MS Office - opening multiple windows

[Sac Arrow]

I'm using MS Office 2003 (I can't stand the horrid tabs of the later versions but I suspect they have the same issue.)

Particularly in Excel, I like to have multiple windows (e.g. instances of Excel) running so I can easily view them simultaneously plus view other programs. Running multiple sheets in a maximized Excel window doesn't work.

The only way I can do this is to start another instance of Excel, then manually navigate to the location of the file I want to open. If I use the file explorer to double click on a file, it will just replace the sheet on the instance of Excel that is active with the new one and I have to toggle back and forth between the two.

Is there a way to force Excel and other programs to open new files in separate windows (instances of Excel) when you double click on the file name?

 

[momalley]

Yea, upgrade to 2013, that was one of my pet peeves with earlier versions

 

[numl0ck]

Office 2010 has the same problem. I stretch the window across both monitors, un-maximise the spreadsheet itself and adjust the size so I can put the two spreadsheets side-by-side. Poor solution IMO.

 

[momalley]

Office 2010 has the same problem. I stretch the window across both monitors, un-maximise the spreadsheet itself and adjust the size so I can put the two spreadsheets side-by-side. Poor solution IMO.

That's exactly what I used to do prior to upgrading

 

[CJones]

Only way I've found is to open a new Excel instance. I remember Googling for an answer a while back and I think that was the standard response unless you wanted to do some hacks to the registry.

 

[Clark1961]

Office 2010 has the same problem. I stretch the window across both monitors, un-maximise the spreadsheet itself and adjust the size so I can put the two spreadsheets side-by-side. Poor solution IMO.

Why do you consider this a poor solution? I've been working that way for years. I do use either a large or multiple monitors but it works quite well for me (and I made a lot of money doing it).

 

[Bob Noel]

Is there a way to force Excel and other programs to open new files in separate windows (instances of Excel) when you double click on the file name?

Yeah, get a mac.

seriously, the mac doesn't open multiple instances of applications. The application can have multiple files open.

 

[Sac Arrow]

Yeah, get a mac.

seriously, the mac doesn't open multiple instances of applications. The application can have multiple files open.

I have one. I find the lack of that functionality to be annoying, which is why I do my serious report and spreadsheet production on a Windows machine.

 

[JeffDG]

Me, I open multiple instances of excel, then drag a file onto the instance of Excel that I want to use for that file. You can do drag-and-drop opening of files.

 

[Sac Arrow]

Me, I open multiple instances of excel, then drag a file onto the instance of Excel that I want to use for that file. You can do drag-and-drop opening of files.

Oh. My, that works!!

 

[JoeSelch]

I set up a "Send to > Excel" shortcut to get around this annoyance.

Just right click on the desired Excel file in Windows Explorer, then Send to > Excel.
It opens the file in a new instance of Excel.

(You can set this up The Hard Way; but, I'm a fan of Send to Toys http://www.gabrieleponti.com/software/#sendtotoys )