what is the maximum size for word 2003 documents

[Guest]

Is there a maximum size for word 2003 document, I know there is a 32 Mbyte
limit for word 200 which excludes graphics but is there an actual total
physical limit.

 

[Jay Freedman]

Is there a maximum size for word 2003 document, I know there is a 32 Mbyte
limit for word 200 which excludes graphics but is there an actual total
physical limit.

The physical limit is the point at which the document and its
temporary files fill the available space on the drive where you store
the document. The document itself will be about a third to half of
that.

Are you planning on pushing that limit?

By the way, this is one reason working with documents on floppy drives
is dangerous. They fill up far faster than you think and then corrupt
the document. Always work on the hard drive.

 

[Guest]

Jay,

What then is the 32 Mbyte specified? We have some VERY large documents
currently 216 pages and 38 Mbytes that cannot really be broken down into
sections. Problem is that our document management system takes forever to
open these large documents. All data is on server drive so there is virtually
no space limitations.

 

[Jay Freedman]

As you said yourself in the original post, the 32Mbyte limit is for the text
part of the document, excluding the graphics. Understand that I've never
tried to see whether that limit is strictly enforced, or what happens when
you try to exceed it.

To minimize document file size, don't embed graphics in the documents but
link them instead.

The time it takes to open large documents has very little to do with any
physical limits on file size. It's related to your network bandwidth, and
the CPU speed and available memory on your workstations. It also helps to
have the latest printer driver and video driver for your equipment, as Word
pushes these components very hard.

 

[Guest]

Thanks Jay,

The problem is that our document management system simply zips the document
and stores the zip file against a web based index sytem using Tomcat. We
cannot break down documents into sub documents or hyperling as the links get
lost.
We have some VERY large documents that include a lot of pictures and
graphics, guess we don't have any options.
Thanks again