I recently attempted to figure out how much data the multiple lines of text column type within MOSS can hold. I came across a few interesting things I thought I’d post about.
- Document libraries and lists have different options available in regards to the multiple lines of text column type. Within document libraries, when you create a new column of type Multiple Lines of Text, you have the option to select the ‘Allow unlimited length in document libraries’ checkbox. In lists, this does not exist.
- It’s important to note though, that by setting that checkbox to true, you are losing support for other applications that cannot handle data of that size. Microsoft posted some remarks to caution users:
Columns with long text are not supported by most applications for editing documents and could result in a loss of data. Only allow unlimited length if users will be uploading documents through the Web site, and not saving directly from the application.
- I ran some tests with the multiple lines of text column type for a list and was able to successfully store over 11000 characters. It’s entirely possible that this is a sql limitation. If anyone has any insight into this, please fire me off an email.
