It's probably that the last used cell that Excel thinks is actually the last
used cell is not in fact YOUR last used cell!
On each sheet, hit Ctrl and End to find out which cell Excel thinks is the
last used cell, then also on each sheet, find the actual used cell that you
have with data in it.
You will probably find large discepancies. From your actual last used cell,
delete (not clear contents, DELETE) all the rows below it and all the
columns to the right of it, save the file, re-open and see what size it is
now,
Regards,
Alan.
"Steve" wrote in message
...
I have an excel template that I am using to collect data. I have protected
the sheet to keep people from editing it. I have also used a lot of
formating, and am using if statements. I have also been hiding rows to
keep
people from leaving the work area. and put my wor areas at the extreme
edges
of the worksheets. My file is made up of a dozen sheets. Until I started
protecting the sheets, the file was less than 1 MG althought I have also
added a couple of worksheets to the spreadsheet. When I zip the file, it
compresses from 15meg to 1meg. What is causing the exponential growth in
the
spreadsheet and how can I reduce the size of the file?