Comparing Two Workbooks Side by Side

Sometimes you have two versions of a workbook, and you want to compare the differences in the data visually. Excel provides a convenient feature that allows you to compare two documents side by side. To use this feature, follow these steps:

1. Open the workbooks you want to compare and then Click the View tab on the Ribbon and then click the View Side by Side button. Excel arranges the windows of the two workbooks horizontally. If you have more than two workbooks open, Excel displays a dialog box from which you select the name of the workbook you want to compare with the active workbook.
2. Click a worksheet tab in each workbook to display the worksheet data you want to compare.
3. In the View tab, click the Synchronous Scrolling button to toggle synchronized scrolling on and off. After you enable synchronized scrolling, the rows and columns in the two worksheets being compared scroll simultaneously.
4. You can click the Reset Window Position button in the View tab to ensure that the two workbook windows are sized equally and aligned horizontally. You need to use the button only if you adjust either or both window sizes during the current session.
   You can save the layout of the open workbooks you are comparing for future use.

Creating Multiple Windows (Views) for a Workbook

Sometimes, you want to view two parts of a worksheet at once. Or you want to see more than one sheet in the same workbook at the same time. You can accomplish either of these actions by displaying your workbook in one or more additional windows. To create a new view of the active workbook, click the View tab on the Ribbon and then click the New Window button. Excel displays a new window for the active workbook. To help you keep track of the windows, Excel appends a colon and a number to the workbook name in each window.

(Remember): A single workbook can have as many views (that is, separate windows) as you want.

Displaying multiple windows for a workbook also makes copying information from one worksheet to another easier. You can use Excel's drag-and-drop procedures to copy a cell, a range, or a chart.

Opening Nonstandard Files

In addition to files in its native format, Excel 2007 can open files in non-Excel 2007 formats, including older Excel and text files. Excel 2007 can open files that were not saved in its native format by using filters to open the foreign file as a workbook document. To open a file in a non-Excel 2007 format, follow these steps:

1. Click the Office button and then choose Open. Excel displays the Open dialog box.
2. Windows XP: In the Files of Type drop-down list, select the file type.
   Windows Vista: Click the button located above the Open and Close button and choose a file type from the menu. By default, the button text reads All Excel Files (*.xl*;*.xlsx;*.xlsm) but the text changes if you select a different file type.
3. Windows XP: In the Look In drop-down list, navigate to the folder that contains the file.
   Windows Vista: In the Folders window on the left side of the dialog box, navigate to the folder that contains the document. If the Folders window is not displayed, click Folders.
4. Select the file and click Open, or double-click the filename.