Excel spreadsheets can easily become unwieldy and large, especially if they contain a lot of data or images. While this may not be an issue in most cases, it can make it difficult to manage, share, and work with the spreadsheet efficiently.
Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to reduce the size of your Excel files without sacrificing any data. Here, we show you how.
1. Delete Unwanted Sheets
Having too many unused sheets can make your Excel file unnecessarily large. Hence, you should start by deleting spreadsheets that you don’t need. To do so, open your Excel file, right-click on the unwanted sheet, and selectDelete.
Likewise, you may also consider removing unwanted charts, images, tables, and other elements.
2. Remove Unnecessary Formatting
The size of an Excel file can also increase due to excessive cell formatting, as each formatted cell takes up additional space on the file. For example, if youformat cell borders, it will take up more space than an unformatted cell.
Hence, it’s a good idea to remove any unnecessary formatting from your Excel sheet. To do so, use these steps:
3. Modify Image Size and Quality Preferences
Does your Excel file contain images? If so, lowering the image size and quality can help decrease the size of your Excel file.
It is important to note thatreducing the image sizeand quality may impact their appearance in your Excel file. If you are okay with this, follow these steps to configure Microsoft Excel to save images at a lower resolution:
4. Compress Pictures in Your Excel Spreadsheet
If you don’t wish to lower the resolution for all the images, Microsoft Excel also gives you the option to compress individual pictures in your spreadsheet. Here’s how you can use it to slim down your Excel file.
You can repeat the above steps to compress more images if you want. After that, the overall size of your Excel file should decrease substantially.
5. Prevent Excel From Saving the Pivot Cache
Pivot Cache in Excelis a temporary storage location for the data used in pivot tables. While this can improve performance and allow you to work with pivot tables more efficiently, it can also increase the size of your file as Excel saves this data on your file.
If your Excel spreadsheet contains a pivot table, use the following steps to prevent Excel from saving the pivot cache with the file.
Once you complete the above steps, Excel won’t save the pivot cache on your file, effectively reducing its size.
6. Save Your Spreadsheet in Binary (.Xslb) Format
By default, Microsoft Excel saves your files in XML-based format, which makes it easier to exchange data with other applications and systems. However, if you need to quickly reduce the file size, you may save your Excel spreadsheet in a binary format.
To save an Excel spreadsheet in binary format, use these steps:
This will save your Excel file in a binary format, which requires less storage space. If you want Microsoft Excel to always save your files in binary format, you can change the default save format in Microsoft Excel. Here’s how:
Once you complete the above steps, Excel will save all the files in binary format unless specified otherwise.
7. Convert the Spreadsheet Into a ZIP File
If you don’t want to bother with changing Excel settings, you can simply convert your spreadsheet to a ZIP file. You can do this using Windows’ built-in file compression feature. This way, you will be able to reduce the size of your Excel file without opening it. Here’s how you can go about it.
Windows will save the compressed file in the same location as the original file. you may also use areliable third-party file compression toolfor this. Once compressed, you can share your Excel spreadsheet without having to worry about its size.
Shrink Your Excel Files With Ease
Large Excel files can be cumbersome, slow to load, and difficult to share via email. Fortunately, there is no need to put up with any of this. Following the tips below will help you reduce the size of your Excel file in no time.
