VBA on Excel "Out of Memory" error

Question

I'm on Excel 2010, on an admittedly very large sheet (400k rows X 20 columns).

My code aims to:

load the entire sheet into an array
examine every row for a certain criteria
rows which qualify are copied to another array
finally return the second array back to another sheet
the second array will end up being roughly 90% of the original

I wrote a definition of two variable arrays as variants And tried to initialize them by copying the sheet's content twice.

first copy works, but by the second one I hit an error of "Out of memory".

Any ideas if there's a workaround? or is this just a limitation of VBA/ Excel.

Is there a way to not pre-define / initialize the destination array, and instead, let it "grow" with every successful qualification of the criteria? (On a scale of this magnitude).

Sub CopyPending()
Dim LastRow As Long
Dim LastCol As Integer
Dim AllRange() As Variant
Dim CopyRange() As Variant
Dim i As Long
Dim x As Long
Dim z As Long

LastCol = 21
LastRow = ActiveSheet.UsedRange.Rows.Count

AllRange = Range(Cells(2, 1), Cells(LastRow, LastCol)).Value
CopyRange = Range(Cells(2, 1), Cells(LastRow, LastCol)).Value ''' ERROR TRIGGER

i = 1
x = 1
z = 1

For i = LBound(AllRange) To UBound(AllRange) - 1
  If AllRange(i, 7) = "TestCriteria" Then
    For z = 1 To LastCol
      CopyRange(x, z) = AllRange(i, z)
    Next z
    x = x + 1
  End If
Next i

With Sheets(2)
  .Range(.Cells(2, 1), .Cells(x, LastCol)).Value = CopyRange
End With

End Sub

An alternative method would be to attack it in chunks, say 50000 rows at a time — chris neilsen
– chris neilsen, Commented Apr 20, 2014 at 10:14
maybe add memory/RAM capacity to your computer. i'm working with 8 GB. On a windows with 64 bit, you can have more memory, too. — Patrick Lepelletier
– Patrick Lepelletier, Commented Apr 20, 2014 at 10:43
I'd suggest a slightly different approach: rather than load everything into arrays, you could process one row at a time. Read it, check it, write it (if correct), then move to the next. This would significantly reduce the VBA working memory. — GregHNZ
– GregHNZ, Commented Apr 20, 2014 at 10:51
You might need 64bit Excel. I had the out-of-memory issue due to dealing with tons of large variant; switching to 64bit Excel works like a charm. No need to upgrade the hardware at all. — lovechillcool
– lovechillcool, Commented May 4, 2016 at 16:32

kwiqry · Accepted Answer · 2014-04-20 11:22:08Z

As comments on your post indicate, this error comes from shortage of working memory.

Each Variant type variable consumes 16 bytes, this is the reason your code require vast amount of memory. So one way to solve this problem is increase physical memory on your computer.

Other solution is filtering data by certain amount of rows.

Sub ProcessRows()
    Dim originalData() As Variant
    Dim maxRow as Long, currentRow as Long, incrementRow

    maxRow = ActiveSheet.Usedrange.Rows.Count
    currentRow =1
    incrementRow=5000

    While currentRow < maxRow
        Set originalData = Range(.Cells(currentRow,1),.Cells(currentRow+incrementRow-1,20)

        your process to filter data

        currentRow = currentRow +incrementRow
    Wend
End Sub

Of course you can go with row by row approach, but I assume you use array variable to speed up your code, so I do not recommend to use row by row approach.

Cor_Blimey · Accepted Answer · 2014-04-20 12:22:48Z

Working row by row is extremely slow so this is not a viable solution for such a large dataset.

Arrays are definately the way to go so the choice is between:

Loading the data in batches then running your processing on a contiguous data set *(viable until large amounts of data - perhaps around 8M elements depending on your system)
Loading the data in batches then running your processing on the batch only (viable for an arbitrary amount of data)

Edit: I see you are 400k * 20 which is pushing the boundaries of Option 1. You may have no choice but to refactor your code and load and process by batch (vs. load by batch then process together)

Note:

This should be fine until very large datasets as the Out of Memory error is at first not from the size of the array itself but rather from reading from the worksheet.
If you get an Out of Memory error from the size of the array itself, then:
- you will have no choice but to either use 64-bit Excel;
- Or (better) to refactor your procedure to process the data in chunks (Option 2 above).

The below loads the data in batches into a single array by recursively loading the data in batches. Try it - the benefits of still having one array at the end mean you don't have to restructure the rest of your code.

Example of Option 1:

Option Explicit

Sub example()

    Dim myCompletedataArr
    Dim myTestDataRange As Range

    Set myTestDataRange = ActiveSheet.UsedRange

    loadDataInBatches myTestDataRange, myCompletedataArr

    Debug.Assert False

End Sub


Sub loadDataInBatches(dataRange As Range, dataArr, Optional startRow As Long = 1, Optional rows As Long = 10000)
    Dim endRow As Long, i As Long, j As Long
    Dim dataArrLb1 As Long, dataArrLb2 As Long, batchArrLb1 As Long, batchArrLb2 As Long
    Dim batchArr, batchRange As Range

    If Not IsArray(dataArr) Then
        ReDim dataArr(0 To dataRange.rows.Count - 1, 0 To dataRange.Columns.Count - 1)
    End If 'otherwise assume dataArr is correctly dimensioned (for simplicity)

    endRow = WorksheetFunction.Min(startRow + rows - 1, dataRange.rows.Count)

    If endRow <= startRow Then Exit Sub

    Set batchRange = dataRange.rows(startRow & ":" & endRow)

    batchArr = batchRange.Value

    'cache lower bounds as we use them a lot
    dataArrLb1 = LBound(dataArr, 1): dataArrLb2 = LBound(dataArr, 2)
    batchArrLb1 = LBound(batchArr, 1): batchArrLb2 = LBound(batchArr, 2)

    For i = batchArrLb1 To UBound(batchArr, 1)
        For j = batchArrLb2 To UBound(batchArr, 2)
            dataArr(startRow - 1 + i + dataArrLb1 - batchArrLb1, j + dataArrLb2 - batchArrLb2) = batchArr(i, j)
        Next j
    Next i
    Erase batchArr 'free up some memory before the recursive call

    loadDataInBatches dataRange, dataArr, endRow + 1, rows

End Sub

CSohu · Accepted Answer · 2021-01-30 12:46:07Z

All the suggestions above suggest that there is not enough memory. My compueter has enough memory and I also once tried to switch to 64 bit Excel. I must assume that there is a common Excel bug. The most (doesn't assure that it happens every time) secure method for me is following: Due to the built in effect that my Excel files crashed frequently I separated data in .xlsx files and all macros into AddIns. This unconvenient way reduced the crashes almost to zero. However, whenever I need to do an upadate on the AddIn I first unload the AddIn, then modify that source file of the AddIn save this .xlsb file and then save it as .xlam. When I try to close the source file of the Addin (the .xlsb-file) I'm asked if I want to save a new copy or overwrite the changes. Whatever selection I take I get mostly the 'Out of memory' message. Sometimes I can continue to work, sometimes Excel crashes and starts new. Maybe this description explains that the message has nothing to do with too little memory or too much data allocated.

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