XL98: Maximum Array Size in Microsoft Excel 98

• Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition

SUMMARY

This article explains the limitations of arrays in Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition.

MORE INFORMATION

In Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition, arrays in worksheets are limited by available random access memory and by the "entire column" rule.

Available Memory

Unlike earlier versions of Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition does not impose a limit on the size of worksheet arrays; you are limited only by the amount of available memory on your computer. Because of this, you can create very large arrays that contain hundreds of thousands of cells.

The "Entire Column" Rule

Although Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition allows you to create very large arrays, it does not allow you to create an array that uses an entire column or multiple columns of cells. This limitation is designed to prevent you from creating an array that uses an entire column of cells. Because recalculating an array formula that uses an entire column of cells is somewhat time consuming (65,536 cells per column), Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition does not allow you to create this kind of array in a formula.

Earlier Versions of Microsoft Excel

For more information about the limits of worksheet arrays in earlier versions of Microsoft Excel, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q75376
   TITLE     : XL: Maximum Array Size in Microsoft Excel

Array Formula Examples

The following is a list of array formula examples:

   A1: =SUM(IF(B1:B65535=0,1,0))
   A2: =SUM(IF(B:B=0,1,0))
   A3: =SUM(IF(B1:J65535=0,1,0))
   A4: =SUM(IF(B:J=0,1,0))
   A5: =SUM(IF(B1:DD65535=0,1,0))

The array formula results are as follows:

• The formula in cell A1 returns the result 65535. This result is correct.
• The formula in cell A2 returns a #NUM! error because the array formula refers to an entire column of cells.
• The formula in cell A3 returns the result 589815. This result is correct.

  Note that the formula may take a long time to calculate the result because the formula is checking nearly 600,000 cells.

• Like the formula in cell A2, the formula in cell A4 returns a #NUM! error because the array formula refers to an entire column of cells.
• When you enter the formula in cell A5, you may receive the following error messages:

        Not enough memory.
        Continue without Undo?
  

         -and-
  

        Not enough memory.
  

  In this case, the size of the worksheet array is too large for available memory, and the formula cannot be calculated. Also, because other formulas must recalculate their results, Microsoft Excel may appear to stop responding for a few minutes. After the results are recalculated, Microsoft Excel should respond normally. The formula in cell A5 returns the value 0 (zero).