XL97: File Size Increases After Launching Visual Basic Editor

In Microsoft Excel, the size of a workbook may increase after you save it if the following conditions are true:

• You start the Visual Basic Editor while you are editing the workbook. -or-
  
  
• The Visual Basic Editor is running when you open the workbook.

When you start the Visual Basic Editor, Microsoft Excel creates a Visual Basic module sheet for each worksheet and chart sheet in the workbook. The size of the workbook increases by approximately 1,000 to 1,500 bytes for each worksheet and chart sheet in the workbook.

To work around this behavior, use the following appropriate method.

If Your Workbook Does Not Contain Any Visual Basic Modules or UserForms

You can reduce the size of your file by following these steps:

1. If the workbook is currently open, save the workbook, then close it.
2. Close the Visual Basic Editor if it is running.
3. Open the workbook.
4. Save the workbook.

The size of your workbook will be reduced by approximately 1,000 to 1,500 bytes for each worksheet and chart sheet that it contains.

If Your Workbook Contains Visual Basic Modules or UserForms

If you are using Visual Basic modules or UserForms in your workbook, then you can reduce the size of your file by deleting any unused worksheets. To delete an unused worksheet, follow these steps:

1. Activate the worksheet by clicking on its sheet tab.
2. On the Edit menu, click Delete Sheet and click OK.

When you save your workbook, the size of the workbook will be reduced by approximately 1,000 to 1,500 bytes for each unused worksheet that you delete.

This behavior is by design.