How to open Excel tables in different windows ?

[EricTheRed]

It is one of the questions most frequently put by the users of Excel… How to open several Excel 2007 documents in its own applicative window rather than all in the same one as it is the case by default? Here the answer!


In a strange way, Word and Excel do not have at all the same behavior by default. Word 2007 opens each document in its own applicative authority. It is in particular very practical when one works in double screen since one can thus very easily have a document (and a version of Word) on each screen. Under Excel 2007, the situation is quite different. Systematically, the software opens all the tables in the same document of Excel. So, to display two tables on two different screens, it is necessary to be devoted to a whole manual gymnastics really not very practical.

The problem even took with new proportions of Windows 7 and its function “Aero Snap” which automatically magnetizes the windows on the edges by adapting their size at best. Suddenly, two keyboard shortcuts, you can display two windows side by side Word. But under Excel that does not function, since for Windows there exists only one Excel window.

Here is how to make so that Excel 2007 behaves exactly like Word 2007 in its management of the documents and the windows. Handling consists in modifying the contents of two keys (the first for files xlsx, the second for files xls) using two very similar sequences of actions in register base:

- Press [Windows] + [R], type REGEDIT and click on OK

First sequence

• Deploy "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Excel.Sheet.12\Sheet\Open" key
• Remove key "DDEEXEC" by clicking right button above and by choosing "To remove"
• Enter key "COMMAND"
• Notice the presence of a value “(by default)” and of a value “command”
• Click right button on the value “command” and choose “To remove”
• Double-click on the value “(by default)”
• Add a space then “%1” (with the quotation marks) at the end of the line so that the data resembles:
  “C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\EXCEL.EXE” /e “%1”

Second sequence

• Deploy key "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Excel.Sheet.8\Sheet\Open"
• Remove key "DDEEXEC" by clicking right button above and by choosing "To remove"
• Enter key "COMMAND"
• Notice the presence of a value “(by default)” and of a value “command”
• Click right button on the value “command” and choose "To remove"
• Double-click on the value “(by default)”
• Add a space then “%1” (with the quotation marks) at the end of the line so that the data resembles:
  “C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\EXCEL.EXE” /e “%1”

- Close REGEDIT

Now, if you double-click on two files xls or xlsx on the desk or the explorer, they will open well in two different windows.

[Bredansford]

This works well if you are opening all of your files from Windows Explorer, but I also want it to react this way if I open the file using the “File => Open”, “CTL+O” or the “Open Icon” in EXCEL

Ultimately what I am really looking for is, when I click on the Upper Most Right “X” to close the app/file I want it to only close the active window like MS Word does, I don’t want it close all EXCEL Files I have opened either using Win EXP or “File Open”

How can I make this happen?

Thanks
BSF

[EricTheRed]

To make excel open each spreadsheet in a different instance, and thus only close the current one when you click the "x":

Change the file association stuff in windows. Go to explorer, choose tools, then folder options. Click the File Types tab. Scroll down to the XLS extension. Click the Advanced button. Choose "open", then click the edit button.

At the end of the "Application used" entry, you'll probably see: /e
After this, add: "%1" (be sure to include the quotes.)

Then uncheck the "Use DDE" checkbox. Then click OK. (Windows re-checks it at some point for some reason, but it still works)

OK your way out of the file types dialog.

Now when you double-click a spreadsheet, it will open it in a new instance of Excel.

[ronnie76]

Is there a way to get the "%1" out of the line
“C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\EXCEL.EXE” /e “%1”
Every time I go in and delete the %1 or try to restore the defaults it just keeps coming back.

I changed the folder options for Excel which caused me to get the following error.
'C:\Documents.xlsx' could not be found.

Running Office 2007.

Thanks,

Ronnie

[hlcfan]

no way to open in a machine without excel

[God-like]

I will suggest you to take the backup of your all excel, word file or all the office files and make reinstallation of Microsoft Office, I am seeing this %1 for the first time, it's quite strange, but i think that reinstallation will solve your problem.

[leemarkin]

I follow the instruction but now i can't even open excel file

it shows that "the parameter is incorrect"

damnit, what's wrong with that,

by the way, there is no such address as ""HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Excel.Sheet.12\Sheet\Open" key"

i can only find

"HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Excel.Sheet.12\Shell\Open" key

instead...what is the problem of you?

[HaroldTheOx]

I had the same problem. Found this thing online, problem solved.