View Two Excel Sheets Side by Side

To view sheets side by side in Excel, you need two windows, because one window can only show one sheet at a time. Go to View > New Window to open a second window of the same file, then click View Side by Side and choose a different sheet tab in each window. This guide shows the steps on Windows and Mac, how to scroll both sheets together, and how to compare them with a formula when your eyes aren't enough.

Why can't I see two sheets at once?#

Each Excel window shows one worksheet. Clicking another tab swaps the sheet in that window instead of adding a second view. So the trick is to open the same workbook in two windows. Both windows are live views of one file: a change in one appears in the other straight away, and you still save only one file.

If the difference between a workbook and a worksheet is fuzzy, the guide to workbook vs worksheet explains it in a minute.

How to view two sheets of the same workbook side by side#

These steps work in the desktop version of Excel for Windows, including Microsoft 365:

1. Open the workbook.
2. Go to the View tab and click New Window (keyboard: Alt, W, N). A second window opens. Its title bar shows the file name with - 2 or :2 at the end, depending on your version.
3. On the View tab, click View Side by Side. Excel places the two windows next to each other.
4. Click into the first window and select one sheet tab, such as Store. Click into the second window and select another, such as System.

Now you can read both sheets at the same time. You can also open three or more windows of the same file the same way.

How to put the windows left and right#

View Side by Side often stacks the windows one above the other. For two tall lists, left and right is easier to read:

1. On the View tab, click Arrange All (keyboard: Alt, W, A).
2. Choose Vertical.
3. Tick Windows of active workbook if other files are open and you only want this one's windows.
4. Click OK.

If you drag a window to a new size, click Reset Window Position on the View tab to make them equal again.

How to compare two different workbooks side by side#

Two separate files work the same way, minus the New Window step:

1. Open both workbooks.
2. In either one, click View > View Side by Side.
3. If more than two workbooks are open, Excel asks which one to compare with. Pick it and click OK.

To move between the open windows from the keyboard, press Ctrl+F6 on Windows, or ⌘` (Command and the backtick key) on a Mac.

How to scroll both sheets together#

When View Side by Side is on, Synchronous Scrolling on the View tab is usually switched on too. Scrolling down in one window scrolls the other by the same number of rows, which keeps row 50 next to row 50 while you check two lists line by line.

Click Synchronous Scrolling to turn it off when the sheets don't line up, for example when one list has a few extra rows at the top. Scroll each window to the matching row, then turn it back on.

Freeze the header row in each window first, so the column names stay visible as you scroll. The guide to freezing panes in Excel shows how.

How to view sheets side by side on a Mac#

On a Mac, the window commands are in the Window menu at the top of the screen:

1. Click Window > New Window to open a second window of the same workbook.
2. Select a different sheet tab in each window.
3. Click Window > Arrange, choose Vertical, and click OK. You can also drag the two windows next to each other yourself.

Menu names can vary slightly between Mac versions. If you can't find Arrange, place the windows yourself or use the Mac's own window tiling.

Closing the extra window#

When you are done, click View Side by Side again to turn it off, then close the extra window with its X button or Ctrl+W (Mac: ⌘W). Closing one window doesn't close the workbook while another window of it is still open.

Close the extra window before you save. If you save with two windows open, Excel remembers that and opens the file in two windows next time, which can confuse colleagues.

How to compare the two sheets with a formula#

Looking side by side is fine for a few rows. For a long list, let a formula find the differences. A formula can read another sheet by putting the sheet name and an exclamation mark before the cell:

=Store!B2-System!B2

This returns 0 when the counts match and the gap when they don't. To label each row, use =IF(Store!B2=System!B2,"Match","Check"). To count all the mismatches at once, compare the two ranges row by row:

=SUMPRODUCT(--(Store!B2:B7<>System!B2:B7))

Each comparison returns TRUE or FALSE. The double minus -- turns them into 1 and 0, and SUMPRODUCT adds them up. With Plates at 120 vs 118 and Jugs at 15 vs 12, the result is 2. The guide to referencing another sheet covers sheet names with spaces, which need single quotes: ='Stock Count'!B2.

Side by side windows are different from Split, which shows two parts of the same sheet in one window. The comparison of freeze panes vs split explains when each one helps, and the shortcuts for switching sheets are faster when you only need to flick between tabs.

Practise it#

Comparing sheets gets much easier once you can write cross-sheet formulas without thinking. Practise worksheets and cross-sheet references in a live spreadsheet: you switch tabs, write formulas like Prices!B3 and total across sheets, and each step is checked instantly. Or try the mismatch-count exercise on this page first.