XL97: Linked Formula May Return a Maximum of 255 Characters

• Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows

SYMPTOMS

In Microsoft Excel 97, when you open a workbook (the dependent workbook) that contains formulas that link to cells in another workbook (the source workbook), the formulas return a maximum of 255 characters, even though the cells in the source workbook contain more than 255 characters.

CAUSE

This problem occurs when the following conditions are true:

• You fail to open the source workbook.

      -and-
  

• Cells in the source workbook contain more than 255 characters.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, open the source workbook, either before or after you open the dependent workbook. When you do this, the formulas in the dependent workbook return the correct number of characters.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

MORE INFORMATION

In Microsoft Excel 97, worksheet cells may contain a maximum of 32,767 characters. This is different from earlier versions of Microsoft Excel, in which worksheet cells may contain a maximum of 255 characters. Even though cells may contain a very large number of characters, you may experience problems when working with these cells.

Example

In the following example, the formulas in the dependent workbook return a maximum of 255 characters:

  1. In Microsoft Excel 97, create a new workbook.

  2. In cell A1 of Sheet1, enter the formula

        =REPT("x",5)

     Note that the formula returns five "x" characters ("xxxxx").

  3. On the File menu, click Save. Save the workbook as Book1.xls in the
     My Documents folder. On the File menu, click Close.

  4. Create a second new workbook.

  5. Enter the following formulas in Sheet1:

        A1: =[Book1.xls]Sheet1!A1
        A2: =LEN(A1)

     Note that the formula in cell A1 also returns five "x" characters,
     and the formula in cell A2 returns the value 5.

  6. On the File menu, click Save. Save the workbook as Book2.xls in the
     My Documents folder. On the File menu, click Close.

  7. Open Book1.xls. Change the formula in cell A1 to the following:

        =REPT("x",32767)

     Note that the formula returns 32,767 "x" characters.

  8. On the File menu, click Save. Then, click Close on the File menu.

  9. Open Book2.xls. When you are asked to update links, click Yes.

     The formula in cell A1 returns 255 "x" characters, not 32,767
     characters. Also, the formula in cell A2 returns the value 255.

 10. Open Book1.xls. Then, switch to Book2.xls.