Tutorials

What TreeRoot does

TreeRoot visualizes a folder on your Mac as a tree diagram: the root folder is at the center of the layout, and subfolders branch outward. Lines connect parents to children so you can see structure at a glance. It is useful for exploring large directories, comparing branch sizes, and understanding how folders nest.

 

First launch: choose a folder

The app runs inside the App Sandbox. The first time you use TreeRoot (or after clearing access), click Grant Access and pick a folder in the system dialog. macOS remembers this choice as a security-scoped bookmark so TreeRoot can read that location on future launches.

You can change the folder later in Settings (open the TreeRoot menu and choose Settings, or press Command ,) under Root Origin using Select Folder.

 

Settings (Command ,)

Scan depth

Controls how many levels of subfolders are expanded into the tree. Higher values show more of the hierarchy but take longer to scan. In trial mode, depth is limited; a registered build can go deeper (up to the maximum shown in Settings).

If a folder is truncated because of depth, its card shows a dashed border and a small indicator; increase scan depth or pick a different root to see more.

Layout direction

Choose how the tree grows: Top to Bottom, Bottom to Top, Left to Right, or Right to Left. Changing direction reflows the canvas.

Connection style

Curved, Straight, or Hierarchical lines between folders. For hierarchical style, you can turn on Lines are not overlapping to separate paths when many siblings exist.

Line appearance

Set line color, line size, and whether app bundles (such as .app folders) are drawn like ordinary folders or de-emphasized when Display all types of folders is off.

Density intensity

Each folder card shows a small bar indicating how crowded that folder is (relative to your threshold). Adjust the slider so green / yellow / red match what you consider light, moderate, or heavy clutter.

 

 

The canvas

Scrolling and zoom

Use the scroll bars or a trackpad to move around the diagram. Pinch to zoom on the canvas (scale is clamped for readability). From the menu: View-related commands include Zoom In (Command +) and Zoom Out (Command -) when the canvas is visible.

Pan with the Space bar

Hold Space and drag to pan the view (hand cursor). Release Space to return to normal.

 

Selection and keyboard

Click a folder or file card to select it; the canvas scrolls to keep the selection in view. Use the arrow keys to move between parent, child, and siblings; behavior follows the current layout direction.

 

Move to root

Command Shift R (or the menu command) jumps selection and scroll position back to the root folder.

Folder popover

Click a folder card to open a panel with metadata and a sortable list of files. Select a file to see a Quick Look preview when available. Use the context menu to reveal in Finder or open an item. From the root card you can also choose a new root folder.

 

 

Menus

TreeRoot menu: About TreeRoot (version, license or trial, and Check for updates for direct-download builds).

Help: links to FAQs, bug reports, and feature requests on elonovo.com.

 

 

Tips

• Empty or very large folders: scanning may show a progress overlay; wait until it finishes.

• Symlink cycles are detected so the scanner does not loop forever; such branches may appear truncated.

• Trial builds show a banner and cap scan depth until you purchase or enter a license (Mac App Store builds behave per App Store rules).