Minimized spreadsheets reappear – why/how to stop?

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I work with a number of different spreadsheets for different things I am doing.  For example, I may have two or three related spreadsheets open for tracking various types of household expenses.  I may want to have a quick review of a spreadsheet that covers some aspect of my photography (someone phoned to ask a question).  So now there are 4 spreadsheets of interest that are effectively open, 3 that I have minimized and a new one that I opened to check on something when someone asked me a photography question.   When I open the photography spreadsheet, suddenly, all three of the “minimized” household spreadsheets also open, rather than staying minimized.  I do not want them to open at this time, because I am only interested in having the “photography” spreadsheet open.

My question/concern is – How do I stop the minimized spreadsheets from opening and becoming the “front and centre” spreadsheets when the only one I am interested in is the one that I just opened, the 4th one, containing the photography information.

I hope I am making myself clear about this situation.  Effectively, I want the 3 minimized spreadsheets to stay minimized when I open a 4th to check something in the 4th one.  Any insight that anyone can provide will be greatly appreciated as this unspecified opening of the minimized spreadsheets is a pain in the “y’all know what” when I am working as I have to re-minimize them to do the work required when I open the 4th one.  Thanks in advance.

Ron M

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Just a followup to my previous post…

I am running Office 365 and Windows 10.

 

Ron M

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https://excelribbon.tips.net/T013780_Stopping_an_Excel_Window_from_Maximizing.html

Does that give a hint of what might be going on?

Susan Bradley Patch Lady

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Hold the Alt key while opening Excel or file to start a new instance:

7 Ways to Open Multiple Instances of Excel

What are Excel instances, and why is this important?

Windows 11 Pro version 22H2 build 22621.1778 + Microsoft 365 + Edge

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b,

Alt trick works great. However, be aware that you’ll get a couple of messages.
Confirm you want a new instance:

If you have a Personal.xlsm (macro) file you’ll have to open it read/only, not a problem since you’ll probably not want to change it anyway:

HTH

May the Forces of good computing be with you!

RG

PowerShell & VBA Rule!
Computer Specs

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b

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Well, I just managed to return to this inquiry.  I have had a series of family issues I have had to deal with, so I have been a little slow at some things these days.

I suspect from reading the responses that I may not have made myself clear as to exactly what my problem was, so I shall try and restate it because the answers I have received do not seem to address the issue, or, I do not understand the answers (quite possible?)  I am not concerned with opening multiple instances of Excel, rather I am concerned with multiple instances of Excel opening when I do not wish that to happen.

For example, I am working on weekly financials and have 3 different spreadsheets (instances of Excel) open.  For the sake of example, I will call them F1, F2 and F3.  During this “work”, I have to find out something on a Word document, so I minimize the three financial spreadsheets and open the Word document W1.  At this point, I have effectively 4 documents now open on my computer, F1, F2, F3 and W1.  Then my phone rings with a call from a friend regarding a question about something in photography that he thinks I might know the answer to.  I know that I can find the answer to his question on a spreadsheet that I have with some photography information on it.  So, I open up the Photography spreadsheet, P1, and check out the possible answer to his question.  When I open P1, all of my minimized financial spreadsheets, F1, F2, and F3 also open.  I now have four Excel spreadsheets open on my computer as compared to three minimized and one open.  What I want to have happen is the latter – I do not want to have the Financial spreadsheets open, i.e., come “alive” from being minimized so that I have four spreadsheets open F1, F2, F3 and P1, rather than one spreadsheet open P1 and the financial spreadsheets remaining minimized as I do not need them to answer his photography question, yet, for some reason, Excel decides to open these three minimized spreadsheets (F1, F2 and F3) when I open the totally unrelated Photography spreadsheet P1.

My question is how do I stop the three unrelated Financial spreadsheets, F1, F2 and F3 from “un-minimizing” when I open the Photography spreadsheet P1.

I hope this explanation helps to clarify my question about minimized instances of Excel opening when they will not help solve the problem at hand (they are financial spreadsheets), rather, it just potentially adds confusion to the answer of the photography question.

Any insight that anyone can provide will be greatly appreciated.  Thanks.

Ron M

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Did you try holding Alt while opening P1?

Windows 11 Pro version 22H2 build 22621.1778 + Microsoft 365 + Edge

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No, I did not.  It just seems strange to me to hold a specific key while opening another spreadsheet, but then there are a lot of “strange” things in MS Products.😏🙃

I will try it next time.  Thanks for the suggestion.

Ron M

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b

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