{"id":"freeing-space.why-are-there-two-scales-on-the-chart","url":"/faq/freeing-space/why-are-there-two-scales-on-the-chart","category":{"id":"freeing-space","title":"Freeing up space"},"subcategory":{"id":"profile-and-charts","title":"Storage Profile, charts and Home"},"question":"Why does the storage chart have two different scales?","alt_questions":["Dual axis storage chart","Internal and external drive on one chart","Why don't the two lines share a scale?","Chart axis left and right","Two y axes Storage Studio"],"short_answer":"Your built-in and fast drives are often very different sizes, so each gets its own colour and scale; otherwise the smaller drive's changes would be flattened.","answer_markdown":"So both drives read clearly. Your built-in drive and your fast drive often differ a lot in size — say a small internal drive and a much larger external one — and on a single scale the smaller one would be flattened into a line along the bottom.\n\nEach drive gets its own colour and its own scale, so changes on either are easy to see. Hover a point to read the exact value. See [What do the storage charts show?](/faq/freeing-space/what-are-the-storage-charts)","answer_html":"<p>So both drives read clearly. Your built-in drive and your fast drive often differ a lot in size — say a small internal drive and a much larger external one — and on a single scale the smaller one would be flattened into a line along the bottom.</p>\n<p>Each drive gets its own colour and its own scale, so changes on either are easy to see. Hover a point to read the exact value. See <a href=\"/faq/freeing-space/what-are-the-storage-charts\">What do the storage charts show?</a></p>","answer_text":"So both drives read clearly. Your built-in drive and your fast drive often differ a lot in size — say a small internal drive and a much larger external one — and on a single scale the smaller one would be flattened into a line along the bottom.\n\nEach drive gets its own colour and its own scale, so changes on either are easy to see. Hover a point to read the exact value. See What do the storage charts show?","tags":["charts","dual axis"],"related":[{"id":"freeing-space.what-are-the-storage-charts","question":"What do Storage Studio's storage charts show?","url":"/faq/freeing-space/what-are-the-storage-charts"},{"id":"freeing-space.how-do-i-zoom-the-storage-chart","question":"How do I zoom into a period on the storage chart?","url":"/faq/freeing-space/how-do-i-zoom-the-storage-chart"}],"applies_to":"all","last_reviewed":"2026-10-01","title":"Why does the storage chart have two different scales? — Storage Studio FAQ","description":"Your built-in and fast drives are often very different sizes, so each gets its own colour and scale; otherwise the smaller drive's changes would be flattened.","crumbs":[{"name":"Home","path":"/"},{"name":"FAQ","path":"/faq/"},{"name":"Freeing up space","path":"/faq/freeing-space/"},{"name":"Why does the storage chart have two different scales?","path":"/faq/freeing-space/why-are-there-two-scales-on-the-chart"}],"jsonld":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","url":"https://storagestudio.us/faq/freeing-space/why-are-there-two-scales-on-the-chart","inLanguage":"en","dateModified":"2026-10-01","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"Why does the storage chart have two different scales?","alternateName":["Dual axis storage chart","Internal and external drive on one chart","Why don't the two lines share a scale?","Chart axis left and right","Two y axes Storage Studio"],"acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"So both drives read clearly. Your built-in drive and your fast drive often differ a lot in size — say a small internal drive and a much larger external one — and on a single scale the smaller one would be flattened into a line along the bottom.\n\nEach drive gets its own colour and its own scale, so changes on either are easy to see. Hover a point to read the exact value. See What do the storage charts show?","url":"https://storagestudio.us/faq/freeing-space/why-are-there-two-scales-on-the-chart"}}]},"fragment":"<div class=\"wrap fl-wrap\"><div class=\"fl-layout\"><aside class=\"fl-side\" aria-label=\"FAQ topics\"><details open><summary>All topics</summary><ul class=\"fl-tree\"><li><a href=\"/faq/getting-started/\">Getting started</a> <span>70</span></li><li class=\"fl-open\"><a href=\"/faq/freeing-space/\" aria-current=\"true\">Freeing up space</a> <span>182</span><ul><li><a href=\"/faq/freeing-space/#one-tap-cleanup\">One-tap clean-up (Run Tuhi)</a> <span>21</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/freeing-space/#free-up-space-wizard\">Free Up Space wizard and button</a> <span>23</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/freeing-space/#caches\">Caches and clutter</a> <span>16</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/freeing-space/#whats-using-space\">What&#39;s Using Space (Storage Inspector)</a> <span>21</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/freeing-space/#where-space-went\">Where your space went</a> <span>15</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/freeing-space/#emergency-space\">Emergency