===================================== **EDIT: The sorting problem described below isnow resolved with the latest Office update from Microsoft. See here for instructions on how to update Office to Service Pack 1:** http://www.thewindowsclub.com/update-office-2013-manually ====================================== All these problems are occurring on Excel 2013 on a Lenovo ThinkPad W540 with 16GB of RAM running Windows 8.1 Pro (Intel i7-4800Q CPU). Note: I do not have these issues working with the exact same large file on a Lenovo ThinkPad T400 running Windows 7 and Excel 2010, although it is (obviously) much slower. The problems seem to be related to either Windows 8.1 Pro or Excel 2013 ( UPDATE: It seems like Excel 2013 is, in fact, the culprit ). Seems to me that having a more powerful box + updated OS and Office should make it easier to work with large files, as opposed to the other way around. Does anyone have a fix for the following issues? Problem #1: Large XLS FIles Open As Blank When Other XLS Files Are Also Open in Excel 2013 on Windows 8.1 I'm experiencing an issue where very large XLS files open as blank if you try and open them after opening a smaller file. Large files open just fine after opening another smaller one. To reproduce: Open a small file (I'm opening one that is 70KB), then; Open 300MB+ xls file (the one I am opening is 316MB), then; See the following blank screen. All menus do not display and the content also does not display. Note that once I close both files and then try again to open the large file alone, it opens just fine and displays fine (although then experiences problem #2 below). The issue seems to be with having a smaller file open at the same time as the large one. Problem #2: Deleted Columns Continue to Display After Deletion in Large XLS Files in Excel 2013 on Windows 8.1 To reproduce: Delete one column in a xls file with approximately 700,000 rows (again this is a large 300MB+ file), Excel still displays the deleted column after deletion. (although you cannot interact with it -- it's not actually there...it just displays as there) However, if you then save the file, close it, and then open the file back up again, you see that the deleted column is, in fact gone. Is this a display bug? Problem #3: Sorting Large Numbers of Rows Does Not Work in Large XLS Files in Excel 2013 on Windows 8.1. Excel cannot sort large numbers of rows. To reproduce: Open a file containing 700,000 rows with three columns of data Sort by Column A on Values in A to Z order (or any order/values/column combination) Click OK See that the sorting never occurred, and there was no error message Note: If you then select a subset of the 700,000 rows (experimentation has shown me that you must select fewer than 5,000 rows), then sorting will happen successfully.

Hi, I need solution to run the process, kindly help.... If you're asking what we did to fix the "Excel 2013 won't sort big files" problem, then the answer is easy: Nothing. Windows Update gave me a new version, and it just started working again.

Hi, I need solution to run the process, kindly help....

Normally, I would agree with you, Rohn007 . But not being able to sort is kind of a basic, defining function of a spreadsheet program. Much worse, it wasn't sorting and then it wasn't telling you about it. It could have cost me my job. Every week I Download all the log entries from the mainframe. A "type" 1 is nothing, a 2 is worth reading, and a 3 is the end of the world. I've been sorting the table descending so any 2's or 3's bubble up to the top and I can deal with them. It was only pure luck that I discovered the sort bug, because there could have been a page of "3"s and I'd have never seen them. Even better luck that there weren't any "3"s last week. (It would have made the trade publications, if not the mainstream press.) So, as a programmer, I know that no application is bug-free, and I'm usually quite forgiving. But this was major: like making a car with brakes that work fine until you go fast. For me it's personal: like that car only just missed running me down. And worst: the manufacturer is quietly pretending it didn't happen. I mean, c'mon! A spreadsheet that doesn't sort? That's like a Word processor that won't take the "J" key, or a compiler that translates random words into Portuguese. Thirty of the dumbest beta-testers in the world would have found this in an afternoon. </RANT>

Just be happy that it is fixed so quickly. Most issues are not! Many are never fixed! Why would they apologize? They have done nothing "wrong". Take a look at the license terms. You use it at your own risk, according the license terms the most "damages" you can claim from them is the cost of the software ...

