This talk is available on YouTube as well: http://youtu.be/bdVmWbydYTE

1. Exploring The Limits of Excel
EuSpRiG 2014
Eloy Caballero
www.ideasexcel.com
Non omnia potest Excel

2. www.ideasexcel.com
Exploring TheLimits of Excel EuSpRiG 2014
Why The Limits? (-)
As users and developers,
we are interested in knowing
how strong our tool is
A chain is no stronger than its weakest link
Why Not The Capacities? (+)
Curiosity: a will for exploration

3. www.ideasexcel.com
Exploring TheLimits of Excel EuSpRiG 2014
Excel from an uncommon perspective:
Not being able to accomplish certain tasks—
Failing—
Freezing—
Collapsing—
Showing its limitations—
And yet, I intend to show that…
Excel will come out quite unscathed from this exploration
And the user will come out more confident

4. www.ideasexcel.com
Not a spherical world, without
borders, smooth, ruled by gravity
and sheltered by anatmosphere…
Exploring TheLimits of Excel EuSpRiG 2014
Excel as a world of its own:
but a flat world, with sharp and
abrupt borders

5. www.ideasexcel.com
Exploring TheLimits of Excel EuSpRiG 2014
Everything runs smoothly nearthe center
and you can do lots of spectacularthings…

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Exploring TheLimits of Excel EuSpRiG 2014
But weird things happen as you get close to the borders

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Exploring TheLimits of Excel EuSpRiG 2014
The Limits of Excel
Report and Map

8. www.ideasexcel.com
Exploring TheLimits of Excel EuSpRiG 2014
The Limits of Excel
1-Content-Related
Limits
2-Operational
Limits
3-VBA
Limits
Limits, not errors
Perfect syntax in
formulas and VBA

9. The single cell is Excel’s basic
building block and holds data
The largest range: The Sheet object
Excel’s behavior when cell
limits are reached:
Ignore
Error #NUM
Zero
Format #######
www.ideasexcel.com
Exploring TheLimits of Excel EuSpRiG 2014
Content Related Limits
The Cell Level
The Range Level
The File Level
Text: No more than 32 767 characters
Numbers: Max: 9,9E+307
Min: 1,0E-307 (2,27E-308)
Precision: 15 digits
Nedd=1E80
Nplanck=1E-40
Dates: Numbers with special format
Max :31/12/9999
Min :01/01/1900
VBA 100 AD
Basic Data Types
Memory Usage Limits
Theory:
Rows: 1,048,576
Columns: 16,384
Total: 17,179,869,184 cells
Windows memory limit 2GB per proccess
Practice:
From 0,5 GB Handling files >> nightmare.
1.5 GB Max
Nobody has seen:
In order to see an Excel worksheet full with
simple data (1), you need around 60 GB
Collapse happens at capacity:
3%
RAM Physical
WINDOWS Virtual
Excel Pools
Rapid filling of data…
Available resources warning
Freezing
Collapse
Attempt to recover
Available resources
Extrapolate Previous Reflections
Number of sheets:
Practical limits
Memory
Resources
Inserted objects:
Images
Shapes
Controls
Formats: 64 000
Formulas: Text, Numbers
Logical, Errors

10. www.ideasexcel.com
Exploring TheLimits of Excel EuSpRiG 2014
Operational Limits
Integrated
Utilities
Limits
Formula
Errors
Formula
Nesting
Levels
Formula
Contents Formula
Resources
Usage
Formula
Limits
Length
Strings
255
Chr
2003– 7
2007-- 64
2 GB Limit
REGION 1
Sorting
Filtering
Data
Validation
Goal
Seek
No Retro
Validation
Non
Traceable
Named
Cells
There
may not
be a
solution
Even if
there is, it
might not
be found,
sometimes
Conditional
Formatting
Data
Import
1048576
Rows
Power
Pivot
Rigidities
Arguments
Total
8192
Chr

11. www.ideasexcel.com
Exploring TheLimits of Excel EuSpRiG 2014
VBA Limits
Data Types Object Model Computational Time
Data Types have limits
that can be overcome
Unpredicted Results:
Div by Zero
Objects Must Exist
Doing Things With Objects
usually requires Selecting
Some object events can
lead to ∞ looping
𝑅𝑢𝑛 𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝐸𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟𝑠
∞ 𝐿𝑜𝑜𝑝𝑠
Ineficiency:
Tendency to Brute Force Algorithms
Abuse of Looping
Screen Freezing for Progress Info:
DoEvents
Computational Time - ∞
Some conventional limits can be overcome
with VBA

12. Native Utilities:
Number of Operations
Rigidities of Spreadsheet Design
Untested Models
www.ideasexcel.com
Exploring TheLimits of Excel EuSpRiG 2014
1-Content-Related
2-Operational
3-VBA
Quality of Data: Cell Errors,
Formats, Ignore
Quantity of Data: 2GB p/p
memory máximum FILESIZE
Formulas: Length, Arguments
Quality of Data and
Interaction With Object Model:
Run-Time Errors
Computational Time:
Brute Force Algorithms (Looping)
Screen Freezing

13. www.ideasexcel.com
Exploring TheLimits of Excel EuSpRiG 2014
There are borders, there
are limits…
EXTREME SITUATIONS
Acknowledgments:
Images: Openclipart
Non omnia
potest Excel
EXTREMELY UNUSUAL
Far away from every day
real-world situations
Choices:
Shifting to a more appropiate software
Using add-ins
Repeat tasks
Unsolvable Problems

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Thank you!
Exploring TheLimits of Excel EuSpRiG 2014
Eloy Caballero
www.ideasexcel.com
Do you agree that…
Excel has come out unharmed from this exploration
And the user has come out more confident ?