Microsoft KB Archive/102013

= Microsoft Knowledge Base =

Excel Err Msg: Cannot Define View. Too Many Hidden Rows...
Last reviewed: September 12, 1996

Article ID: Q102013

The information in this article applies to:


 * Microsoft Excel for Windows, versions 4.0, 4.0a, 5.0, 5.0c
 * Microsoft Excel for the Macintosh, version 4.0
 * Microsoft Excel for Windows NT, version 5.0

SYMPTOMS
In Microsoft Excel, when you attempt to create a view with a file that contains many discontiguous hidden rows or columns, you may receive the error message:

Cannot define view. Too many hidden rows or columns are selected.

CAUSE
When you create a view in Microsoft Excel, View Manager establishes a defined name referencing all discontiguous hidden rows and columns. The reference for a defined name has a limit of 255 characters. When you create a view with many discontiguous hidden ranges, you will receive the error if the number of characters needed to store the reference for the hidden ranges on the sheet exceeds 255 characters.

The error is more likely to occur when the sheet contains many small hidden ranges than if it contains a few very large hidden ranges because more characters are required to store the reference to many small hidden ranges than a few very large hidden ranges.

In general, a view can hold about 25 hidden ranges. This will fluctuate with the location of cell ranges because it requires more characters to save references to cell ranges in higher row numbered areas of the sheet than in lower row numbered areas.

STATUS
This behavior is by design.