Can't Open Multiple Workbooks from the Desktop

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated September 15, 2022)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


1

Agatha is running into a problem with some new systems in her office. Using the previous systems, Agatha could use the Windows Explorer to displays a folder, select a group of workbooks in the folder, and then double-click one of them. When she did so, all the selected workbooks would open in Excel. When Agatha tries this on the new systems, the only workbook that opens is the one on which she double-clicks—her entire selection set of workbooks is ignored.

This behavior does, indeed, seem to be a change in Windows itself. What is happening is that when you double-click, Windows is canceling your selection set before it starts Excel. The first click of your double-click is effectively interpreted by Windows as a command to select only that one workbook.

The solution is to change how you are starting Excel. Instead of double-clicking on one of the workbooks in the selection set, right-click on one of the files and choose Open. The selection set remains intact and all the files are opened in Excel, as desired.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2427) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

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

Cannot Convert a Document File to a Readable Document

Open a Word document file, and you can start to make edits and changes to your heart's content. But what happens if the ...

Discover More

Changing How Word Flags Compound Words

It is not uncommon to add hyphens between words to help clarify the meaning of your prose. You might even add ...

Discover More

Converting Text to Numbers

Import information from a program external to Excel, and your numbers may be treated as text because of the way that the ...

Discover More

Save Time and Supercharge Excel! Automate virtually any routine task and save yourself hours, days, maybe even weeks. Then, learn how to make Excel do things you thought were simply impossible! Mastering advanced Excel macros has never been easier. Check out Excel 2010 VBA and Macros today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Correctly Saving Delimited Files

Delimited files are often created through Excel so that your data can be exported to other programs. If the delimited ...

Discover More

Full Path Names in Excel

Need to know what the full path name is for the current workbook? With a simple macro you can display the full path name ...

Discover More

Extracting File Names from a Path

If you have a full path designation for the location of a file on your hard drive, you may want a way for Excel to pull ...

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 seven minus 1?

2022-03-01 13:00:04

Mike

So I'm not sure if it makes a difference which version of Excel I'm using but when I followed your instructions and right click on the file and select open it still takes over the other existing window that was already open defeating the ability to compare the files side by side. I'm running Excel 2007 so maybe that's the issue? Love you tips by the way thanks for your help!


This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon 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.