Excel: Slow Typing and Menu Selection

SUMMARY

Microsoft Excel version 2.20 makes much greater use of the System resources than version 1.50 does. Therefore, version 2.20 requires more available (free) memory in the System than version 1.50 does.

The amount of memory allocated to the System is determined at start-up time. Any desk accessory (DA), initial program (INIT), or Control Panel Device (CDEV) that takes up System memory is supposed to have a "sysz" resource to tell the System to increase its size on boot to accommodate the System utility. However, most DAs, INITs, and CDEVs do not have this resource and assume that there is enough free memory in the System to operate.

If the amount of free memory in the System heap is very small, Excel exhibits tremendous slow down in data entry and/or menu selection. Removing certain System utilities sometimes results in a speed increase for Excel, as there is more memory available in the System to handle calls that Excel makes to the System.

Checking About the Finder under MultiFinder with Excel active displays a grow bar indicating the amount of memory available to the System (the size of the bar) and the amount of free memory in the System (the white area in the bar). If there is little or no white area in the grow bar, remove System utilities to free up memory. Alternatively, there are applications (such as HeapFixer, available with QuickKeys version 1.2) that increase the size of the System heap upon boot.