Excel users often encounter a typical error message - “Too many different cell formats,” when working on large Excel files. This error prevents you from inserting or modifying rows or columns, or even copying and pasting the content within the same or different workbooks.
This error generally ensues when the number of unique cell formats in the Excel workbook exceed the stipulated limit. The limit defined for different cell format combinations in MS Excel 2003 is 4000, while Excel 2007 and later versions have a limit of 64000 combinations. In this article, you’ll understand more about this Excel error and know the solutions to fix it.
What causes the “Too Many Different Cell Formats” Error in Excel?
Here are some reasons behind the “Too many different cell formats” error:
Excessive use of complex formatting has increased the size of your Excel file
Large number of merged cells are present in the Excel file
Multiple built-in or custom cell styles are applied in the spreadsheet
Excel file corruption
Unique cell formatting is applied to various spreadsheets
Methods to Fix the “Too Many Different Cell Formats” Error in Excel
Before you proceed with the methods explained below, check that the MS Office application on your system is updated to the latest version. If not, check for any updates and install them. This helps fix minor bugs or issues with the application that might be causing the duplicity of formatting styles in workbook.
Method 1: Remove Excessive Formatting from the Excel Workbook
The “Too many different cell formats” error can occur if you have applied excessive or unnecessary formatting in the workbook. You can reduce the formatting combinations in the workbook to resolve the error. You can simplify the Excel file formatting by using a standard font, font color, borders, etc. consistently. Here is how you can remove unnecessary formatting from the problematic Excel file:
Open the problematic Excel worksheet.
Select all the cells by pressing the CTRL + A keys.
Next, go to the Home tab and click on Clear > Clear Formats.
This will remove all the unnecessary formatting from the selected cells. You may also try to remove cell patterns (if any) or use cell styles to remove unnecessary formatting in the file.
Method 2: Remove Conditional Formatting
Applying multiple rules to different cells or cell ranges within a workbook can also cause this error message. This is because each rule has its own formatting settings. This increases the number of unique cell formats and the size of the file, resulting in the error. You can fix the error by removing unnecessary rules from the Excel file. Here is how to do it:
Open the Excel file in which you are getting the error.
Go to the Home tab and locate Conditional Formatting.
Select Manage Rules.
The Conditional Formatting Rules Manager wizard is displayed. You can check the formatting rules and delete the unnecessary rules by clicking on the Delete Rule option.
Method 3: Save the Excel File as a Binary Workbook (.xlsb)
Another way to fix the "Too many different cell formats" error is to save the Excel file in binary (.xlsb) file format. This will reduce the Excel file size and help fix the error if it has occurred due to large file size. Here’s how to do so:
Method 4: Use Open and Repair Utility to Repair the Excel Workbook
If your Excel file is corrupted, it can also be the reason behind the "Too many different cell formats" error. Microsoft Excel has a built-in utility – Open and Repair that you can use to repair your corrupted Excel file. Here are the steps:
Launch MS Excel on your PC. Go to File > Open.
Click on Browse to select the problematic workbook.
In the Open window, click on the downward pointing arrow next to the Open button. Then, choose Open and Repair.
A dialog box appears showing three options - Repair, Extract Data, and Cancel.
Click on the Repair button to recover as much data as possible.
After repairing the file, click Close.
Method 5: Repair Corrupted Excel File using an Advanced Excel File Repair Tool
The MS Excel’s built-in repair utility is only apt for fixing minor inconsistencies and corruption issues. If your Excel file has high corruption, then you need to use a more powerful Excel file repair tool, like Stellar Repair for Excel. This DIY tool can effectively repair Excel file (XLS, XLSX, XLSM, XLTM, and XLTX) with even high level of corruption. This powerful tool can recover all the Excel file components, like tables, charts, formatting, etc., from the corrupted Excel file and save them in a new fresh Excel file. It is compatible with all Windows OS editions. You can free download the trial version of Stellar Repair for Excel to scan your file and see its preview. You can download the trial https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/xpfm52llcm84td?hl=en-US&gl=US
Conclusion
As explained above, depending on the reason, you can effortlessly fix the Excel error - Too many different cell formats. In the case of corruption in Excel file, you can use the Open and Repair utility in Excel but it may not give you the desired outcome if the file has high level of corruption or damage. For better outcome, you can rely on Stellar Repair for Excel - an advanced tool that is designed for repairing Excel files with any level of corruption with 100% integrity.