How to Open Excel Files in a New Instance.

How to Open Excel Files in a New Application Instance

By default, when you try to open an Excel file by double-clicking it in Windows Explorer, it will open in an already existing instance of Excel. But sometimes, you want it to open in a new instance and even make it the default behavior.

The following steps will allow you to do that.

STEP 1. In Windows Explorer, select Tools->Folder Options. In the Folder Options Dialog, go to the File Types tab and look for the XLS file type. Then, click on the Advanced button.

STEP 2. In the Edit File Type Dialog that opens up, click on the New… button.

STEP 3. Give the new action a name like “Open in New App Instance” or even “My Own Open”. Click on Browse and look for the Excel Executable. If you used the default installation paths, just paste this (make sure you include the double quotes):

“C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\EXCEL.EXE” “%1″

STEP 4. Click on OK to close the New Action Dialog. Click OK to close the Edit File Type Dialog. And finally click on Close to close the Folder Options Dialog.

Now, when you right click on an Excel file, you will see something like this:

You will see that your new action is now available in the right click menu for Excel files. When you double-click the Excel file, it opens in the default behavior (i.e., in an existing instance of Excel). But if you right click and the click on your new action, it opens in a new Excel instance.

If you want your action to be the default action on double click, just go back to the Edit File Type dialog (Step 2 above). Select your action. Then click on the Set Default button. Your action will turn to bold and it is now the default action. Double clicking an Excel file opens in a new Excel application instance.