Space</a> <span>14</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/freeing-space/#temporary-files\">Temporary files and Storage Studio&#39;s own footprint</a> <span>10</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/freeing-space/#stopping-and-safety\">Stopping, undoing and apps in the way</a> <span>11</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/freeing-space/#snapshots-held-space\">Local snapshots and held space</a> <span>16</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/freeing-space/#recycle-vault\">Recycle Vault</a> <span>14</span></li><li class=\"fl-on\"><a href=\"/faq/freeing-space/#profile-and-charts\">Storage Profile, charts and Home</a> <span>21</span></li></ul></li><li><a href=\"/faq/moving-folders/\">Moving folders</a> <span>144</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/apps/\">Apps</a> <span>146</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/external-drives/\">External drives</a> <span>169</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/finder-location/\">Finding things in Finder</a> <span>70</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/cloud-accounts/\">Cloud accounts</a> <span>158</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/icloud/\">iCloud &amp; iCloud Photos</a> <span>168</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/data-transfers/\">Data Transfers</a> <span>119</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/backups/\">Backups &amp; restore points</a> <span>126</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/delta-drive/\">Delta Drive, Delta Trust &amp; My Drive</a> <span>125</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/bridge-devices/\">Bridge &amp; your devices</a> <span>111</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/duplicates/\">Duplicate files</a> <span>74</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/junk-yard/\">Junk Yard</a> <span>113</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/tuhi-assistant/\">Tuhi, your storage assistant</a> <span>105</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/settings/\">Settings &amp; keep-time</a> <span>88</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/performance-battery/\">Performance &amp; battery</a> <span>62</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/privacy-safety/\">Privacy &amp; safety</a> <span>85</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/licensing-payments/\">Licensing &amp; payments</a> <span>131</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/troubleshooting/\">Troubleshooting &amp; messages</a> <span>180</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/comparisons/\">Comparisons &amp; alternatives</a> <span>75</span></li><li><a href=\"/faq/mac-storage-basics/\">Mac storage basics</a> <span>315</span></li></ul></details></aside><div class=\"fl-main\"><nav class=\"fl-crumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\"><ol><li><a href=\"/\">Home</a></li><li><a href=\"/faq/\">FAQ</a></li><li><a href=\"/faq/freeing-space/\">Freeing up space</a></li><li aria-current=\"page\">Why does the storage chart have two different scales?</li></ol></nav>\n<form class=\"fl-search\" action=\"/faq/search\" method=\"get\" role=\"search\" data-fl-search>\n<label class=\"fl-visually-hidden\" for=\"fl-q\">Search the FAQ</label>\n<input id=\"fl-q\" type=\"search\" name=\"q\" value=\"\" placeholder=\"Search 2,816 questions…\" autocomplete=\"off\" spellcheck=\"false\">\n<button type=\"submit\">Search</button>\n<div class=\"fl-suggest\" role=\"listbox\" hidden></div>\n</form>\n<article class=\"fl-entry\">\n<p class=\"eyebrow fl-eyebrow\"><a href=\"/faq/freeing-space/\">Freeing up space</a> · <a href=\"/faq/freeing-space/#profile-and-charts\">Storage Profile, charts and Home</a></p>\n<h1>Why does the storage chart have two different scales?</h1>\n<p class=\"fl-short\"><strong>Short answer:</strong> Your built-in and fast drives are often very different sizes, so each gets its own colour and scale; otherwise the smaller drive&#39;s changes would be flattened.</p>\n<div class=\"fl-answer\"><p>So both drives read clearly. Your built-in drive and your fast drive often differ a lot in size — say a small internal drive and a much larger external one — and on a single scale the smaller one would be flattened into a line along the bottom.</p>\n<p>Each drive gets its own colour and its own scale, so changes on either are easy to see. Hover a point to read the exact value. See <a href=\"/faq/freeing-space/what-are-the-storage-charts\">What do the storage charts show?</a></p></div>\n\n<p class=\"fl-meta\">Last reviewed <time datetime=\"2026-10-01\">October 1, 2026</time></p>\n\n<section class=\"fl-related\"><h2>Related questions</h2><ul><li><a href=\"/faq/freeing-space/what-are-the-storage-charts\">What do Storage Studio&#39;s storage charts show?</a></li><li><a href=\"/faq/freeing-space/how-do-i-zoom-the-storage-chart\">How do I zoom into a period on the storage chart?</a></li></ul></section>\n<p class=\"fl-formats\">Also available as <a href=\"/faq/freeing-space/why-are-there-two-scales-on-the-chart.md\">Markdown</a> and <a href=\"/faq/freeing-space/why-are-there-two-scales-on-the-chart.json\">JSON</a>.</p>\n</article></div></div></div>"}