Helper Class for Displaying Quantities of Bytes in a user friendly way (e.g., "1.11 MB" instead of "1160165 Bytes") and an extension method class to facilitate calling it on various numeric datatypes

ByteDisplay.cs

using System;

namespace DareWare.Utils
{
    /// <summary>
    /// Static Helper Class that implements the ShowBytes functionality
    /// </summary>
    public static class ByteDisplay
    {
        #region Private Fields

        /// <summary>Suffixes to append to the formatted number value.</summary>
        private static readonly string[] UNITS = { " Bytes", " KB", " MB", " GB", " TB", " PB", " EB", " ZB", " YB", " BB", " GpB" };

        #endregion Private Fields

        #region Public Methods

        /// <summary>Main worker function that formats the given value after scaling it appropriately</summary>
        /// <param name="nByteCount">The number of bytes to be displayed</param>
        /// <param name="format">Formatting string (e.g., "0.000" to display 3 decimal places)</param>
        /// <returns>The Formatted String</returns>
        static public string ShowBytes(decimal nByteCount, string format = null)
        {
            if (String.IsNullOrEmpty(format)) format = "0.00";

            // Determine the power of 2 closest to the display value
            double nPowerOfTwo = Math.Floor(Math.Log(Math.Abs(((double)nByteCount)), 2.0));
            if (nPowerOfTwo < 1.0)
            {
                nPowerOfTwo = 0.0;
            }

            // Round power of two down to the nearest multiple of 10
            int nIndex = (int)Math.Floor(nPowerOfTwo / 10);

            // Scale the display value by the rounded power of two
            decimal nDisplayValue = decimal.Divide(nByteCount, (decimal)Math.Pow(2, 10 * nIndex));

            // Format it as a string with the units (If the index = 0, do not display a decimal so
            // only whole numbers of bytes are shown)
            return nDisplayValue.ToString((nIndex > 0) ? format : "0") + UNITS[nIndex];
        }

        #endregion Public Methods
    }

    /// <summary>Extension class that facilitates displaying a quantity of Bytes</summary>
    public static class ByteDisplayExtensions
    {
        #region Public Methods

        /// <summary>Display a long value as a scaled number of Bytes, using the optional formatting</summary>
        /// <param name="value">Long Value to Display</param>
        /// <param name="format">Optional Formatting</param>
        /// <returns>String containing the Byte Information</returns>
        /// <example>A value of '1,160,165' returns '1.11 MB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '94,462' returns '92.25 KB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '239,037' returns '233.43 KB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '94,462' returns '92.25 KB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '1,384,988' returns '1.32 MB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '1,023' returns '1023 Bytes'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '2,048' returns '2.00 KB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '536,870,912' returns '512.00 MB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '1,073,741,824' returns '1024.00 MB'</example>
        static public string ToByteDisplay(this long value, string format = null)
        {
            return ByteDisplay.ShowBytes((decimal)value, format);
        }

        /// <summary>Display a ulong value as a scaled number of Bytes, using the optional formatting</summary>
        /// <param name="value">Unsigned Long Value to Display</param>
        /// <param name="format">Optional Formatting</param>
        /// <returns>String containing the Byte Information</returns>
        /// <example>A value of '1,160,165' returns '1.11 MB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '94,462' returns '92.25 KB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '239,037' returns '233.43 KB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '94,462' returns '92.25 KB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '1,384,988' returns '1.32 MB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '1,023' returns '1023 Bytes'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '2,048' returns '2.00 KB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '536,870,912' returns '512.00 MB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '1,073,741,824' returns '1024.00 MB'</example>
        static public string ToByteDisplay(this ulong value, string format = null)
        {
            return ByteDisplay.ShowBytes((decimal)value, format);
        }

        /// <summary>Display an int value as a scaled number of Bytes, using the optional formatting</summary>
        /// <param name="value">Int Value to Display</param>
        /// <param name="format">Optional Formatting</param>
        /// <returns>String containing the Byte Information</returns>
        /// <example>A value of '1,160,165' returns '1.11 MB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '94,462' returns '92.25 KB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '239,037' returns '233.43 KB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '94,462' returns '92.25 KB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '1,384,988' returns '1.32 MB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '1,023' returns '1023 Bytes'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '2,048' returns '2.00 KB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '536,870,912' returns '512.00 MB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '1,073,741,824' returns '1024.00 MB'</example>
        static public string ToByteDisplay(this int value, string format = null)
        {
            return ByteDisplay.ShowBytes((decimal)value, format);
        }

