[RESOLVED] Excel Workbook Bloat - cloning

[VBAhack]

I'm hoping someone has a reasonably robust workbook clone macro they are willing to share. Maybe clone isn't the right word to use since I don't want an exact copy - everything minus the bloat!

I've had recent cases of annoying workbook bloat - the worst offender was a 1MB workbook that suddenly become 10MB for no apparent reason. I never could figure out what the problem was. My workbooks aren't too complex - 6 to 10 worksheets, each of which has maybe 30 columns and 100 rows, 10% to 30% blank cells, 3-4 buttons for initiating macros, 4-6 charts, 10-12 array formulas.

I'm now toying with the idea of creating a workbook clone macro. I hesitate to do simple copy/paste for fear that whatever was wrong with the original will be copied to the new. I made a crude prototype that captures 15 formatting attributes plus formula of all non-blank cells in the used range of the source workbook and re-creates in a new workbook. The 10MB workbook was copied and resulted in a 0.5MB workbook (including array formulas and cell formatting like font, borders, colors, etc.), minus the charts, buttons, and macros. Apparent success.

Before I attempt the task of re-creating the charts, I thought I'd ask if anyone has already done this. Surely I'm re-inventing the wheel!

Also, is this entire idea a really stupid thing to do?