Excel 32 or 64 Bit

[JonRowland]

Hi,

Looking for some advice as just reinstalled MS 365 and noted that I now have 64 Bit version installed. I was always under the impression that 32 bit was preferred over 64 and wondered whether this is the case?

Plus do I need to update my VBA code?

Guidance and advice as always very welcomed.

 

[RoryA]

It depends. If you don't use Office with particularly large files, you are probably better off with 32bit.

 

[JonRowland]

As I thought. Think I was caught out with MS automatically defaulting to 64bit.

 

[Aitch]

It depends. If you don't use Office with particularly large files, you are probably better off with 32bit.

Why is this the case - in what way is the 32 bit version better for smaller files?

 

[RoryA]

It’s not that it’s better with smaller files, it’s that it has better compatibility with other add-ins/apps generally so the recommendation is to only use 64bit if you need to work with very large files.