        /// <summary>Display a uint value as a scaled number of Bytes, using the optional formatting</summary>
        /// <param name="value">Unsigned Int Value to Display</param>
        /// <param name="format">Optional Formatting</param>
        /// <returns>String containing the Byte Information</returns>
        /// <example>A value of '1,160,165' returns '1.11 MB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '94,462' returns '92.25 KB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '239,037' returns '233.43 KB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '94,462' returns '92.25 KB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '1,384,988' returns '1.32 MB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '1,023' returns '1023 Bytes'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '2,048' returns '2.00 KB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '536,870,912' returns '512.00 MB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '1,073,741,824' returns '1024.00 MB'</example>
        static public string ToByteDisplay(this uint value, string format = null)
        {
            return ByteDisplay.ShowBytes((decimal)value, format);
        }

        /// <summary>Display a float value as a scaled number of Bytes, using the optional formatting</summary>
        /// <param name="value">Float Value to Display</param>
        /// <param name="format">Optional Formatting</param>
        /// <returns>String containing the Byte Information</returns>
        /// <example>A value of '744.8683' returns '745 Bytes'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '3209.751' returns '3.13 KB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '131072.0' returns '128.00 KB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '4194304.0' returns '4.00 MB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '536870900.0' returns '512.00 MB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '1073742000.0' returns '1.00 GB'</example>
        static public string ToByteDisplay(this float value, string format = null)
        {
            return ByteDisplay.ShowBytes((decimal)value, format);
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Display a double value as a scaled number of Bytes, using the optional formatting
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="value">Double Value to Display</param>
        /// <param name="format">Optional Formatting</param>
        /// <returns>String containing the Byte Information</returns>
        /// <example>A value of '634,982,839.306363' returns '605.57 MB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '1,888,566,572.36215' returns '1.76 GB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '549,755,813,888' returns '512.00 GB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '17,592,186,044,416' returns '16.00 TB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '2,251,799,813,685,250' returns '2.00 PB'</example>
        static public string ToByteDisplay(this double value, string format = null)
        {
            return ByteDisplay.ShowBytes((decimal)value, format);
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Display a decimal value as a scaled number of Bytes, using the optional formatting
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="value">Decimal Value to Display</param>
        /// <param name="format">Optional Formatting</param>
        /// <returns>String containing the Byte Information</returns>
        /// <example>A value of '101,763,413,460.055' returns '94.77 GB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '15,914,374,673,780.8' returns '14.47 TB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '524,288' returns '512.00 KB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '2,097,152' returns '2.00 MB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '1,073,741,824' returns '1.00 GB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '70,368,744,177,664' returns '64.00 TB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '9,007,199,254,740,990' returns '8.00 PB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '18,446,744,073,709,600,000' returns '16.00 EB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '151,115,727,451,829,000,000,000' returns '128.00 ZB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '618,970,019,642,690,000,000,000,000' returns '512.00 YB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '19,807,040,628,566,100,000,000,000,000' returns '16.00 BB'</example>
        static public string ToByteDisplay(this decimal value, string format = null)
        {
            return ByteDisplay.ShowBytes(value, format);
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Display a string value as a scaled number of Bytes, using the optional formatting
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="value">String Value to Display</param>
        /// <param name="format">Optional Formatting</param>
        /// <returns>String containing the Byte Information</returns>
        /// <example>A value of '101,763,413,460.055' returns '94.77 GB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '15,914,374,673,780.8' returns '14.47 TB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '524,288' returns '512.00 KB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '2,097,152' returns '2.00 MB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '1,073,741,824' returns '1.00 GB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '70,368,744,177,664' returns '64.00 TB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '9,007,199,254,740,990' returns '8.00 PB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '18,446,744,073,709,600,000' returns '16.00 EB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '151,115,727,451,829,000,000,000' returns '128.00 ZB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '618,970,019,642,690,000,000,000,000' returns '512.00 YB'</example>
        /// <example>A value of '19,807,040,628,566,100,000,000,000,000' returns '16.00 BB'</example>
        static public string ToByteDisplay(this string value, string format = null)
        {
            return ByteDisplay.ShowBytes(Decimal.Parse(value, System.Globalization.NumberStyles.Any), format);
        }

        #endregion Public Methods
    }
}

How To Use It

// Basic Invocation
decimal someByteCount = 9392334924982489242;
Console.WriteLine( ByteDisplay.ShowBytes( someByteCount ) );

// Via the extension methods
long byteCount = 12345668928;
Console.WriteLine( byteCount.ToByteDisplay() );

Sample Values

Here are some sample values and the value that ShowBytes would return for each of them.

