Hi,

I read a lot of thread about this topic, and I begin to despair :)

With this config : Excel 2010 / Windows 7

I found the solution to open 2 Workbooks in separate windows, but from explorer / desktop ONLY !

But from Excel (when a document is already opened), if I have an hyperlink in a spreadsheet that points on an other wordbook, when I click on the link, I would like to open it in a new instance of Excel.

Same about FILE => OPEN (I would like to open it in a new instance of Excel too, always in fact)

Thank you.

 

 

Open the 2, or 3, or n workbooks, then try this keyboard shortcut, pressing one key at a time, in this sequence: Alt,  J,  J, 1 (1 or 2 or 3, or n)

Hope it helps.

renatoabc

After that try Alt, J, B and  Alt, J, VS

 

Sorry, I don't understand your answer : When I click on an hyperlink (link to an other wordbook), I would like to automatically open it in a new Excel.

Thanks,

 

Pierre

 

Hi Pignon007,

Now I understood yor question.

The answer is that the behavior is by design (or it's a bug in Excel).

The point is that both Excel and Word are part of Office, but Word behaves in a diferent way.

To check try doing the same with Word and you will see more than one instance of word will be oppened when you oppen more than one Word doc.

Another way to check the different behavior between oppening mutiple Word and Excel files can be checked with Task Manager, in the process tab, it will show many process for Word, but only one process for Excel, both when you oppen mutiple files.

renatoabc

Hi,

There is no solution to fix that ? (editing the Windows registry for exemple )

Thanks,

Pierre

Hi,
 

To launch multiple instances of Excel, we change it by not using DDE to open the file.
Check the "Ignore other applications that use Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE)" box in Excel -> Excel Options -> Advanced

If this does not work,for Windows Vista and Windows 7, we need to edit the registry to remove DDE completely.
===============
Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs.

1. Click Start, in the Search box, type regedit and press Enter.
2. Locate the registry subkey: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Excel.Sheet.14\shell\Open
3. Delete the ddeexec subkey.
4. Click on the command subkey, and then double-click the Default value from the right pane. Replace the value data with:  "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE14\EXCEL.EXE" "%1"
Double-click the Command string value, replace its data with:  (f'^Vn-}f(ZXfeAR6.jiEXCELFiles>!De@]Vz(r=f`1lfq`?R& "%1"

Best Regards,

Sally Tang

 

• Marked as answer by Sally Tang Monday, February 28, 2011 1:35 AM

Hi Sally Tang,

In my Win 7 machine I don't have this hive (HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Excel.Sheet.14\shell\Open) as you can see in the screenshot bellow:

What should I do?

Renatoabc

• Proposed as answer by tdileonardo Thursday, October 17, 2013 12:04 AM

Hi,

 

If you do not have the registry key, you can add it manually.

 

Best Regards,

 

Sally Tang

 

 

I have attempted to follow the above instructions without success.

However, I was forced to create the keys described as they were not present on my computer. I believe that I may have not done so properly. I found the instructions at step 4 unclear.

This is what I did:

1. Created all keys described.

2. In the "command" subkey, I altered the "Default" value as described to: "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE14\EXCEL.EXE" "%1" (including the quotes).

3. In the "command" subkey, I created a further String Value "Command" which I changed to: (f'^Vn-}f(ZXfeAR6.jiEXCELFiles>!De@]Vz(r=f`1lfq`?R& "%1"

 

This results in a final subkey "command", with TWO VALUES "Default" and "Command" populated as indicated above. Was this the intended result? It did not have the intended effect. The only change I observed was that tiny snapshots (dialog-box-sized) of the additional Workbooks now appear in Aero Flip.

I would greatly appreciate further clarification.

 

Thanks for your time.

• Edited by Guilbault Thursday, March 03, 2011 12:04 AM Paragraph formatting stripped.

Hi Sally Tang!

I need more help to apply your answer, see the picture:

I don't know where to insert the : (f'^Vn-}f(ZXfeAR6.jiEXCELFiles>!De@]Vz(r=f`1lfq`?R& "%1"

Please help me,

renatoabc

I have the exact opposite situation.  I cannot stop excel from open multiple instances when I click on shortcuts or open files from the file browser.  It's extremely frustrating!  I've checked all the settings in the Excel options setting, display show all bla bla in task bar, checked unchecked no change.  I've checked an unchecked the DDE box, no change.   Windows 7 with office enterprise 2007. 

 

For reference this only happens on my log in.  The admin can log in to a stock sign on and it works as it should, only ONE instance opening multiple files from shortcuts, or the file browser. 

 

I'm at my wits end, please help!!

