Maximum Word document size

[Grant]

I have an inspector creating some technical documents and
need to know the maximum document size is. I haven't been
able to find the info on Microsoft's site, or anywhere
else for that matter. Any info or directions would be
appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Jezebel]

You usually reach a practical limit long before you hit the technical
limitations of the system. If you type 'limits' into Help you'll see some of
the restrictions: file = 32MB, subdocuments = 255, fields = 32000, etc.

But your document is likely to become effectively unusable long before you
get to those (ie too slow to open and save, too risky to work with, too
prone to corruption, etc). Much better to set a policy that imposes workable
and safe limits.

 

[Guest]

Thanks Jezebel, I really appreciate it. He said he has a
document of around 100MB and is having all kinds of
problems. Now I know why.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Note, however, that the 32 MB limit is for text only. Presumably the 100 MB
document includes graphics.

One thing that seems to add considerably to the load is tables, even short
ones (though Word really abhors long ones). I recently created a document of
just 106 pages that is about 10.5 MB. It contains no paragraph text: each
page is a single table of 8 columns (some of them merged in spots) and 62
rows, and there is a single empty paragraph at the end of each page. I had
to paste the table contents (all numbers) in from Excel, and the document
became increasingly sluggish, to the point where I had to save it after
every third or fourth paste and close and reopen it after several saves.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://www.mvps.org/word
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

 

[Guest]

What is the size limit of MS Word 2003? I have been using MS Word 2000 since it was new, but lately I have had more and more problems with big documents. I write books of 200-500 pages each with photos. It can handle the text well, but photos overload it easily. Suddenly at about 100MB it does weird and unpredictable things, and saving is very slow. I have written to MS Word asking whether there is a way to insert a photo, size and format it, and then reduce it to a link, but I have not received any reply. My idea is to have the photos closed, but to have the page numbers and divisions correct for the docuemnt with opened photos, and when printing, MS Word will retrieve and send the photo to the printer, not the link. That way the document could be of almost infinite size.

Comments please;
W.A. McCormick
(e-mail address removed)

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

I assume that the file size limitation for Word 2003 is the same as for
previous versions: 32 MB not counting graphics. When you insert a graphic,
click the down arrow next to Insert and choose Link to File. This will
greatly reduce file size. To improve performance while editing, work in
Normal view with background repagination disabled (Tools | Options |
General), and on the View tab of Tools | Options, clear the check box for
"Drawings" and check the box for "Picture placeholders." Best of all, don't
insert the graphics until text editing is complete.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://www.mvps.org/word
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

What is the size limit of MS Word 2003? I have been using MS Word 2000

since it was new, but lately I have had more and more problems with big
documents. I write books of 200-500 pages each with photos. It can handle
the text well, but photos overload it easily. Suddenly at about 100MB it
does weird and unpredictable things, and saving is very slow. I have written
to MS Word asking whether there is a way to insert a photo, size and format
it, and then reduce it to a link, but I have not received any reply. My idea
is to have the photos closed, but to have the page numbers and divisions
correct for the docuemnt with opened photos, and when printing, MS Word will
retrieve and send the photo to the printer, not the link. That way the
document could be of almost infinite size.

 

[PhilosopherDog/PhD]

I assume that the file size limitation for Word 2003 is the same as

for previous versions: 32 MB not counting graphics.

What is the size limit of MS Word 2003?

Word 2003 is vastly improved in this area. With two of my books created in
Word 2002, I was having the same problems of serious slowdown, and my
files did not include graphics, but pushed 1500 pages in length. However,
to answer your question, Word 2003 will create a file 32,766 pages in
length regardless of its contents or file size. I've created a 270Mb file
with that limit and as little as a 1.8Mb file (one word per page). Here's
the stats from a continuous file of 5-letter words that fill an entire
line of each page (with one 3-letter word inserted for justification) with
1-inch margins and a footer page number:

Pages: 32,766
Words: 30,931,104
Lines: 1,933,194
Size: 270Mb

Best of all, Word 2003 handles my 1200-1500 page works with ease now.

-phd