Datasheet

Understanding Workbooks versus
Windows
One of the most common questions asked in the Excel newsgroups is “Why is Excel dis-
playing two copies of my workbook?” Then the Excel users go on to describe the symp-
toms: The filename is followed by a colon and a number (for example, budget.xlsx:2).
Normally, a workbook is displayed in a single window within Excel. However, you can cre-
ate multiple windows for a single workbook by using the View ➪ Window ➪ New Window
command.
Most people who ask this question in the newsgroups have probably issued the New
Window command accidentally. What they’re really asking for is a way to close the addi-
tional window (or windows). That’s an easy problem to solve: Just click the X on the title
bar of the unwanted windows. Or, press Ctrl+F4 to close the window. After you close all
extra windows, the title bar no longer displays the window number.
By the way, the multiple window configuration is saved with the workbook, so when you
open the file later, the multiple windows are still displayed.
Although many people are confused about multiple windows, there are at least two good
reasons why you might want your workbook to display in two or more windows:
•
You can view two worksheets in the same workbook simultaneously. For example, you
can display Sheet1 in the first window and Sheet2 in the second window and then tile
the two windows so that both are visible. The View ➪ Window ➪ Arrange All command
is useful for tiling windows. This statement also applies to chart sheets. If you have a
chart on a chart sheet, you can arrange the windows so that you can see the chart along
with its data.
•
You can view cells and their formulas at the same time. Create a second window, and
then press Ctrl+` to display the formulas. Tile the two windows so that you can view the
formulas and their results side by side (see Figure 9-1).
NOTE
When you need to compare information in two worksheets (or the same worksheet in
two windows), try the View
➪ Window ➪ View Side by Side command. It makes it easy
to compare two worksheets because Excel automatically scrolls the second window to
keep them synchronized. To use this feature with a single workbook, first create a sec-
ond window by choosing the View
➪ Window ➪ New Window command.
Tip 9: Understanding Workbooks versus Windows
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