How to Open a New Window of the Same Excel File

If you work with Excel files, you may sometimes need to open two or more sheets from the same workbook in separate windows. This can help you compare data, copy and paste entries, or create formulas across different sheets. In this article, we will show you how to open a new window of the same Excel file in different versions of Excel.

Excel 2013 and later versions

Excel 2013 and later versions use the Single Document Interface (SDI), which means that each workbook has its own application window and ribbon UI. Therefore, by default, each workbook is opened in a separate window. However, if you want to open another window of the same workbook, you can use the following steps:

Open the file of interest.
On the View tab, in the Window group, click New Window. This will open another window of the same workbook.
Switch to the new window and click the desired sheet tab.

You can also use the keyboard shortcut Alt + W + N to open a new window of the same workbook.

To arrange the windows side by side, you can use one of the following methods:

On the View tab, in the Window group, click Arrange All. Then choose the option you want (Tiled, Horizontal, Vertical, or Cascade) and click OK.
On the View tab, in the Window group, click View Side by Side. This will automatically arrange the windows horizontally and enable synchronous scrolling. You can turn off synchronous scrolling if you want to scroll each window independently.
Drag the title bar of each window to the edge of your screen. If you have Windows 10 or later, you can use the Snap feature to snap the windows to the left or right half of your screen.

Excel 2010 and earlier versions

Excel 2010 and earlier versions use the Multiple Document Interface (MDI), which means that multiple workbooks are opened in the same application window and share a common ribbon UI (toolbar in Excel 2003 and earlier). Therefore, by default, all workbooks are opened in the same window. However, if you want to open a new window of a different workbook or the same workbook, you can use one of the following methods:

Right-click the Excel icon on the taskbar and choose Microsoft Excel 2010 or Microsoft Excel 2007. Then navigate to File > Open and browse for your workbook.
Press and hold the Shift key on your keyboard and click the Excel icon on the taskbar. Then open your workbook from the new instance.
If your mouse has a wheel, click on the Excel taskbar icon with the scroll wheel. This will open a new instance of Excel.
Go to Start menu > All Programs > Microsoft Office > Excel, or simply enter Excel in the search box, and then click on the program icon. This will open a new instance of Excel.
Find the Excel.exe application in your Office installation folder (the default path for Excel 2010 is C:/Program Files/Microsoft Office/Office 14; for Excel 2007, it is Office 12) and right-click on it. Choose Create shortcut and send it to your desktop. Then double-click this desktop shortcut whenever you need to open a new instance of Excel.

Each of these methods will create a new instance of Excel, which means that each workbook will have its own application window and ribbon UI. You can then arrange the windows side by side using any of the methods described above for Excel 2013 and later versions.

Benefits and drawbacks of opening a new window of the same Excel file

Opening a new window of the same Excel file can have some advantages and disadvantages depending on your needs and preferences. Here are some of them:

Benefits

You can view and compare two or more sheets from the same workbook without switching between tabs.
You can copy and paste data or formulas between sheets more easily.
You can use different zoom levels or view settings for each sheet.
You can work on one sheet while another sheet is being recalculated or refreshed.

Drawbacks

You may consume more memory and CPU resources by opening multiple instances or windows of Excel.
You may encounter some issues with clipboard operations, macros, add-ins, or external links when working with multiple instances of Excel.
You may have difficulty managing multiple windows or instances of Excel on your screen.

Conclusion

In this article, we have shown you how to open a new window of the same Excel file in different versions of Excel. This can help you work with multiple sheets from the same workbook more efficiently and conveniently. However, you should also be aware of some potential problems that may arise from opening multiple instances or windows of Excel. We hope this article has been helpful and informative for you. If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to leave a comment below. Thank you for reading!

How to Open a New Window of the Same Excel File