AM I RUNNING OUT OF SPACE?

As a SharePoint Online site owner, you have several built-in features and tools to monitor storage usage and determine if your site is running low on space.

Here’s a concise overview of the available features:

1. Storage Metrics in Site Settings:
   • Navigate to your SharePoint site, click the Settings gear > Site contents > Site settings.
   • Under Site Collection Administration, select Storage Metrics.
   • This page displays a breakdown of storage usage by folders, libraries, and files, sorted by total size (largest at the top). You can drill down to identify which documents or folders are consuming the most space.
     • Note: You cannot manage or delete files directly from this page; you must return to the main site to do so.
   • The free space is shown in the upper-right corner of the Storage Metrics page, helping you quickly assess available storage.
2. Site Usage Reports:
   • From the Settings gear, select Site usage (or navigate via Site contents > Site usage)
   • This report provides insights into storage consumption, including total storage used, unique viewers, site visits, and popular content (e.g., files with the most views).
   • You can view trends over the last 7, 30, or 90 days and export a 90-day usage report as a .csv file for further analysis.
     • Note: The export does not include "Average time spent per user" or "Shared with external users" data.
     • This feature is available to site owners, admins, members, and visitors, though visitors cannot access external user reports or download the 90-day report.
3. Storage Limit Notifications:
   • If your organization’s SharePoint admin has set a manual storage limit for your site (default is 25 TB unless customized), you can enable notifications to alert you when the site approaches its storage limit.
     • This is configured in the SharePoint Admin Center by an admin, where a percentage threshold (e.g., 90% full) triggers an email alert to site owners.
       • Check with your SharePoint admin to confirm if notifications are enabled and at what threshold.
4. Recycle Bin Monitoring:
   • Files in the Recycle Bin count toward your site’s storage quota. Regularly check and empty the Recycle Bin to free up space.
   • You can access it via Site contents > Recycle Bin.
5. Versioning Impact:
   • Excessive file versions can consume significant storage. Check library settings to see if versioning is enabled and how many versions are retained (e.g., default is 500 major versions).
   • You can manually reduce the number of versions kept or use tools like PowerShell to clean up older versions.
6. Additional Tips:
   • If your site is nearing its storage limit, you can request additional storage from your SharePoint admin, who can allocate more from the organization’s storage pool (up to 25,600 GB per site, subject to the tenant’s total storage).
   • For deeper analysis, third-party tools like Syskit Point or ManageEngine SharePoint Manager Plus can provide detailed storage reports, including site growth trends and file version breakdowns.
7. Limitations:
   • Some features, like Storage Metrics or Site Usage, may look different or be unavailable if your organization uses the Targeted Release option in Microsoft 365.
   • If you lack permissions to access certain reports, contact your SharePoint admin. By using these features, you can effectively monitor your site’s storage and take proactive steps to manage space constraints.