To launch multiple instances of Excel, we change it by not using DDE to open the file.
Check the "Ignore other applications that use Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE)" box in Excel -> Excel Options -> Advanced

 

When you perform these steps, you can no longer open the files.

• Proposed as answer by tinkms Tuesday, March 05, 2013 6:01 PM

Open the first workbook, then minimize it to access your Desktop.  Click on the Excel icon (assuming that is on your desktop - just go in Programs or where ever you have the Excel exe) and open a second Excel window then open your second workbook.

Sally,

I too was looking for a way to get multiple Excel 2010 windows in Windows 7 when launching from any Explorer shell method.

I tried following your instructions, but got an error when testing, something like "This command is only valid for products which are currently installed."

I reverted to the original settings and then followed your instructions again. However, in step 4, instead of using your quasi-encrypted command string, I left mine intact and just changed the /dde at the end to "%1", the same as for the default value string. This worked as expected.

Thank you for your help getting me to this point. I hope that others are able to use your instructions regardless of the contents of the encrypted command string.

Shem Sargent

SargenTech

• Proposed as answer by Michael.Mulligan Friday, April 06, 2012 11:39 AM

Sally,

Even as these 'fixes' may accommodate, as a purchaser of this software I shouldn't be burdened with concerns to applying a 'fix' correctly.  It really is in Micrsoft's court to apply an update to this very annoying glitch in Excel 2010. There's no point in my laptop having 'side-by-side' capability, or using a double monitor to better view multiple data sheets, if the Excel program won't allow it.  What a bummer!!  

1. Find excel.exe

2. Create shortcut to excel.exe on desktop

3. Drag and drop excel files on shortcut

4. Voila, multiple instance of excel.exe and all file remain visible

Hi!

Pasting an Excel.exe shortcut on desktop does not solve the problem, it's not the right answer, I've tryed it and it did not work as stated.

In my opinion the solution is to create a .bat file on the desktop (you can create a .txt file with this line , save it and after that rename it changing the extension from .txt to .bat), or wherever, with the following line adapted to each situation:

start "Excel" "c:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14\EXCEL.EXE" /e %1

After that if you drag and drop the Excel files to this .bat icon, Excel will be started with separeted instances for each file you drag and drop, so you can place some Excel files in one monitor and other files in another one.

This solution was tested for Win7 32 bit / Excel 2010 EN.

Regards,

Renatoabc

Hi

Works with me, I am running Win 7 Ultimate 64bit with Office 2010 pro. Also worked when i was using Win XP Pro and Office 2007 pro and later Office 2010 pro

With the solution you have do you mean create a .bat file every time I need to open multiple instances?

Cheers

Hi!

The .bat file is to be created just once, e.g. can be created on the desktop, and after that any Excel file can be oppened with a drag and drop to the .bat icon.

The %1 at the end of the line in the .bat file will start a new instance for each Excel file.

If you try, please tell if it worked for you, this way other users will be aware of the usability of this solution.

Marry Christmass!

Renatoabc

Hi

The .bat method also works for me. In fact both methods (.bat or shortcut to excel.exe) give exactly the same result.

Best regards and  a merry X-mass to you too.

Hi!

I tryed the Exel.exe shortcut on the desktop again, and it worked indeed.

But for both solutions (including the .bat solution) there are some limitations when dealing with copying and pasting formulas.

See my post from Dec/27/2011 on:

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/excel/thread/f6f54088-220d-4218-af10-0026f2ccbc72

I wish you all a very Happy New Year.

Renatoabc

Here's what works for me (Excel 2010, Windows 7 86 bit). I have the Excel shortcut on the taskbar. Open the first workbook. Right-click on the Excel shortcut. I see three icons: "Microsoft Excel 2010", "Unpin this program from the taskbar", and "Close window" plus a listing of recent programs. I left-click on the Excel icon and it opens a new instance of Excel. On my computer I can also open a second instance from the Excel shortcut on the desktop. Right-click on the desktop icon and left click on the Open command. I have not checked the "Ignore other applications that use Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE)" advanced option.

Thank You Sally & Shem,

For Step 4 - I use a combination of both your answers, i.e. just replaced    /dde     with    "%1"     for both "(Default)"  &  "command".

Easy!

Michael

Here is another fix:

Run regedit

Update:    HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Excel.Sheet.8\shell\Open\command\(Default) to "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\EXCEL.EXE" /e "%1"

Rename: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Excel.Sheet.8\shell\Open\command\command to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Excel.Sheet.8\shell\Open\command\command2

Rename: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Excel.Sheet.8\shell\Open\ddeexec\ to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Excel.Sheet.8\shell\Open\ddeexec2\

Update: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Excel.Sheet.12\shell\Open\command\(Default) to "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\EXCEL.EXE" /e "%1"

Rename: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Excel.Sheet.12\shell\Open\command\command to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Excel.Sheet.12\shell\Open\command\command2

Rename: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Excel.Sheet.12\shell\Open\ddeexec\ to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Excel.Sheet.12\shell\Open\ddeexec2\

However, this is often overwritten by subsequent windows updates - and aren't those as common as rain in London, so can I make a suggestion to the readers of this forum to add a message here (perhaps every week) until this gets a permanent solution? After all, individual license revenue is considerable to this company.

