Apchukso ~/office● No upload · No daily limits
The most common reason an Excel file suddenly gets heavy is pasted photos and screenshots. This tool resizes images to how they appear in their cells and repacks the sheet data more tightly, without changing the content.
Beta Every compressed file is read back right away, and you only get it once the image links and file structure check out. Still, for important files, keep the original and open the downloaded file in Excel once to check it.
Use it when an Excel file is over your email attachment limit or won't upload to an approval or file-sharing system. Excel files usually get heavy for three reasons: pasted photos and screenshots, the copy of the source data that pivot tables save with the file, and tens of thousands of empty rows and columns that only have formatting applied. Apchukso tackles the first cause, resizing images to how they appear in their cells, and repacks the sheet data more tightly without changing its content.
Q. Why does my Excel file get so big?
Common causes are pasted photos and screenshots, the copy of the source data that pivot tables save with the file, and tens of thousands of empty rows and columns that only have formatting applied. Apchukso shrinks the images and repacks the sheet data more tightly. For the other causes, clean up the file in Excel using the steps in the question below.
Q. Will my formulas or data change?
The content of sheets, formulas, formatting and charts isn't changed. The only things that change are the image files and, when an image's format changes, the link information that points to that image. The data parts keep exactly the same content and are just recompressed more tightly.
Q. How much smaller does it get?
A 14.6 MB Excel file (6,000 rows) with phone photos and large PNG images went down to 0.42 MB (-97%) ('Recommended' level, about 1 second in Chrome on a PC). Data-heavy files without images only shrink by a few percent.
Q. What if my Excel file is heavy but has no images?
If you have pivot tables, go to [PivotTable Options] > [Data] and turn off 'Save source data with file'. If pressing Ctrl+End takes you far below or to the right of your data, delete all the empty rows and columns in between and save. Saving as 'Excel Binary Workbook (.xlsb)' from [Save As] also makes the file much lighter.
Q. What about old formats (.xls) or password-protected files?
Old formats such as .xls and password-protected files can't be compressed. In Excel, use [Save As] to save the file as XLSX, or remove the password and save it, then add the file.
Q. Are my files uploaded to a server?
No. Apchukso has no server that receives files. Shrinking the images and repacking the file all happen inside the browser you're using. Even if you turn off Wi-Fi after opening the page, it compresses just the same.