Splitting Excel 2007 in task bar

Question

I wish to view 2 Excel 2007 files in 2 different Excel windows, although there are 2 "Excels" in the task bar, they both points to the same app. how can I make it split (like word)?

Answer 1

Launch Excel twice (quickest way is pressing the Windows logo and typing Excel)

Open each Excel file in a seperate instance of Excel, you can now order them side by side if you like or move them to another monitor.

To get them side by side nicely, press Windows + Left/Right arrow to have it stick to either half of the screen.

Answer 2

There is a setting in Excel that controls the appearance of Excel on the taskbar. You can read about it here. You may also want to turn off Direct Data Exchange so Excel launches in separate instances.

Answer 3

I much prefer to keep the files in the same instance of excel. There are a number of features that don't work between files if you open in different instances (as in Ivo's answer). Another way to accomplish this is to open the 2 files in the same excel window, then go to View > Arrange All, then select Vertical and press OK. Same excel window, but can now view 2 files at once.

You can even view 2 sheets of the same file this way. The only difference is that first you must select View > New Window.

There are times where I use Ivo's method. Mainly when I have files with macros that I need to test or compare to other versions. I find it best to separate the instances and processes.