How to use New Window in Excel

This page is an in-depth guide on how to use New Window in Excel, with step-by-step instructions, detailed explanations, and practical examples. This guide will help you understand how to maximize productivity by utilizing multiple views of the same workbook. Whether you are comparing data, editing different sections, or monitoring changes across worksheets, the New Window feature in Excel can streamline your workflow and simplify complex tasks.

What is New Window in Excel?

The New Window in Excel lets you create another view of the same workbook in a separate window. The Excel’s New Window feature helps to toggle between two worksheets to compare values, copy and paste data, or build formulas. This is especially useful when:

• Working on different sections of the workbook at the same time.
• Comparing data from two worksheets or sections without constantly switching tabs or scrolling.
• Using multiple monitors to display and analyse parts of the workbook side by side.

Steps to Use the New Window in Excel

Step 1: Open Your Workbook

• Start by opening the Excel file you want to work with.
• This is your main workbook that you will be duplicating into multiple views.

Step 2: Open a New Window

• Navigate to the View tab on the Excel Ribbon (located at the top of the screen).
• In the Window group, click the New Window button.
• This action creates a second window of the same workbook.
• Both windows will display the same file but can show different parts of it.

Example: If your workbook has multiple sheets—say “Sales Data” and “Charts”—you can use one window to view the “Sales Data” sheet and the second window to view the “Charts” sheet.

Step 3: Arrange Windows for Easy Viewing

After opening the new window(s), you might want to arrange them so you can see both views simultaneously.

• Go to the View tab.
• Click Arrange All in the Window group.
• Choose one of the following arrangement options:
  • • Tiled: Displays all open windows as non-overlapping tiles. Useful for evenly dividing your screen.
    • Horizontal: Stacks the windows horizontally across your screen.
      Vertical: Places the windows side by side vertically.
    • Cascade: Overlaps the windows diagonally, so each window is partially visible.
• Click OK to apply the chosen arrangement.

Example:

• Use Vertical if you want to compare data side by side, such as “January Sales” and “February Sales.”
• Use Horizontal if you want to view a data table at the top and a chart summarizing it at the bottom.

Step 4: Work in Multiple Windows

Each window operates independently for navigation and view, while changes made in one window are reflected in all others. Here’s what you can do:

• Scroll Independently: Each window can scroll to different parts of the workbook. For instance, one window can display the top of a table while the other shows the bottom.
• Switch Sheets: You can view different sheets in each window. For example, one window can show “Summary” while the other shows “Detailed Data.”
• Zoom Levels: You can set different zoom levels for each window. For instance, you might want to zoom in to closely examine a chart in one window while keeping an overview in another.

Step 5: Switch Between Windows

If you’ve opened multiple windows and arranged them, you can easily switch between them:

• Go to the View tab.
• Click Switch Windows in the Window group.
• Select the desired window from the dropdown list.

Step 6: Closing Extra Windows

• When you’re done working in the additional windows, you can close them by clicking the X button in the top-right corner of each window.
• Closing an extra window in Microsoft Excel does not close or affect the workbook itself, as long as one of the window remains open.

Tips for Using the New Window in Excel

• Create Multiple Windows: You can open more than two windows for the same workbook by clicking New Window multiple times. Each new window is labelled with a suffix like :2, :3, etc., to differentiate them (e.g., Workbook1:1 and Workbook1:2).
• Use Multiple Monitors: If you are working with multiple monitors, drag the additional windows to different screens for an optimal workspace.
• Freeze Panes in Each Window: Use the Freeze Panes feature independently in each window for better navigation, especially if you’re working with large datasets.

Shortcut Keys

Below are the keyboard shortcut keys to use New Window in Excel:

Conclusion

The New Window feature in Excel is a handy tool that makes working with large or complex spreadsheets much easier. It lets you open multiple views of the same workbook, so you can work on different sheets or parts of a sheet at the same time. This is especially useful for comparing data, updating formulas, or creating reports. Using this feature can save time, reduce mistakes, and help you work more efficiently in Excel.

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