WD: Comparison of WinWord 2.0 and 6.0 Operating Limitations

 Last reviewed: December 9, 1997
Article ID: Q104934
The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 2.0, 2.0a, 2.0a-CD, 2.0b, 2.0c, 6.0, 6.0a, 6.0c

SUMMARY

This article lists the operating limits for Word version 6.0 for Windows and, where applicable, compares them with those for Word version 2.x for Windows. ?? indicates that the information is unavailable. 

Feature                             Word 6.0             Word 2.x
-------                             --------             --------

Number of open windows              Limited only         9
                                    by memory

Maximum number of paths             200                  200
in Find File 

Maximum file size                   32 megabytes (MB)    16 MB

Color palette size                  256 colors           16 colors

Maximum characters per line         768                  256

Maximum number of bookmarks         32,000               450
Maximum number of fields 
in a document                       32,000               2000

Maximum number of characters        255                  n/a
in a field of mail merge Data Form

Maximum number of nested 

fields                              20                   20
Number of tabs set 
in a paragraph                      50                   50

Number of icon buttons included     245
Maximum number of characters 
in Fillin fields                    255                  ??
Length of Recently Used 
File list (MRU)                     9                    4
List of Recently Used 
Fonts (Font MRU list)               9                    n/a

Cache Size                          512K                 64K
Bitmap Cache (bitmapmemory 
WINWORD6.INI setting)               default is 1 MB      default is 256K*

   * In Word 2.x, the bitmapmemory setting is stored in the WIN.INI file.

AutoText (glossary) entries         150                  150 (more, based
in template or global template                           on available
                                                         memory)

Maximum Number of Table Columns     31                   31

FONT FORMATTING

   Number of fonts                  32,000*              256

   Maximum font size                1637 points          128 points
                                    (22 inches)

   Maximum condensed
   character spacing                1637 points          1.75 points

   Maximum expanded
   character spacing                1637 points          14 points

   Maximum Super/Subscript          1637 points          63.5 points

   * This is the number of fonts Word will accept however the WIN.INI
     contains the list of these fonts and is limited to 64k. This
     effectively limits the number of fonts in Word to about 1500. Large
     font lists will also affect the operating speed of Windows.

STYLE FORMATTING

   Maximum number of styles         4093                 220

   Maximum length of style name     256 characters       24 characters

SECTION FORMATTING

   Maximum number of columns        45                   100

   Minimum column width             .5 inch           limited by default
                                                         tab setting

   Maximum section number Word
   can display in status bar        999 (3 digits)       n/a

MACROS

   Maximum size of macro            larger than 64K      64K

   Maximum number of global
   macros                           150                  150

   Maximum number of nesting
   levels in macros                 150                  16

   Maximum length for a macro name  80 characters        80 characters

   Maximum length of string variables 65,280

   Maximum length for a
   variable name                    80 characters        39 characters

   Maximum number of arguments that
   can be passed to a subroutine    20                   20

   Highest number                   1.7976931348623 x 10308

   Maximum number of controls in a
   Custom Dialog Box                 255

PROOFING TOOLS

   Maximum number
   user dictionaries                10                   4

   Maximum custom
   dictionary size                  366,590 bytes        10,000
                                                         words

   Main dictionary                  106,000              104,000
   (U.S. English)                   words                words

   Thesaurus                        44,000               24,000
   (U.S. English)                   key words            key words

   Thesaurus                        458,000              200,000
   (U.S. English)                   synonyms             synonyms

SORTING

   Maximum number of sorting
   criteria                         3                    1

   Date formats recognized          any                  limited

FOOTNOTES AND ENDNOTES

   Footnotes and endnotes in
   same document                    yes                  no

SYMBOL CHARACTERS

Note: In Word 6.0, the Symbol command on the Insert menu inserts an actual symbol character, whereas Word 2.x inserts a SYMBOL field. By using the symbol character, the display time in Word 6.0 is shorter, and you can insert many symbols on a line without drastically slowing the operation of your computer.

PICTURES AND OBJECTS

   Maximum number of colors         256                  16

   Maximum size of picture          limited to           limited by
                                    Windows 16 MB        system
                                                         configuration
Note: OLE objects in Word 6.0 use approximately one-third less disk space than in Word 2.x, so file sizes are smaller.

TOC AND INDEX

   Maximum length of entry          unlimited            256 characters

   Uses document character
   formatting in TOC or index       yes                  no

   Page numbers based on printed
   output instead of current view   yes                  no

   Number of repaginations
   needed to generate TOC           1                    2

   Uses symbols and pictures as
   entries                          yes                  no

FORM FIELDS

   Number of items in Drop Down
   FORM field list                  25                   n/a

OBJECT LINKING AND EMBEDDING (OLE)

   Supports OLE version 2.0         yes                  no

   Ole Links/Objects                564                  ??
For information on the operating limitations for Word for Windows 95, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

ARTICLE-ID: Q142339 

TITLE     : WD95: Operating Parameter Limitations and Specifications

Additional query words: statistics limit graphic graphics specification
requirement
Keywords : kbref kbusage kbref
Version : 2.x 6.0 6.0a 6.0c
Platform : WINDOWS

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Last reviewed: December 9, 1997
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