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Excel specifications and limits

Applies to: Microsoft Office Excel 2003

 

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The following sections describe the maximum limits by feature in Microsoft Excel 2003.

Worksheet and workbook specifications

Feature Maximum limit
Open workbooks Limited by available memory and system resources
Worksheet size 65,536 rows by 256 columns
Column width 255 characters
Row height 409 points
Page breaks 1000 horizontal and vertical
Length of cell contents (text) 32,767 characters. Only 1,024 display in a cell; all 32,767 display in the formula bar.
Sheets in a workbook Limited by available memory (default is 3 sheets)
Colors in a workbook 56
Cell styles in a workbook 4,000
Named views (view: A set of display and print settings that you can name and apply to a workbook. You can create more than one view of the same workbook without saving separate copies of the workbook.) in a workbook Limited by available memory
Custom number formats Between 200 and 250, depending on the language version of Excel you have installed.
Names in a workbook Limited by available memory
Windows in a workbook Limited by system resources
Panes in a window 4
Linked sheets Limited by available memory
Scenarios (scenario: A named set of input values that you can substitute in a worksheet model.) Limited by available memory; a summary report shows only the first 251 scenarios
Changing cells in a scenario 32
Adjustable cells in Solver 200
Custom functions Limited by available memory
Zoom range 10 percent to 400 percent
Reports Limited by available memory
Sort references 3 in a single sort; unlimited when using sequential sorts
Undo levels 16
Fields in a data form 32
Custom toolbars in a workbook Limited by available memory
Custom toolbar buttons Limited by available memory

Workgroup specifications

Feature Maximum limit
Users who can open and share a shared workbook (shared workbook: A workbook set up to allow multiple users on a network to view and make changes at the same time. Each user who saves the workbook sees the changes made by other users.) at the same time 256
Personal views (view: A set of display and print settings that you can name and apply to a workbook. You can create more than one view of the same workbook without saving separate copies of the workbook.) in a shared workbook Limited by available memory
Days that change history (change history: In a shared workbook, information that is maintained about changes made in past editing sessions. The information includes the name of the person who made each change, when the change was made, and what data was changed.) is maintained 32,767 (default is 30 days)
Workbooks that can be merged at one time Limited by available memory
Cells that can be highlighted in a shared workbook 32,767
Colors used to identify changes made by different users when change highlighting is turned on 32 (each user is identified by a separate color; changes made by the current user are highlighted with navy blue)

Calculation specifications

Feature Maximum limit
Number precision 15 digits
Largest number allowed to be typed into a cell 9.99999999999999E+307
Largest allowed positive number 1.79769313486231E+308
Smallest allowed negative number -2.2251E-308
Smallest allowed positive number 2.229E-308
Largest allowed negative number -1E-307
Length of formula contents 1,024 characters
Iterations 32,767
Worksheet arrays Limited by available memory. Also, arrays cannot refer to entire columns. For example, an array cannot refer to the entire column C:C or to the range C1:C65536. However, an array can refer to the range C1:D65535 because the range is one row short of the maximum worksheet size and does not include the entire C or D column.
Selected ranges 2,048
Arguments in a function 30
Nested levels of functions 7
Number of available worksheet functions 329
Earliest date allowed for calculation January 1, 1900 (January 1, 1904, if 1904 date system is used)
Latest date allowed for calculation December 31, 9999
Largest amount of time that can be entered 9999:59:59

PivotTable report specifications

Feature Maximum limit
PivotTable reports (PivotTable report: An interactive, crosstabulated Excel report that summarizes and analyzes data, such as database records, from various sources, including ones that are external to Excel.) on a sheet Limited by available memory
Unique items per field 32,500
Row (row field: A field that's assigned a row orientation in a PivotTable report. Items associated with a row field are displayed as row labels.) or column fields (column field: A field that's assigned a column orientation in a PivotTable report. Items associated with a column field are displayed as column labels.) in a PivotTable report Limited by available memory
Page fields (page field: A field that's assigned to a page orientation in a PivotTable or PivotChart report. You can either display a summary of all items in a page field, or display one item at a time, which filters out the data for all other items.) in a PivotTable report 256 (may be limited by available memory)
Data fields (data field: A field from a source list, table, or database that contains data that is summarized in a PivotTable report or PivotChart report. A data field usually contains numeric data, such as statistics or sales amounts.) in a PivotTable report 256
Calculated item (calculated item: An item within a PivotTable field or PivotChart field that uses a formula you create. Calculated items can perform calculations by using the contents of other items within the same field of the PivotTable report or PivotChart report.) formulas in a PivotTable report Limited by available memory

Charting specifications

Feature Maximum limit
Charts linked to a worksheet Limited by available memory
Worksheets referred to by a chart 255
Data series (data series: Related data points that are plotted in a chart. Each data series in a chart has a unique color or pattern and is represented in the chart legend. You can plot one or more data series in a chart. Pie charts have only one data series.) in one chart 255
Data points (data points: Individual values that are plotted in a chart. Related data points make up a data series. Data points are represented by bars, columns, lines, slices, dots, and other shapes. These shapes are called data markers.) in a data series for 2-D charts 32,000
Data points in a data series for 3-D charts 4,000
Data points for all data series in one chart 256,000
Line styles 8
Line weights 4
Area patterns (screen display) 18
Total area pattern and color combinations (color display) 56,448
Pattern and color combinations (color printer) 56,448 (the actual number depends on your printer and its software)
Page fields (page field: A field that's assigned to a page orientation in a PivotTable or PivotChart report. You can either display a summary of all items in a page field, or display one item at a time, which filters out the data for all other items.) in a PivotChart report (PivotChart report: A chart that provides interactive analysis of data, like a PivotTable report. You can change views of data, see different levels of detail, or reorganize the chart layout by dragging fields and by showing or hiding items in fields.) 256 (may be limited by available memory)
Data fields (data field: A field from a source list, table, or database that contains data that is summarized in a PivotTable report or PivotChart report. A data field usually contains numeric data, such as statistics or sales amounts.) in a PivotChart report 256
Calculated item formulas in a PivotChart report Limited by available memory

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