Splitting Your Spreadsheet Window Into Panes

You already know that Excel allows you to open multiple spreadsheets at the same time. You can also, however, divide a spreadsheet window into panes (as Microsoft calls them). These panes can be used to view two or four different parts of the same spreadsheet. You can split the worksheet both horizontally and vertically.

To divide a spreadsheet window into panes, you use the divider bar. There are two divider bars. The first is located in the upper-right corner of the spreadsheet window, just above the vertical scroll bar. The second is located in the bottom-right corner of the spreadsheet window, just to the right of the horizontal scroll bar.

When you position the mouse pointer over a divider bar, it changes to a different type of pointer. Click on the divider bar and drag it to where you want the spreadsheet window divided. If you want to divide the spreadsheet window in half (either vertically or horizontally), you can simply double-click on the divider bar.

Another way to divide the worksheet into panes is to choose the Split option from the Window menu. This divides the worksheet into four panes.