Resolved: Very Large XLS File Problems in Excel 2013 - Excel Cannot Successfully Sort Files With Large Numbers of Rows

Anonymous

=====================================

**EDIT: The sorting problem described below isnow resolved with the latest Office update from Microsoft. See here for instructions on how to update Office to Service Pack 1:**http://www.thewindowsclub.com/update-office-2013-manually

======================================

All these problems are occurring on Excel 2013 on a Lenovo ThinkPad W540 with 16GB of RAM running Windows 8.1 Pro(Intel i7-4800Q CPU). Note: I do not have these issues working with the exact same large file on a Lenovo ThinkPad T400 running Windows 7 and Excel 2010, although it is (obviously) much slower. The problems seem to be related to either Windows 8.1 Pro or Excel 2013 (UPDATE: It seems like Excel 2013 is, in fact, the culprit). Seems to me that having a more powerful box + updated OS and Office should make it easier to work with large files, as opposed to the other way around.

Does anyone have a fix for the following issues?

Problem #1: Large XLS FIles Open As Blank When Other XLS Files Are Also Open in Excel 2013 on Windows 8.1

I'm experiencing an issue where very large XLS files open as blank if you try and open them after opening a smaller file. Large files open just fine after opening another smaller one.

To reproduce:

Open a small file (I'm opening one that is 70KB), then;
Open 300MB+ xls file (the one I am opening is 316MB), then;
See the following blank screen. All menus do not display and the content also does not display.

Note that once I close both files and then try again to open the large file alone, it opens just fine and displays fine (although then experiences problem #2 below). The issue seems to be with having a smaller file open at the same time as the large one.

Problem #2: Deleted Columns Continue to Display After Deletion in Large XLS Files in Excel 2013 on Windows 8.1

To reproduce:

Delete one column in a xls file with approximately 700,000 rows (again this is a large 300MB+ file),
Excel still displays the deleted column after deletion. (although you cannot interact with it -- it's not actually there...it just displays as there)
However, if you then save the file, close it, and then open the file back up again, you see that the deleted column is, in fact gone.

Is this a display bug?

Problem #3: Sorting Large Numbers of Rows Does Not Workin Large XLS Files in Excel 2013 on Windows 8.1. Excel cannot sort large numbers of rows.

To reproduce:

Open a file containing 700,000 rows with three columns of data
Sort by Column A on Values in A to Z order (or any order/values/column combination)
Click OK
See that the sorting never occurred, and there was no error message

Note: If you then select a subset of the 700,000 rows (experimentation has shown me that you must select fewer than 5,000 rows), then sorting will happen successfully.

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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Answer accepted by question author

Anonymous

Raju,

BINGO! I found the solution went to File- Account - Office Updates & appended.

There must have been a patch undocumented but I can sort a million rows.

Mukund.

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40 additional answers

Anonymous

2014-07-11T18:13:35+00:00

Hi,

I need solution to run the process, kindly help....

If you're asking what we did to fix the "Excel 2013 won't sort big files" problem, then the answer is easy: Nothing. Windows Update gave me a new version, and it just started working again.
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Anonymous

2014-07-11T04:28:41+00:00

Hi,

I need solution to run the process, kindly help....
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Anonymous

2014-07-11T04:07:31+00:00

Normally, I would agree with you, Rohn007. But not being able to sort is kind of a basic, defining function of a spreadsheet program. Much worse, it wasn't sorting and then it wasn't telling you about it.

It could have cost me my job. Every week I Download all the log entries from the mainframe. A "type" 1 is nothing, a 2 is worth reading, and a 3 is the end of the world. I've been sorting the table descending so any 2's or 3's bubble up to the top and I can deal with them.

It was only pure luck that I discovered the sort bug, because there could have been a page of "3"s and I'd have never seen them. Even better luck that there weren't any "3"s last week. (It would have made the trade publications, if not the mainstream press.)

So, as a programmer, I know that no application is bug-free, and I'm usually quite forgiving. But this was major: like making a car with brakes that work fine until you go fast. For me it's personal: like that car only just missed running me down. And worst: the manufacturer is quietly pretending it didn't happen.

I mean, c'mon! A spreadsheet that doesn't sort? That's like a Word processor that won't take the "J" key, or a compiler that translates random words into Portuguese. Thirty of the dumbest beta-testers in the world would have found this in an afternoon.

</RANT>
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Anonymous

2014-07-11T01:26:45+00:00

Just be happy that it is fixed so quickly. Most issues are not! Many are never fixed!

Why would they apologize? They have done nothing "wrong". Take a look at the license terms. You use it at your own risk, according the license terms the most "damages" you can claim from them is the cost of the software ...
Was this answer helpful?

0 comments No comments