If there is no room on the ribbon for such an option perhaps we can replace the translate function (Review bar) with it.

Cheers,

Thomas

• Proposed as answer by AaronJP Thursday, October 03, 2013 2:43 AM

Hello all,

The above solution is the proper one. I've written a blog article addressing this issue, with easy to download .reg files containing all the changes you'll need. http://ptihosting.com/blog/it-blog/force-excel-20072010-to-open-in-seperate-window/

-Brad

everyone should note that brad's file points to folders that might not have been your unique installation pathway.  his file points down "program files->..." whereas some might have "program files (x86)->..." pathways.  so some editing is necessary.

Thomas's quick fix worked like a charm, whereas some other regedits from above failed for me.

Cheers,

John

Hi,

If you do not have the registry key, you can add it manually.

Best Regards,

Sally Tang

Hi Sally, I did this and it didn't work. Do I need to further replicate the rest of the excel.sheet.12 subkeys under the new excel.sheet.14 and then delete the excel.sheet.12?

Why wouldn't Office install the correct registry keys?

This is the only thing I tried that actually works. Open one of your Excel files. Click Start and type, "Excel" into the Search Programs and Files Bar. Open a new Excel document through the search results and it will open in another window. Open your second document through the new window you just opened and drag it to the other screen.

Thank you Brad!

I have used your Reg files now on three machines with Office 2007 and Office 2010.  Each time it has worked flawlessly.  My most recent use was on a machine that also has LibreOffice installed along with 32 Bit Office 2010.  After running the Reg file "Add Open In New Excel Instance and Make Default.reg" and then clicking on an .xls file I was prompted to select which program I wanted to use to open the file.  LibreOffice Calc was suggested in the dialog along with a button to browse for and select another program.  After browsing Program Files (x86) and selecting C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\Excel.exe everything again works perfectly.

Microsoft, WAKE UP.  With all the options in Excel, there must be more than a thousand, the option to open files in a new window should be available AND MADE THE DEFAULT!

Until this happens, countless man hours are being lost in frustration and unnecessary searching for a solution to this problem around the world!

Thanks 2manyquestions,

Yours was the simple solution...now its easy.

rkorgan

• Edited by rkorgan Wednesday, December 12, 2012 8:47 PM

All those other directions on here are just too complicated and didn't work on some... your (2manyquestions) answer was the simplest and actually the only thing that is needed.... those other folks don't know what they are talking about.

If you do the above, you will get multiple instances, which is great for going between workbooks quickly and easily, HOWEVER, beware, you will lose the main reason i need to go between workbooks, and that is cutting rows from one workbook and inserting them into another. The "insert cut cells" option will not be available in the right click menu anymore.

Shem,

Thank you, your small correction to Sally Tang's explanation higher in this page: it was the trick that made it work. Without that, I also got the error message that it only works for installed products (or something like that).

Also, for Office 2010, I autocorrected Sally's hive to be modified:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Excel.Sheet.14\shell\Open must be

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Excel.Sheet.12\shell\Open

In my case, I also did the same modifications in the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Excel.Sheet.8\shell\Open hive, but I'm not sure if that's really required.

But indeed, I don't know if this is a bug, but there should be a setting somewhere to do this.

• Proposed as answer by 311inNYC Thursday, December 12, 2013 3:14 PM
• Unproposed as answer by 311inNYC Thursday, December 12, 2013 3:18 PM

Greeting all,

I believe another posting has already provided the simplest answer, IMHO - no registry edits, etc.

Problem: opening multiple workbooks using Excel 2010

Answer:  start button click on icon to open up another instance of Excel and then open your second workbook to nth workbook....

This is such a nuisance, and i can't belive that, 3 years on, there still isn't a viable work-around/option available through Excel itself.

For me, switching the DDE off either a) did not result in the desired outcome, or b) did not result in the desired outcome AND stopped me opening spreadsheets. Needless to say, i switched it back on!

Are there any solutions for this which don't involve editing the registry? i'm on a corporate license, and i don't think our IT team would appreciate me playing in the registry, and there is the high possibility that, even if i do it correctly, something else will mess up.

