Format entire columns/rows or individual cells

[Shatin]

I have just read the following on David McRitchie's page regarding reducing
file size:

"Formatting will not affect the last cell indication, but will affect the
size of a spreadsheet. It is best to format entire rows and columns than to
format cells individually. Individual cell formatting can be very costly."

However, I've read elsewhere that one should only format cells one needs
because a lot of formatting in the cells we don't need will slow things
down.

I am a bit confused. Can I have some clarification on this issue please?

 

[BrianB]

I do not have a definitive answer, but I do understand this - having ha
error messages saying that I am trying to exceed the Excel limitatio
on number of cell formats.

There is a limit on the possible number of cell formats used in
workbook. In Excel 97 this is 4000. I guess later versions allow more


A difference in cell formats can be related to anything included in th
format - eg. number format, fill etc. - and especially cell borders
where a single difference in a border means it counts as a separat
format.

I guess that Excel must store these formats somewhere, so the more yo
have the bigger the file size