Word 2007: Maximum size of documents 512MB --> any chance to chang

[Uwe Simon]

I have Windows Vista and Microsoft Office 2007. I created a large document
with Word 2007. When I reached 512MB document size I was not able to open the
file again.

I found a solution in the net that I had to change the file type to ZIP and
then maintain the file with the explorer. Whch means deleting graphics from
the media part.

After that I was able to open the document again (it got repaired by
Word2007), of course without the deleted graphics.

Now I'm wondering if there is a way to change the maximum file size?

Any help welcome.

Thanks and best regards
Uwe

 

[shawn]

I have no answer for you, but I'm wondering why anyone would ever need such
a large Word file. I've never seen a file that large!

 

[Uwe Simon]

Hello Shawn,

it is a 100 page document with a lot of graphics and pictures.

Best Regards
Uwe

 

[DeanH]

I have many 400+ page document with 100+ images - all to professional print
standard that are less than 20MB. Really, there is no reason for a file to
exceed 100MB. If quality is paramount, I either link the image file, or use
Publisher/Quark/etc.
Depending on what format you are copy/pasting/inserting the images you can
get this document size down considerably. For standard print jobs I tend to
use JPG at 96dpi, more than acceptable print quality.
What image formats are you using?

Also, the document itself could be corrupting.
Below are some tips of how to possibly correct the file bloat, these were
written for 2003 and prior but should indicate the way to go in 2007.
Hopefully one of these will help, if you are not sure, work on a copy version.

1. Fast Saves: Disable this at on the Save tab of Tools | Options.
2. Preview Picture: Clear the check box on the Summary tab of File |
Properties.
3. Versions (File | Versions): Make sure "Automatically save version on
close" is not turned on.
4. Revisions (Tools | Track Changes):
Highlight Changes: Make sure "Highlight changes on screen" is turned on
(or that "Final Showing Markup" is displayed).
Accept/Reject Changes: If "Accept All" or "Reject All" is available then
revisions are present; accept or reject all changes, then turn Track Changes
off.
5. Keep track of formatting (Tools | Options | Edit). This is reportedly a
major cause of file bloat in Word 2002 and above.
6. Embedded True Type fonts (Tools | Options | Save); embedding fonts should
be avoided wherever possible.
7. Embedded linguistic data (Tools | Options | Save).
8. Embedded graphics: When feasible, it is preferable to link the graphics.
That is, when you insert the graphic, click the arrow beside Insert in the
Picture dialog and choose Link to File rather than Insert or Insert and Link.
9. Embedded objects: These are even worse than ordinary graphics saved with
the document. If you see an { EMBED } code, the graphic is an OLE object.
Unless you need to be able to edit the object in place, unlink it using
Ctrl+Shift+F9.
10. File format: Make sure you are saving as a Word document; in some cases
..rtf (Rich Text Format) files are significantly larger than .doc files.
11. Document corruption: See
http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/AppErrors/CorruptDoc.htm.

Come back with the results.
Best of luck.
DeanH

 

[Uwe Simon]

Hello,

if I understand you correctly then there is no chance to reduce the
resolution of a picture after it got inserted into the word2007 document.

So I have to change the resolution of a pciture outside word2007.

Is my understanding correct?

Thanks in advance
Uwe

 

[Yves]

Yes and no. You can change it, but it is not straightforward.

A Word 2007 document is nothing more than a zip package so you can
extract images, recompress them, and add them again. Note that if you
do this by hand, you can not switch from one type of image (e.g. bmp)
to another (e.g. png) without consequences.

Yves

 

[Yves]

I forgot to mention that there actually is a way to compress them a
little bit. In the "Save As..." dialog, click on 'Tools' (right next
to the 'Save' button) and pick 'Compress Pictures' from the list.

It does its best, but if you can do it manually, you can do a much
better job. Especially when you can switch between image format types.

Yves