0.000	0 Bytes
63253.642	61.77 KB
12367.397	12.08 KB
37443.303	36.57 KB
36260.391	35.41 KB
91219.321	89.08 KB
253791.243	247.84 KB
182293.152	178.02 KB
369378.153	360.72 KB
351102.342	342.87 KB
409366.637	399.77 KB
345117.254	337.03 KB
345039.634	336.95 KB
90316.244	88.20 KB
317862.844	310.41 KB
427919.711	417.89 KB
79070.815	77.22 KB
771552.013	753.47 KB
852190.860	832.22 KB
454993.707	444.33 KB
249411.506	243.57 KB
715148.627	698.39 KB
845638.112	825.82 KB
1237887.396	1.18 MB
105678.081	103.20 KB
260215.111	254.12 KB
760129.119	742.31 KB
1748221.525	1.67 MB
252283.891	246.37 KB
201818.453	197.09 KB
1255460.005	1.20 MB
506881.434	495.00 KB
1538668.753	1.47 MB
2016011.450	1.92 MB
1268313.784	1.21 MB
1047905.392	1023.35 KB
1118660.367	1.07 MB
2409275.471	2.30 MB
2081856.203	1.99 MB
1153625.625	1.10 MB
2519466.735	2.40 MB
257200.247	251.17 KB
2736675.121	2.61 MB
2602586.734	2.48 MB
2681275.933	2.56 MB
1429230.962	1.36 MB
2476818.622	2.36 MB
878837.533	858.24 KB
2027275.576	1.93 MB
2501172.088	2.39 MB
1899147.105	1.81 MB
3211357.781	3.06 MB
212436.656	207.46 KB
115082.898	112.39 KB
2947133.877	2.81 MB
826866.012	807.49 KB
1389670.593	1.33 MB
1020214.932	996.30 KB
468515.170	457.53 KB
3787357.111	3.61 MB
3272647.734	3.12 MB
2628221.298	2.51 MB
1055967.872	1.01 MB
2470419.763	2.36 MB
4012717.086	3.83 MB
1598067.231	1.52 MB
3222575.220	3.07 MB
2224269.133	2.12 MB
2392243.861	2.28 MB
4022723.099	3.84 MB
4409305.714	4.21 MB
380728.458	371.81 KB
4041772.057	3.85 MB
1296756.847	1.24 MB
1960731.295	1.87 MB
464804.892	453.91 KB
2616814.145	2.50 MB
3345559.379	3.19 MB
4556689.936	4.35 MB
3016106.663	2.88 MB
1768057.708	1.69 MB
853502.219	833.50 KB
1846151.079	1.76 MB
1950650.284	1.86 MB
2899034.451	2.76 MB
3775433.713	3.60 MB
1054849.656	1.01 MB
3994346.009	3.81 MB
573293.846	559.86 KB
1981978.298	1.89 MB
461214.698	450.40 KB
1198960.628	1.14 MB
5247468.909	5.00 MB
5220015.240	4.98 MB
3813769.442	3.64 MB
1890601.965	1.80 MB
5258633.941	5.02 MB
2516754.177	2.40 MB
6209531.705	5.92 MB
3598891.529	3.43 MB
4846979.076	4.62 MB
2085229.468	1.99 MB
5003570.641	4.77 MB
5095469.024	4.86 MB
5573385.657	5.32 MB
3425159.791	3.27 MB
724200.120	707.23 KB
5548755.484	5.29 MB
4450788.711	4.24 MB
5273327.864	5.03 MB
5075197.868	4.84 MB
5206202.275	4.97 MB
2801725.453	2.67 MB
4004186.911	3.82 MB
4798462.014	4.58 MB
5060812.414	4.83 MB
2386300.671	2.28 MB
6910713.720	6.59 MB
554682.270	541.68 KB
2175538.634	2.07 MB
1478394.724	1.41 MB
352699.775	344.43 KB
3255367.965	3.10 MB
1588008.437	1.51 MB
6593790.150	6.29 MB
6226836.265	5.94 MB
1746444.057	1.67 MB
828.915	829 Bytes
