Tame your computer - take it to the limit

19 August 2016

In her regular series for Cambridge Network members, software training expert Karen Roem offers handy tips to help you 'Tame your computer'. This week she describes how to remove the limitations of what is displayed in a cell (Microsoft Excel)...

 

The other day somebody asked me how they could ‘unlock’ the restriction of  the ~1,000 characters that can be written in an Excel cell.

Well, in Excel version 2007 if a cell contained more than 1,024 characters, or if it contained a formula that returned a result of more than 1,024 characters, only the first 1,024 characters were displayed in the cell. Furthermore, additional characters weren’t printed and did not appear in print preview either.

So if you created your workbook using Excel version 2007 you might still have the restriction described above, even if you are now using version 2010, 2013 or 2016. You can obviously increase the row height and column width of the worksheet, but if you have upgraded, all you have to do is save the existing file as a newer version.

Here’s how:

  1. Open the document, as normal.
  2. Press F12 (or File, Save As if you prefer).
  3. Select the first option labelled Excel Workbook (*xlsx) from the Save as type drop-down list.
  4. Press ENTER or click on Save.

You now have a copy of the document, so you might want to rename or delete the old one. Or, if you are using a content management system, I would strongly recommend saving it as a new version - on top of the old one.

If you are keen to find out more about Excel specifications and limits check out https://support.office.com/en-gb/article/Excel-specifications-and-limits-1672b34d-7043-467e-8e27-269d656771c3 for version 2010 or https://support.office.com/en-gb/article/Excel-specifications-and-limits-ca36e2dc-1f09-4620-b726-67c00b05040f for version 2013 and 2016.

With thanks to Bernice for today’s tip inspiration.

15 August 2016


Karen Roem offers software training and support through her company Roem Ltd.  Contact her by email   (Karen@roem.co.uk) or visit her website at www.roem.co.uk

Roem Ltd is a Learning Collaboration approved supplier, having come recommended by Cambridge Network member organisations. Network membership means you automatically have the right to book on to any LC course at any time, while some categories of membership actually include LC training units.



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