"Out of Memory" error when transferring a photo from an Excel workbook

[TechnoBoy]

Have been trying to work with an old Excel file that had been working
fine under a clamshell iMac running OS 9.2 with only 384MB of RAM
until is was moved to a G4 iMac running OS 10.2.8 and 768 MB of RAM.
The iMac is running Office V.x.

The problem is this. The Excel file is quite large, consisting of
about four columns and in excess of 600 rows. The final column is
where I believe the problem lies. Every row contains a jpeg photo in
the final column, which I believe is a reduced full-size jpeg image,
not a thumbnail, although the total file size of the spreadsheet is
only 54.8 MB.

What I've been trying to do is move specific photos from their
location to a File Maker Pro 6 file, but I keep getting an "out of
memory" error from Excel. This error even occurs when trying to copy
the photo to another location, like the desktop. The act of pressing
command-v to paste causes the error, regardless of which program is
running.

I have tried the following:

Increasing the RAM from its original 512MB to 768MB.

Making sure the OS is updated to its latest version.

I have installed all updates for Office.

The only progress I was able to make was when I discovered that the
worksheet had two additional sheets, which were empty. I deleted
those sheets, resaved the worksheet under a new file, reloaded Excel,
and could, for a short time, copy photos into File Maker Pro.
Unfortunately, after a few dozen successful moves, the program reverts
to its old behavior.

What is the real issue here? I don't believe it really is an "out of
memory" error, because the worksheet file is only 54.8 MB in size, and
this iMac has more than double the RAM of the OS 9.2 iMac that created
it.

 

[JE McGimpsey]

What is the real issue here? I don't believe it really is an "out of
memory" error, because the worksheet file is only 54.8 MB in size, and
this iMac has more than double the RAM of the OS 9.2 iMac that created
it.

I don't know what the real issue is, and I don't have a solution, but
I'm not surprised that an old 54MB file is wonky.

FIrst thing I'd try (that you haven't mentioned, at least) is creating a
fresh workbook and dragging the pictures to the new workbook. Then close
the original and attempt the copy/paste.

Another thing you might try, since the problem happens when you paste,
is to use GraphicConverter's "File/New/Image using Clipboard" menu item.

You can download GraphicConverter (shareware) at

http://lemkesoft.com/en/graphcon.htm

 

[Mark A Tilley]

I believe that Excel vX has problems with handling large amounts of memory.

I have found that a large spreadsheet that causes vX to fall over under the
pressure, seems to work much better in v2004.

First, I have found that copy/past works unsing the menu/Cmd+C V but doesn't
work using the drag the crosshair to copy/paste method. So try other methods
of copy/paste if you haven't tried them all.

Second, you may want to try installing the v2004 trial if you can and see if
it solves your problems. If it does, you then may want to splash out for the
new version.

Mark T