5469155.467	5.22 MB
850793.124	830.85 KB
2204275.018	2.10 MB
1111645.788	1.06 MB
6022137.619	5.74 MB
2934866.054	2.80 MB
7402799.795	7.06 MB
196409.481	191.81 KB
3674509.241	3.50 MB
5285386.636	5.04 MB
4891763.825	4.67 MB
262952.618	256.79 KB
5261870.685	5.02 MB
3658127.375	3.49 MB
667544.345	651.90 KB
3385031.375	3.23 MB
6000084.956	5.72 MB
3444893.262	3.29 MB
7839613.910	7.48 MB
3175556.201	3.03 MB
2077538.764	1.98 MB
9253041.679	8.82 MB
9729827.371	9.28 MB
9248373.656	8.82 MB
3229273.766	3.08 MB
6897351.868	6.58 MB
3701002.483	3.53 MB
7061012.071	6.73 MB
9281764.805	8.85 MB
5674604.299	5.41 MB
9769273.674	9.32 MB
600313.496	586.24 KB
3001584.372	2.86 MB
1098913.504	1.05 MB
1479019.629	1.41 MB
5642360.900	5.38 MB
5153403.658	4.91 MB
6212632.260	5.92 MB
212557.772	207.58 KB
492440.211	480.90 KB
7682053.311	7.33 MB
6867633.905	6.55 MB
2888064.410	2.75 MB
8127303.905	7.75 MB
4062358.827	3.87 MB
485948.653	474.56 KB
8044550.118	7.67 MB
9084563.293	8.66 MB
11219974.949	10.70 MB
533087.874	520.59 KB
6546729.829	6.24 MB
5265793.799	5.02 MB
11097846.798	10.58 MB
10460758.161	9.98 MB
9373928.711	8.94 MB
8447797.199	8.06 MB
1336903.470	1.27 MB
3930223.994	3.75 MB
9816451.982	9.36 MB
101264.900	98.89 KB
11951193.540	11.40 MB
1831383.163	1.75 MB
1423554.614	1.36 MB
10774400.510	10.28 MB
8118646.744	7.74 MB
6112697.422	5.83 MB
9441561.568	9.00 MB
5998051.973	5.72 MB
3295625.337	3.14 MB
7017397.177	6.69 MB
11441302.298	10.91 MB
798973.043	780.25 KB
4495483.211	4.29 MB
10200195.623	9.73 MB
8365206.897	7.98 MB
7904117.024	7.54 MB
9202916.685	8.78 MB
3554171.674	3.39 MB
7751603.331	7.39 MB
3816307.972	3.64 MB
13391806.378	12.77 MB
7870248.922	7.51 MB
9941622.373	9.48 MB
11918692.948	11.37 MB
13758926.218	13.12 MB
6903969.764	6.58 MB
1638566.359	1.56 MB
5697856.543	5.43 MB
4504992.532	4.30 MB
6185134.633	5.90 MB
5962285.027	5.69 MB
2229143.845	2.13 MB
11090572.497	10.58 MB
163306.840	159.48 KB
1091033.512	1.04 MB
8036172.905	7.66 MB
7424366.725	7.08 MB
5875681.568	5.60 MB
1185025.248	1.13 MB
13048495.245	12.44 MB
4486380.766	4.28 MB
3543501.520	3.38 MB
8072396.310	7.70 MB
6497695.558	6.20 MB
2497118.280	2.38 MB
7634114.787	7.28 MB
1624059.776	1.55 MB
2563253.694	2.44 MB
3866229.562	3.69 MB
2978750.081	2.84 MB
250016.509	244.16 KB
13255981.306	12.64 MB
11796314.793	11.25 MB
8276025.113	7.89 MB
409909.043	400.30 KB
6296976.854	6.01 MB
6803890.977	6.49 MB
4052715.585	3.86 MB
14033286.112	13.38 MB
2438288.874	2.33 MB
5955758.495	5.68 MB
5519380.014	5.26 MB
2475698.495	2.36 MB
13515720.093	12.89 MB
2084386.286	1.99 MB
12044220.853	11.49 MB
4861368.673	4.64 MB
5543310.125	5.29 MB