Can I set an unlimited length for maxJsonLength in web.config?

Question

I am using the autocomplete feature of jQuery. When I try to retrieve the list of more then 17000 records (each won't have more than 10 char length), it's exceeding the length and throws the error:

Exception information:
Exception type: InvalidOperationException
Exception message: Error during serialization or deserialization using the JSON JavaScriptSerializer. The length of the string exceeds the value set on the maxJsonLength property.

Can I set an unlimited length for maxJsonLength in web.config? If not, what is the maximum length I can set?

Answer 1

NOTE: this answer applies only to Web services, if you are returning JSON from a Controller method, make sure you read this SO answer below as well: https://stackoverflow.com/a/7207539/1246870

---

The MaxJsonLength property cannot be unlimited, is an integer property that defaults to 102400 (100k).

You can set the MaxJsonLength property on your web.config:

<configuration>     <system.web.extensions>        <scripting>            <webServices>                <jsonSerialization maxJsonLength="50000000"/>            </webServices>        </scripting>    </system.web.extensions> </configuration>