How big is too much for a Microsoft Word document?

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The more i write, the bigger your file will be, But how big can a Microsoft Word document be?? The solution is, It depends. Text content, video and image make a difference when it comes to the size of a Word document.

Additionally, the maximum file size of a Word document depends on the file format. Newer versions of Word use the DOCX format, while older versions use DOC.

RELATED: What is a .DOCX file and how does it differ from a .DOC file in Microsoft Word?

The maximum file size for Microsoft Word documents

The maximum file size for Microsoft Word documents that only contain text is 32 MB. This is true for documents created in Microsoft Word 2007 and later versions.

A large Microsoft Word file (32 MB) in Windows File Explorer.

That's a lot of room for text, but not much for videos or images.

If you add images or video to your document, the maximum file size increases to 512 Much more manageable MB, at least, in theory. This is the absolute maximum size, but we suggest you be careful if your Word files start to approach this size.

Half-gigabyte Word documents will be extremely difficult to work with, especially if most of the file contains images or videos. Despite this, a lot depends on your system resources and whether your computer is capable of handling such large files.

It also depends on Word itself. Although the program is usually stable for general use, you are likely to find it significantly less if you try to work or save a file that is substantially larger than usual.

The same happens when you open a larger file than usual.

How to check the file size

If you want to check the size of your Microsoft Word document, you can do it in Word or Windows File Explorer.

To quickly check the file size in Word, click File> Information. This menu includes various information about your document, including authors, the current word count and file history.

On the right side of the menu, you will see a section called “Properties (edit)”. This includes document statistics, starting with the document file size at the top.

The "Size" from a Word document (32,1 MB) in the Properties menu.

You can also open the folder that contains your Word document in File Explorer and then click on View> Details.

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In the view “Details”, you will find the file size of your Word document in the column “Size”.

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How to reduce the file size of Word documents

There are some alternatives to reduce the size of your Word document. This can be useful if your file is difficult to work with and, especially, if Word crashes while in it.

RELATED: How to reduce the size of a Microsoft Word document

If you convert older documents to the newer DOCX format, you should also see improvements in size. DOCX files automatically compress any additional content, as pictures.

To convert a document, open it in Word and then click File> Information> Convert.

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Additionally, the way you insert images into your Word document may affect the size of the file.. If you paste images into your document directly, Word converts them to the BMP format, which is significantly larger than other file formats, as JPEG.

If there are uncompressed files in your Word document, you can compress them all at the same time. To do this, click File> Save As> More Options.

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In the dialog “Save as”, click Tools> Compress Images.

Click Tools and then select Compress Images.

From here, choose the image quality you want to use for any image in your Word document.

To get the smallest possible file size (but the worst possible quality), select “Email (96 PPI)”, click on “To accept” and, next, click on “Keep”.

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This automatically compresses all images. You can choose one of the other options, but doing so will result in a larger Word document.

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