Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Creating New Windows.

Creating New Windows

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated May 22, 2021)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021


2

If you want to work on two different parts of the same workbook at the same time, there are a couple of different ways you can do so. One way is to open a second window. You do this by simply displaying the View tab of the ribbon and clicking New Window in the Window group. Excel opens a new window. You can then use each window to display and edit different parts of the same workbook.

Notice that each new window you create has not only the workbook name in the title bar, but also a number that indicates the actual window number. Thus, you could have Book1:1 and Book1:2. These are the same way that the window names appear on the Switch Windows drop-down list of the ribbon's View tab and on the Task bar.

Each window created in this way just provides a different way to look at the exact same workbook. This means that any change you make in one window is automatically and immediately made in the other window as well.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (6175) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Creating New Windows.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Jumping to Alphabetic Worksheets

Got a workbook with a lot of worksheets in it? Here's some handy ways to jump to the worksheet you want, alphabetically.

Discover More

Setting Print Ranges for Multiple Worksheets

Need the same print range set for different worksheets in the same workbook? It can't be done in one step manually, but ...

Discover More

Adjusting Formulas for Top-Added Rows

Formulas are the heart of using Excel, and formulas often refer to ranges of cells. How you insert cells into the ...

Discover More

Comprehensive VBA Guide Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is the language used for writing macros in all Office programs. This complete guide shows both professionals and novices how to master VBA in order to customize the entire Office suite for their needs. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2010 today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Setting a Default Workbook Window Size and Zoom Level

In order to make working with a workbook comfortable, you often need to set both a window size and a zoom level for the ...

Discover More

Help for Older Excel Versions

If you are using an older version of Excel, you may discover one day that the online help system no longer works. This ...

Discover More

Slowing Down Mouse Selection

Ever tried to select a range of cells using the mouse, only to have the cells scroll by so quickly you can't make the ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is one less than 9?

2021-05-25 10:35:01

J. Woolley

@Michael
I don't believe Camera is part of the standard Insert ribbon. Perhaps it is under the Insert menu in older versions of Excel. See https://excelribbon.tips.net/T008189_Multiple_Print_Areas_on_a_Single_Printed_Page.html

For an equivalent to the Camera tool, select a region of the active sheet and pick Home > Copy (Ctrl+C), then select another cell and pick Home > Paste > Linked Picture (I). This provides a dynamic image of the original region.

You might also be interested in the freely available DynamicImage macro in My Excel Toolbox. See https://sites.google.com/view/MyExcelToolbox/


2021-05-24 12:25:19

Michael

If you want to watch a section of another area in the workbook, you can select the area you want to watch, click Insert>Camera then click where you want the watch window.


This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.