Too large file? Unable to send via email? Too slow to open? Here is a way to make your file problem go away. Compressing a file will decrease the size of the file and make the computer decrease the length of the string of data in a recognizable way it will reorganize. This may prevent all the complications that come along with large files so in this article we will give you important tips and teach you how to compress an excel file. Do see: how to compress excel file
Why do you have to compress an excel file?
The reason why you have to compress an excel file is to avoid all the complications like too slow to load, delivering problems, unable to send via email, longer saving time, etc
Why are the excel files large
The more data/formula/images are in the Excel sheet/workbooks it gets slow or sometimes hangs So it’s always simpler to cut some flab and keep the size in check
How to compress an excel file
There are different ways to compress an excel file
- Change the file type as a whole
- Manually converting each file type
- Zip files
Change the file type as a whole
The default saving format of a worksheet is XML ( which saves as XLSX ) but you can change the format and change it to the binary workbook ( XLSB ) this format will reduce the size of the file.
Manually converting each file type
This is quite similar to the previous one but all you have to do is manually save the file and its time consuming so you should follow the first option.
Zip files
This is another option to consider but it’s not a unique method. It’s just changing the file type while saving it to a zip file, so it reduces the size and sends information efficiently.
5 tips for compressing an excel file
Remove or don’t save the pivot cache
A pivot cache is a duplicate or replica of the data pivot source so it is unwanted data consumption. If you use pivot tables in your excel sheet then you should remove the pivot cache because they consume space.
Compress image
Compressing an image is one way to save data. If there is a requirement for photos in the worksheets you should compress it before you insert it into the worksheet or after you import it to the worksheet. It’s always recommended to compress it before you insert it into the worksheet.
Remove unwanted worksheet
There are rough worksheets you created for calculating or writing information so before you save the file check for all the unwanted worksheets and delete them.
Decrease the resolution of the image
Since photos consume a lot of data you should compress and reduce the resolution of the image before you insert it.
However, altering the image resolution might aid in file size reduction without degrading the image’s quality.
Delete formatting
Data formatting – background color, borders, change font styles, etc
Conditional formatting
So if you remove these data and conditional formatting you will be able to save up some space and reduce the file size.
