Microsoft Excel limits

There are specifications and limits in Microsoft Excel 2013-2016 that may affect the performance of Planning Analytics for Microsoft Excel.

The following tables group the specifications and limits into categories:
  • Worksheet and workbook
  • Calculation
Table 1. Specifications and limits that apply to worksheets and workbooks
Specification Maximum limit / restrictions Notes
Column width 255 characters If the data that you enter or receive exceeds the column limits of Microsoft Excel, the result is truncated.
Row height 409 points If the data that you enter or receive exceeds the row limits of Microsoft Excel, the result is truncated.
Total number of characters that a cell can contain 32,767 characters If the data that you enter or receive exceeds the cell character limits of Microsoft Excel, the result is truncated.
Maximum limits of memory storage and file size for Data Model workbooks

32-bit environment is subject to 2 gigabytes (GB) of virtual address space, shared by Excel, the workbook, and add-ins that run in the same process. A data model’s share of the address space might run up to 500 – 700 megabytes (MB), but could be less if other data models and add-ins are loaded.

64-bit environment imposes no hard limits on file size. Workbook size is limited only by available memory and system resources.

Due to the limitations with add-ins, users can only copy and paste once on top of a DBRW formula.

Adding tables to the Data Model increases the file size. If you don’t plan to create complex Data Model relationships using many data sources and data types in your workbook, uncheck the Add this data to the Data Model box when you import or create tables, pivot tables, or data connections.

Table 2. Specifications and limits that apply to calculations
Specification Maximum limit / restrictions Notes
Length of formula contents 8,192 characters If the formula that you enter exceeds the formula content limit of Microsoft Excel, the result is truncated.
Internal length of formula 16,384 bytes If the formula that you enter exceeds the internal length of formula limit of Microsoft Excel, the result is truncated.