If you want to see both of your spreadsheets side by side in two different windows, then creating multiple instances of Excel is a good way to do it. You can still split screen multiple spreadsheets within a single instance of Excel, but I find it cumbersome and not intuitive.
Versions of Excel
If you are using Office 2013 or Office 2016, you should determine which version of Excel you are using before beginning this article. If you don’t know which version of Excel you are using, then we can help you by creating a new workbook and automatically creating a new instance of Excel.
Office 2010 and earlier versions of Excel allow you to open different workbooks in different instances, which can be helpful if you need to work on multiple files at the same time. However, there are a few issues you may encounter if you try this feature. For example, if you have a large Excel file that is spread out across several folders, Office 2010 may not be able to open it all in one go. In this article, I’ll mention the different ways you can get Excel to open different workbooks in different instances so that it can be opened in its entirety.
Multiple Instances of Excel
If you open an Excel spreadsheet by double-clicking on it in Explorer, the spreadsheet will open in a new instance of Excel. If you navigate to the spreadsheet from inside Excel, the spreadsheet will open in a separate instance of Excel.
Method 1 – Start Menu
The second way to open Excel is to use the keyboard shortcut, Windows + I. This will open the Start Menu and then search for “Excel”. Once you’ve found it, you can double-click on it to open it. ..
If the Excel icon doesn’t show up in the list of most used apps, you can just go to All Programs or All Apps and open it from there.
Method 2 – Taskbar
If you already have one instance of Excel open and the Excel icon is on your Windows taskbar, you can just press the CTRL key and then click on the taskbar icon and it’ll open another instance. ..
If you want to open Excel in the taskbar, you can do so by holding down Shift and clicking on the Excel icon.
Method 3 – Middle Button
If you are using a mouse with a middle button or clickable scroll button, you can also just click that button to get a new instance without having to hold down any key. If you didn’t already know, the scroll button can also be clicked like a button on pretty much every mouse.
If you’re using Excel 2016 or later, you can open a new instance of Excel by right-clicking on the Excel icon in the taskbar and selecting “Open New Excel Window.” ..
Method 4 – Run Command
If Excel is not available on your desktop, you can open a new instance of Excel by using the Run command. Just click on Start, type in Run and press Enter.
The excel run box will open and you can type in the word “excel” to run the excel program.
You can snap your workbooks to different parts of the screen by opening them in different instances of Excel.
In Windows XP, 7 and 8, you can split your screen into two parts by clicking on the left or right edge of the screen. In Windows 10, you can also snap the screen together by pressing and holding down the left or right mouse button and then moving the mouse to snap the screen together.
Office 2013 and Office 2016 no longer open multiple workbooks in a single instance. This might be a good reason to upgrade to a newer version of Office if you’ve been holding out. If you have any questions, feel free to comment. Enjoy!
