can't reduce file size

R

ron

How can I reduce the size of an Excel 2002 file? The
file is basically an inventory list with about 20 rows
and 20 columns of text, without formulas. I was working
in the file and decided to copy the information to new
sheets so that I could format different views for people
to read without them having to look at the entire thing.
I also formatted the page settings of each sheet so they
would print nicely. Any ideas as to why the size
increased so dramatically?
 
A

ak420

When creating the new sheets, you may have assigned values to entire rows and/or columns, which means that your spreadsheet is not saved as being 20 rows by 20 columns--instead it is saved as the entire (maximum) size, which is a large number of columns wide (several thousand, at least) by over 60,000 rows tall. It is kind of a pain to do, but will dramatically reduce the file size, if (in each sheet) you select the first row/column you want to delete (by selecting the letter or number corresponding to the row/column), and then press [shift] and select the last row/column you want to delete. Then, press [delete] and your file size should be significantly reduced

If, on the other hand, there are no values assigned to outlying cells/rows/columns, then I have no idea what the problem is. Good luck
 
D

Dave Peterson

I think you'll find excel has 256 columns.

And just to add: Debra Dalgleish has some nice pictures at:
http://www.contextures.com/xlfaqApp.html#Unused

That describe what ak420 wrote.
When creating the new sheets, you may have assigned values to entire rows and/or columns, which means that your spreadsheet is not saved as being 20 rows by 20 columns--instead it is saved as the entire (maximum) size, which is a large number of columns wide (several thousand, at least) by over 60,000 rows tall. It is kind of a pain to do, but will dramatically reduce the file size, if (in each sheet) you select the first row/column you want to delete (by selecting the letter or number corresponding to the row/column), and then press [shift] and select the last row/column you want to delete. Then, press [delete] and your file size should be significantly reduced.

If, on the other hand, there are no values assigned to outlying cells/rows/columns, then I have no idea what the problem is. Good luck.
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