Excel Found Unreadable Content Error
I ran across this error when generating reports from a Microsoft SQL Database to a Office 2010 excel file. The error message given by Microsoft Excel is pointless as is the log file.
The problem stems from an over-sized field. More than 32,767 characters were in one field and excel truncates the data while not properly terminating the field in the source XML causing issues. Not a true solution but at least now I can filter out results causing this issue.
Read on for more details on Excel file limitations.
Worksheet and workbook specifications and limits
| Feature | Maximum limit |
|---|---|
| Open workbooks | Limited by available memory and system resources |
| Worksheet size | 1,048,576 rows by 16,384 columns |
| Column width | 255 characters |
| Row height | 409 points |
| Page breaks | 1,026 horizontal and vertical |
| Total number of characters that a cell can contain | 32,767 characters |
| Characters in a header or footer | 255 |
| Sheets in a workbook | Limited by available memory (default is 3 sheets) |
| Colors in a workbook | 16 million colors (32 bit with full access to 24 bit color spectrum) |
| Named views (view: A set of display and print settings that you can name and apply to a workbook. You can create more than one view of the same workbook without saving separate copies of the workbook.) in a workbook | Limited by available memory |
| Unique cell formats/cell styles | 64,000 |
| Fill styles | 256 |
| Line weight and styles | 256 |
| Unique font types | 1,024 global fonts available for use; 512 per workbook |
| Number formats in a workbook | Between 200 and 250, depending on the language version of Excel that you have installed |
| Names in a workbook | Limited by available memory |
| Windows in a workbook | Limited by available memory |
| Hyperlinks in a worksheet | 66,530 hyperlinks |
| Panes in a window | 4 |
| Linked sheets | Limited by available memory |
| Scenarios (scenario: A named set of input values that you can substitute in a worksheet model.) | Limited by available memory; a summary report shows only the first 251 scenarios |
| Changing cells in a scenario | 32 |
| Adjustable cells in Solver | 200 |
| Custom functions | Limited by available memory |
| Zoom range | 10 percent to 400 percent |
| Reports | Limited by available memory |
| Sort references | 64 in a single sort; unlimited when using sequential sorts |
| Undo levels | 100 |
| Fields in a data form | 32 |
| Workbook parameters | 255 parameters per workbook |
| Items displayed in filter drop-down lists | 10,000 |
| Noncontiguous cells that can be selected | 2,147,483,648 cells |
Calculation specifications and limits
| Feature | Maximum limit |
|---|---|
| Number precision | 15 digits |
| Smallest allowed negative number | -2.2251E-308 |
| Smallest allowed positive number | 2.2251E-308 |
| Largest allowed positive number | 9.99999999999999E+307 |
| Largest allowed negative number | -9.99999999999999E+307 |
| Largest allowed positive number via formula | 1.7976931348623158e+308 |
| Largest allowed negative number via formula | -1.7976931348623158e+308 |
| Length of formula contents | 8,192 characters |
| Internal length of formula | 16,384 bytes |
| Iterations | 32,767 |
| Worksheet arrays | Limited by available memory |
| Selected ranges | 2,048 |
| Arguments in a function | 255 |
| Nested levels of functions | 64 |
| User defined function categories | 255 |
| Number of available worksheet functions | 341 |
| Size of the operand stack | 1,024 |
| Cross-worksheet dependency | 64,000 worksheets that can refer to other sheets |
| Cross-worksheet array formula dependency | Limited by available memory |
| Area dependency | Limited by available memory |
| Area dependency per worksheet | Limited by available memory |
| Dependency on a single cell | 4 billion formulas that can depend on a single cell |
| Linked cell content length from closed workbooks | 32,767 |
| Earliest date allowed for calculation | January 1, 1900 (January 1, 1904, if 1904 date system is used) |
| Latest date allowed for calculation | December 31, 9999 |
| Largest amount of time that can be entered | 9999:59:59 |
Charting specifications and limits
| Feature | Maximum limit |
|---|---|
| Charts linked to a worksheet | Limited by available memory |
| Worksheets referred to by a chart | 255 |
| Data series (data series: Related data points that are plotted in a chart. Each data series in a chart has a unique color or pattern and is represented in the chart legend. You can plot one or more data series in a chart. Pie charts have only one data series.) in one chart | 255 |
| Data points (data points: Individual values that are plotted in a chart. Related data points make up a data series. Data points are represented by bars, columns, lines, slices, dots, and other shapes. These shapes are called data markers.) in a data series for 2-D charts | Limited by available memory |
| Data points in a data series for 3-D charts | Limited by available memory |
| Data points for all data series in one chart | Limited by available memory |