Interesting. I missed the other thread when it was first posted so thanks for the link, Mike.
I have done some playing and the only constraint I can find is the 256-character restriction on the various "RefersTo" strings. Once the range has been named, it appears that its details are held in some internal format and that the strings are (re)built when needed. To see some interesting effects of this (and I'll leave interested people to experiment on their own):
Rename a Sheet to "a" - this will allow you to name a range with about 30 distinct single cell areas.
Rename the sheet to something longer.
The range still exists (you can, for example, GoTo it).
Look at the RefersToRange.Address (or RefersToR1C1) in VBA.
Next, the limit still exists when using the Name box - the difference is in the way the string is built up behind the scenes - it uses relative addresses (e.g. A1 instead of Sheet1!$A$1) so there is scope for more areas, but still a limit. Also, you don't get an error, it just doesn't take all the areas.
Lastly, I have managed to name a range of some 900 separate areas (which works) by building it up bit by bit like this:
myran1: "=Sheet1!$A$1,Sheet1!$A$3"
myran2: "=Sheet1!$C$1,Sheet1!$C$3"
myrana: "=myran1,myran2"
myran3: "=Sheet1!$B$2,Sheet1!$B$4"
myran4: "=Sheet1!$D$2,Sheet1!$D$4"
myranb: "=myran3,myran4"
bigran: "=myrana,myranb"
Enjoy,
Tony
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We want to help you; help us to do it by reading FAQ222-2244 before you ask a question.