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Hacks for Working in Multiple Excel Files

You are here: Home / Excel / Hacks for Working in Multiple Excel Files
tips for working in multiple excel files
March 9, 2023 by Mynda Treacy

When working in multiple Excel files we can waste a lot of time flitting back and forth between them.

In this tutorial you'll learn some game-changing tips that are guaranteed to streamline your workflow, making it easier than ever to navigate, arrange, and seamlessly work between multiple Excel files.


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Navigating Multiple Excel Files

Tip 1: Ctrl + Tab to switch between Excel windows (CTRL+SHIFT+Tab to scroll in reverse):

CTRL TAB Animation

Bonus tip: this shortcut also works in PowerPoint and in Word it’s CTRL+SHIFT+F6.

Tip 2: Scroll through current Excel file sheets with Ctrl + PgUp/PgDn

CTRL PG Animation

Arranging Multiple Excel Files

Sometimes you need to see multiple files on the screen at the same time. We can use the arrange tools to help display them.

Tip 3: Arrange all Excel windows using the arrange button on the View tab of the ribbon > Arrange All:

Arrange all windows when working in multiple Excel files

Enables you to display all Excel windows either tiled:

Tiled Excel windows

Horizontal, which isn’t much use with more than two files as you can’t see much of the spreadsheet even with the ribbon collapsed:

Horizontal Arrange Excel windows

Vertical is better for comparing files side by side (also see the tip coming up on Synchronous scrolling for comparing files side by side):

Vertical Arrange all Excel windows

And lastly, cascading:

Cascading Arrangement working in multiple Excel files

Of course, with all these arrangements you can manually left click and drag the outer edge of the windows to create a custom size. And left click and drag the top of the window to move it around.

Bonus tip: double click the top of the window to resize it to full screen.

Arranging Windows

Alternatively, you can arrange individual windows using shortcut keys. To snap to the left, press the Windows key + Left Arrow key (or right, up or down arrow keys to snap to other sides of the window):

Snap windows to left keyboard shortcut

You will then be asked which window you want snapped on the right:

which window to snap to right working in multiple Excel files

More Keyboard Shortcuts

Check out our free eBook that lists 239 Excel Keyboard Shortcuts.

If you have Windows 11 you can drag the window to the top of your monitor, and you’ll be presented with 6 different arrangement options:

Windows 11 window arrangement options

Simply left click and drag the window over the box you want it in and when the box turns blue, release the mouse:

Windows 11 choosing window arrangement

You’ll be presented with thumbnails for the remaining open windows, and you can select which one you want in the next area:

Select which window to snap right in Windows 11

You can also access this menu from inside Excel by hovering over the maximise icon in the top left of any Office app (as well as some non-Office apps):

Accessing window arrangement from menu

Window groups are remembered so you can easily navigate back to them via the task bar, as shown in the first option below where I have 3 workbooks in a group:

Windows 11 window groupings

Viewing Multiple Sheets in the Same File

If you’re working in a file where you need to reference data on multiple sheets and you want to see them side by side, you can create a New Window via the View tab:

Create new window from Ribbon

This opens another instance of the same file enabling you to see them side by side:

View windows side by side

You can choose which workbook you want displayed beside the current workbook from the dialog box.

For example, in the image below you can see I’m currently in the second instance of the workbook as denoted by the “– 2” after the file name at the top of the screen.

In the ‘Compare Side by Side’ dialog box I can choose to display the first instance of the workbook side by side:

Choose workbook to display side by side

Rather than side by side, it actually arranges them tiled horizontally as you can see in the screenshot below:

Excel windows tiled horizontally

Excel doesn’t create a copy of the file as such, so anything you do in one instance of the workbook is instantly replicated in the other instance, so the views are always identical.

With this view, synchronous scrolling is automatically turned on so that any navigation performed in the active instance is performed in the other.

Synchronous scrolling works in whichever sheet you have selected, so you can view different sheets of the same workbook side by side:

Synchronous scrolling in Excel windows

Alternatively, you can turn off synchronous scrolling via the View tab:

Turn off synchronous scrolling

You can also switch between the two instances of the same workbook using the keyboard shortcut CTRL+Tab which will toggle through all open Excel windows. Alternatively, you can go via the View tab > Switch Windows drop down:

Switching between Excel windows using the Ribbon menu

When you’re done with the extra view of the workbook, simply close one of the instances. The other will remain open until you’re ready to close it too.

tips for working in multiple excel files
Mynda Treacy

Microsoft MVP logo

AUTHOR Mynda Treacy Co-Founder / Owner at My Online Training Hub

CIMA qualified Accountant with over 25 years experience in roles such as Global IT Financial Controller for investment banking firms Barclays Capital and NatWest Markets.

Mynda has been awarded Microsoft MVP status every year since 2014 for her expertise and contributions to educating people about Microsoft Excel.

Mynda teaches several courses here at MOTH including Excel Expert, Excel Dashboards, Power BI, Power Query and Power Pivot.

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