Empty Excel File that is 1.7 MB

O

octobert

Hi,
I have an Excel file that scrolls slowly and is 1.7 MB big when it
really shouldn't be. Change tracking is of, there are no formulas and
no VBA code. I have stripped everything out of the spreadsheet,
deleted every row/column and did a "Clear All" on the entire thing and
it is still 1.7 MB. There are no hidden or very hidden sheets.

Has anyone ever encountered this? Exporting out the text and starting
over really isn't an option, so I hope someone can help me.

Thanks.
 
D

David McRitchie

did you save the workbook and recheck with Ctrl+End to make sure
the last cell is still where you think you changed it to. An easier way
than manually deleting rows and columns would be to run the macro
at:
Why do my scrollbars go to row 500 -- my data ends in cell E50?, contextures.com, Debra Dalgleish
http://www.contextures.com/xlfaqApp.html#Unused
 
O

octobert

I did all the normal checks as well as checked the links posted here an
I still have the problem. CTRL+End takes me to the last row. There ar
no hidden sheets or very hidden sheets and I deleted all the name
ranges.

More information: When I do print preview, it wants to print A1:D2.
If I copy those eight cells to another worksheet, the problems i
transferred to the new worksheet. I have deleted those two rows a
well as cleared all formatting to no avail. I have since found a wor
around (Copy/Paste Special - Formats followed by a Copy/Paste Specia
Values to a new worksheet), but I am still curious if anyone knows wha
the problem is. My boss and I are Excel experts and I have almost 1
years experience with it, yet we are completely stumped on this.

Thanks for your suggestions,
To
 
A

Anne Troy

You say it wants to print A1:D2; have you cleared the print area?
Also, File-->Properties, uncheck Save picture preview.
The only other thing I can do is offer to look at your file, octobert. :)
************
Anne Troy
www.OfficeArticles.com
 
D

David McRitchie

How are you doing the formatting. Large groups is best, like
entire columns.

If you want to examine each sheet as a separate file to see
how much space they really use see
Saveas, Save each worksheet as a separate workbook
http://www.mvps.org/dmcritchie/excel/saveas.htm
It's just a tool you certainly don't want use the files, and they
actually aren't likely to work by themselves as you probably
have sheets dependent on data from other sheets. But you might
find some surprising results when looking at the directory list
where you put those files.
 
O

octobert

Anne - Yep, I cleared the print area and Save Picture Preview is off.

David - There is currently only one sheet in my workbook.

Thank you to both for your suggestions.
 
O

octobert

David and Anne,
Thank you for your offers to look at this file for me. However, even
though I believe the file is empty, company policy prevents me from
being able to send it to you. Unless I could be certain that the 1.7
megs wasn't some kind of hidden, proprietary data, I need to play it
safe.

Again, thanks for your help.

Tom
 
D

David McRitchie

Something you might try
open notepad
then drag the file onto the open notepad, this will allow you to
browse the text content of file as it was when you dragged it there.

It may also show that you have information from other programs
that were never entered into Excel but are seen there nevertheless.
So the your company policy is certainly valid even if you think a
workbook is clean, because you never really know what is inside.
A known problem and one that used to frequently appear in
newsletters -- don't know if it was cleaned up or people just no longer
considered it newsworthy information.

Something else to try, if I didn't already suggest it. Copy the
worksheet to a new file. Since you said you only had one worksheet
and I don't know if that implies no macros or user defined functions.
 
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