Software configuration:
- Microsoft Office 2010 Professional (Excel 2010)
- Windows 7 Enterprise SP1
- Logged into the computer as a Standard User (not Administrator or Power User)
Problem:
- Want to open every Excel workbook (typically accessed via hyperlink in Outlook or directly using Windows Explorer) in a separate instance of Excel for easy multi-monitor arrangement
- No administrative access, so most traditional approaches don't work
What do I do? See below for the solution.
Best Answer
Solution:
A simple registry edit in
HKEY_CURRENT_USER
(which most Standard User Windows accounts should have read/write access to!) will resolve the problem.First, Save the following data into a text file:
Second, rename the text file with the
.reg
extension (NOT.reg.txt
!).Third, double-click the file, and click Yes at the prompt, then OK at the second prompt. It should look something like this:
Fourth, close all open instances of Excel (you may have to restart your computer or look in Task Manager if there are hidden open instances).
Fifth, try opening files by double-clicking them in Windows Explorer, or by clicking on a hyperlink in an email or document. Each workbook file should open in a separate instance of Excel, independently controllable, rather than in the single-window MDI interface.
If there are specific files that you want to open in the same instance as the most recent instance of Excel, you can right-click the file and select the "Open" option (not OpenNewWindow).