Here at EMG, most employees are running dual monitors. This helps to improve efficiencies by giving them more screen space to layout multiple windows and programs. I highly recommend the investment for anyone who multi-tasks with many programs. I find it so useful I’m considering a third monitor, but that is a conversation for later.

One problem I’ve always found was working with Microsoft Office Excel 2007. For some reason, when you open multiple excel spreadsheets (.xls or .xlsx) it opens one containing window for all of them. It does not create separate windows for each spreadsheet like Word 2007 does for documents. This is especially bothersome when running dual monitors because it is really hard to organize windows and properly use the space you are given.

If you find yourself with this same problem, you are in luck. I’ve found a simple way to open multiple excel documents, each contained in their own window.

Here’s how:

1. Open your first spreadsheet anyway you want.
2. For your second spreadsheet, either open a new instance of Excel 2007 from the start menu.
   OR Click on the Excel 2007 Shortcut on your desktop. (Instructions to create shortcut are below)
   
   Both of these options will open a new blank excel spreadsheet in a separate window.
3. With this new excel instance selected, open your second spreadsheet either from the excel menu, or double click the file on your computer.

You now have two spreadsheets in separate windows.

How to Create an Excel Shortcut on Your Desktop

1. Click the ”Start” menu
2. Point to ”All Programs”
3. Click “Microsoft Office”
4. Right-click ”Microsoft Office Excel 2007″ and point to ”Send To”
5. Click ”Desktop (Create Shortcut)”

As you can see, this method takes a few extra seconds to get started, but very quickly it will prove to provide you with a setup that is more user friendly and efficient.

Leave me some feedback if you’ve used this or other methods to have separate windows in excel.