Opening  separate instances of Excel, and then opening the spreadsheets i want does work, but it's such a waste of time that i can't really afford to be spending each time i need to open a spreadsheet, particularly because the majority of the ones i access are shared documents that i can't keep open.

i'm on W7 | Office 2010

Thanks in advance,

J

Hi,

I have been having trouble with this for a long time since I have to compare inventory sheets to keep them accurate. I believe I have found a solution or at least one that works for me.

First I open the first spreadsheet then click File>Open.

I then find the second spreadsheet and right-click>open and it opens in two windows.

Hope this helps.

I hope this clears some things up.

REMEMBER TO BACK UP BEFORE MAKING CHANGES

In Windows 7 using Office/Excel 2010, there are many shell commands. You might want to consider "fixing" all the keys of the shell commands you use (New, Edit, Open, [print doesn't matter because it simply opens, prints, then closes]). I only use Open (double click uses the Open shell-command), so that's all I'm going to cover below. If you can't figure out the others then you probably shouldn't be altering the registry.

Note: Excel.sheet.12 is used to open .xlsx files while Excel.sheet.8 is used to open .xls files as can be seen under "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\{.xls or .xlsx}\OpenWithProgids" (there are other extensions you might need to look at as well). Change both the .12 and .8 keys, in both locations, as listed below:

Edit HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Excel.Sheet.12\shell\Open\command

Before: (Default)  REG_SZ  "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\EXCEL.EXE" /dde
    and: command  REG_MULTI_SZ  xb'BV5!!!!!!!!!MKKSkEXCELFiles>VijqBof(Y8'w!FId1gLQ /dde

to

Change: (Default)  REG_SZ  "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\EXCEL.EXE" /e "%1"
    Rename to: command2  REG_MULTI_SZ  xb'BV5!!!!!!!!!MKKSkEXCELFiles>VijqBof(Y8'w!FId1gLQ /dde

then

     Before: key "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Excel.Sheet.12\shell\Open\ddeexec"
    Rename to: "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Excel.Sheet.12\shell\Open\ddeexec2"

then repeat the above steps on:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Excel.Sheet.8\shell\Open\command
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Excel.Sheet.8\shell\Open\ddeexec

then repeat the above steps on: 
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Excel.Sheet.12\shell\Open\command
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Excel.Sheet.12\shell\Open\ddeexec
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Excel.Sheet.8\shell\Open\command
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Excel.Sheet.8\shell\Open\ddeexec

This worked for me and hopefully will work for you. 

I don't know about FILE => OPEN because it is issuing the OPEN command from within an existing instance of Excel; however, a Right-Click => OPEN from outside of any Excel instance will open in a new window.

-Justin

http://www.JustinsComputers.com

• Proposed as answer by Justinr9999 Thursday, June 26, 2014 4:57 PM
• Edited by Justinr9999 Tuesday, July 08, 2014 3:57 AM

Just an update to my above instructions:

I had an MS Office update pushed via my corporation and while I'm not going to try and determine which update caused the reversion, my Excel open commands reverted back to the default behavior.

What happened: 

The (Default)  REG_SZ  "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\EXCEL.EXE" /e "%1" (specifically the /e "%1") reverted back to the default ... /dde switch.
The HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Excel.Sheet.12\shell\Open\ddeexec was returned (remember, we renamed it). 
The HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Excel.Sheet.12\shell\Open\ddeexec2 key remained.
The same applies to the Sheet.8 keys:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Excel.Sheet.8\shell\Open\command

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Excel.Sheet.8\shell\Open\ddeexec

How to revert Excel 2010 back to open workbooks in separate instances:

Simply change the Excel sheet.12 and sheet.8 open commands back to the /e "%1" switch and delete the ddeexec keys, since we already renamed them once before and the renamed key remains. 

Detailed Instructions:

Edit HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Excel.Sheet.12\shell\Open\command

Before: (Default)  REG_SZ  "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\EXCEL.EXE" /dde
    and: command  REG_MULTI_SZ  xb'BV5!!!!!!!!!MKKSkEXCELFiles>VijqBof(Y8'w!FId1gLQ /dde

to

Change: (Default)  REG_SZ  "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\EXCEL.EXE" /e "%1"
    Delete (if exist): command  REG_MULTI_SZ  xb'BV5!!!!!!!!!MKKSkEXCELFiles>VijqBof(Y8'w!FId1gLQ /dde

then

    Delete (if exist): "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Excel.Sheet.12\shell\Open\ddeexec"

then repeat the above steps on:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Excel.Sheet.8\shell\Open\command
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Excel.Sheet.8\shell\Open\ddeexec

This seems to "fix" what an update unfixed.

• Edited by Justinr9999 Friday, September 05, 2014 7:30 PM Some formatting was lost

This was the best instruction and it did work for me. Thanks