Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Excel in Microsoft 365. 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: Opening a Workbook with Two Windows.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 8, 2025)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Excel in Microsoft 365
If you open a workbook that has been worked on by someone else, you may be surprised when you see not one, but two windows open. If these windows are named (in the title bar) something like MyFile.xls:1 and MyFile.xls:2, then the two windows represent different views of the same worksheet.
To solve this problem, make a change or two somewhere in the worksheet. (Make the change in either window; it doesn't matter.) This change can be as simple as editing a cell or entering something into a blank cell and then deleting it.
Next, close one of the windows by clicking the Close button in the upper-right corner of the window. The window should close, but the other window remains open. Notice, as well, that the :1 or :2 notation should disappear from the remaining window's title bar.
Now save the file and close it. When you later reopen it, the extra window is gone. It was there before because Excel remembers how many windows you have open for any given file. It saves that information with the workbook file itself, and then opens that many windows when the workbook is later opened.
If this doesn't solve the problem, it could be that the workbook being opened has an AutoOpen macro that is running and that the macro is opening the additional window. Changing macro-based behavior like this entails changing the macro or disabling it in some way.
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (8242) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Excel in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Opening a Workbook with Two Windows.
Professional Development Guidance! Four world-class developers offer start-to-finish guidance for building powerful, robust, and secure applications with Excel. The authors show how to consistently make the right design decisions and make the most of Excel's powerful features. Check out Professional Excel Development today!
Want to make your importing of text data faster than ever? Here are some ideas you can apply right away.
Discover MoreSometimes, when importing data created by other programs, you may find that there is too much for Excel to handle. Here's ...
Discover MoreYou can use a macro to read information from a text file. The steps are easy, and then you can use that information in ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2025-11-08 11:41:50
Dave Bonin
Definitely close MyFile.xls:2 before you close MyFile.xls:1
I highly recommend closing all workbooks numbered ":2" and higher first.
Why? Because the ":1" version is the view that most likely has all of the original display settings like show/hide gridlines, frozen rows or columns, and others.
The higher-numbered views typically don't share those same settings. That's a bug, not a feature, and it's annoying.
If you close your original workbook ":1" view before the newer views (":2", ":3", ...), you can lose all those settings and have to redo them.
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.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2026 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Excel in Microsoft 365. 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:
Comments