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File Size Analysis

Use DriveAuditr to understand storage usage across your Drive.

Storage Information​

DriveAuditr captures file size for every file, allowing you to:

  • Identify large files consuming storage
  • See which file types take up most space
  • Plan storage cleanup strategies
  • Track storage trends over time

Finding Large Files​

Sort by Size​

In the Drive Audit sheet:

  1. Click the Size (bytes) column header
  2. Select Data → Sort sheet Z→A
  3. Largest files appear at the top

Filter by Size​

To find files over a certain size:

  1. Use column filters
  2. Filter Size (bytes) > specific value
  3. For example, files over 100MB = 100,000,000 bytes

Storage Analysis Tips​

Identify Storage Hogs​

Files that typically consume the most space:

  • Videos: Often several GB per file
  • High-res Images: RAW photos, large JPEGs
  • Large PDFs: Especially scanned documents
  • Audio Files: Uncompressed audio, recordings
  • Backups: Archived data, old exports

File Type Analysis​

See which file types consume most storage:

  1. Sort by MIME Type column
  2. Count files of each type
  3. Use pivot tables in Sheets for deeper analysis

Cleanup Strategies​

Based on audit results:

  1. Archive Old Files: Move to cold storage
  2. Compress Videos: Convert to smaller formats
  3. Delete Duplicates: Find files with same name/size
  4. Remove Unused Files: Check modification dates

Size Limitations​

What's Included​

File size shown is the actual file storage:

✅ Documents, images, videos ✅ PDFs and Office files ✅ Compressed archives

What's Not Included​

Some items don't have a size:

❌ Folders: Size is empty (folders don't have size) ❌ Google Docs: Native Docs don't count toward storage quota ❌ Google Sheets/Slides: Also don't count toward quota

Zero or Empty Sizes​

Files may show empty size because:

  • They're Google native formats (Docs, Sheets, Slides)
  • They're folders
  • Size information is unavailable from the API

Comparing Audits​

Run audits periodically to track storage growth:

  1. Save each audit with date in filename
  2. Compare Size (bytes) totals over time
  3. Identify rapid growth periods
  4. Plan proactive cleanup

Export for Analysis​

Export audit data for deeper analysis:

  1. Download as Excel
  2. Import into data analysis tools
  3. Create charts and visualizations
  4. Share reports with management

Important Notes​

Read-Only Tool​

DriveAuditr only reports on file sizes. It cannot:

❌ Delete files ❌ Move files ❌ Compress files ❌ Free up storage automatically

You must take action manually after reviewing the audit.

Google Storage Quotas​

Remember:

  • Free Google accounts: 15GB
  • Google Workspace: Varies by plan
  • Shared Drive storage counts toward organization quota
  • Native Google Docs/Sheets/Slides don't count toward quota

Size Calculations​

File sizes are in bytes. For reference:

  • 1 KB (kilobyte) = 1,024 bytes
  • 1 MB (megabyte) = 1,048,576 bytes
  • 1 GB (gigabyte) = 1,073,741,824 bytes

Use Google Sheets formulas to convert to MB or GB:

=A2/1048576  (convert bytes to MB)
=A2/1073741824  (convert bytes to GB)

Next Steps​

After identifying large files:

  1. Review if they're still needed
  2. Download important files for backup
  3. Delete or archive in Google Drive
  4. Run a new audit to verify storage reduction

For more help, contact driveauditr@terrydjony.com.