolderSizes can only write out the error log if permissions allow for it (see above).