I want to open 2 excel files in separate windows to view them side by side... but each time I try, it opens them in the same window

Hi,
Welcome to Microsoft answers.
 
Opening multiple windows into a workbook provides an easy way to view or work with different areas of your workbook simultaneously.
Any changes made in any of the windows are made to the workbook.
 
To open multiple windows into a workbook, follow these steps:
 
1. Start Microsoft Excel and open any workbook.
2. In Microsoft Office Excel 2007, click the View tab, and then click New Window in the Window group.
 
For more information, logon to:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/254791
 

For more information you can contact Microsoft Office, and it would be better suited in the Microsoft Office Discuission Groups.
 
Please access the below link and find a community that will offer you a better support.

http://www.microsoft.com/office/community/en-us/FlyoutOverview.mspx
 


Let us know if you have any issues.
 
 
Thanks and Regards,
Azam – Microsoft Support.
 

I'm not sure that the instructions answer the question.  I have had a lot of frustration in W7 over this same issue. 

It is different than it was in XP or Vista.  If you have one instance of Excel open on the task bar and you just try to open another window by clicking the Office button and then new, it will open a new spreadsheet like it is part of the same workbook (even though it is a separate file).  You can't separate them and see them both simultaneously on two screens or side-by-side on the same screen. Clicking between the pages on the task bar simply places the most recent spreadsheet on top so you have to flip back and forth.

I have been able to have separate instances of Excel open on separate screens by opening the second instance of the program manually - going to START, ALL PROGRAMS, MICROSOFT OFFICE and then launching Excel from there.

I think this was an unforeseen consequence of the new W7 task bar interface.  I don't like it.  It makes it harder to work in MS Office.  I would suggest a fix in the next service pack.

RV3

Though I still can't open the files in seperate windows, Excel does allow multiple windows in their program, so I just make it full screen, and open up half screens of the worksheets inside that window.  Atleaset it's a solution for now.  Thanks for all your responses.

I open another instance of excel...simply click the excel icon on the task bar with the mouse wheel.  Done!  Or, if you don't have a wheel, left click and drag (swoosh) the icon.  A little window pops up.  Click on icon to run the instance again.  Hope this make sense!

i think i can help you, which operating system are u using, and which version of office?

Just tried this but it seems only to work for .xls files from the file system and does not opening a excel file from SharePoint.  I did notice in the Registry several other open keys related to ReadOnly etc.  IS one of these controlling Sharepoint?  Thanks!

 

Cory Bonallo

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Retail Services Developer

The above method put down by Israeli-gogo works for .xls files and .xlsx . Thank you for submitting that reply it has really helped me.

Excel.Sheet.12 key is for xlsx and Excel.sheet.8 is for xls.

For xlsm the macro enable version of Excel 2007 you use the above method but for the key

Excel.sheetMacroEnabled.12

Like the below:-

Left column

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT/Excel.sheetMacroEnabled.12/shell/Open/command:

Right column {adding (space)"%1"}

Double Click on (Default) and write - "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\EXCEL.EXE" /e "%1"

Right Click on Command – choose "rename" and add something to the name  - for example 2 (command2).

Left column

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT/Excel.Sheet.8/shell/Open/ddeexec:

Right Click on the folder ddeexec and choose "rename" and add something to the name  - for example 2 (ddeexec2)

Hope that helps someone.

don't you just click on the View Side by Side button on the excel tool bar??

 

That method doesn't work for a lot of us.  We want to be able to move spreadsheets around on the desktop, one at a time, without having all of them inside of one instance of Excel.

I will try the regedit solution above.