Excel LaunchPad
Now free and open source!
What is it?
Excel LaunchPad adds a right-click menu option to Excel-compatibile files which opens the file in its own instance of Excel. That's it.
That's it? Why would I want that?
Before Excel 2013, the default behavior was to reuse running Excel instances whenever a new Excel file was opened. But sometimes that's not what you want. Sometimes, you want to open files in a new instance of Excel. There are workarounds, of course; you can manually launch a new instance of Excel and then open the desired file. But it's just easier to right-click the file, select Open in new window
, and be done with it.
However! As of Excel 2013, the default behavior has been changed such that all Excel files are opened in their own instances of Excel - just like Word has done, pretty much forever. So if you're using Excel 2013 or later, Excel LaunchPad is not for you. :-)
How do I get it?
Prerequisites
- Windows XP or later
- Microsoft Excel
Installation
- Head on over to the Releases page and download the latest zip file. (Download the file named:
ExcelLaunchPad.zip
. You do not need any of the files that say "Source code.") - Extract the zip file to any location you desire on your local computer.
- Go to the folder where you extracted all the files, find
ExcelLaunchPadInstaller.exe
, and double click it. You'll be presented with a window like the one below.- NOTE: Admin rights are required. Depending on your account permissions, you may be presented with a UAC dialog (see below) and/or asked to enter an administrator's password.
- Press
1
to install.- NOTE: If you do not already have .NET 4.5.2 installed, you will be prompted to download and install it. It's a pretty painless process and shouldn't require a restart.
That's it!
If - after you install - you decide to move Excel LaunchPad files to another location on your computer, no problem, but remember you must re-run the installer, otherwise LaunchPad will stop working.
Click Yes Here...
Click Yes Here Too...
Press 1 To Install Or 2 To Remove...
How to Uninstall
- Go to the folder where
ExcelLaunchPadInstaller.exe
lives. Double click it. - Press
2
. - That's it! Excel LaunchPad is uninstalled. You may now delete all the files in the folder.
Feedback? Bugs?
Please open an issue! I'll respond when I can.