"Pete A" wrote in message On Wednesday, May 6, 2020 at
4:39:36 AM UTC-7, Peter T wrote:
"Pete A" wrote in message

All that, but if I could go back to 2010 and have all the other
improvements made
since then...I would in a minute.
MS only dumped MDI because it was HARD to maintain.

I didn't like the move to SDI either but not sure why you say they dumped
it
because MDI is harder to maintain, I'd have thought the opposite.

The main reason given when 2013 was in development was to cater for the
increasing number of business users with multiple monitors. With MDI not
impossible but effectively not viable without using multiple instances,
but
easy with SDI.
Interesting...


The main reason given when 2013 was in development was to cater for the
increasing number of business users with multiple monitors.
PA: Just to be sure my memory isn't faulty, This morning, I opened multiple
instances of 2010 excel. I use 4 monitors. Each instance can be on any
monitor,

PT Exactly, with MDI need to use a separate instance for each monitor. OK,
with careful manipulation and time you can stretch a single instance
containing two non-max'd windows accross two monitors with a window sort of
occupying each, and the toolbar stretching accross both, I developed some
code to help do just that but not ideal, particularly if the monitors are
not same aspect ratio, size and res.

With SDI you with one instance you can easily place a different workbook in
each monitor with its own ribbon, or multple windows of the same workbook or
even different views of the same sheet in each monitor also with its own
ribbon. And this with all the normal advantages of everything in the same
single instance.

PA The ONLY difference that I can see is that with SDI versions you lose the
ability to share the menu bar (1 instance) with as many open workbooks (n
instances) in a single EXCEL window. This wastes screen real estate,
although you can obviously hide the menu apparatus, but not the rest of the
screen stuff. With MDI I often ran 3 or 4 instances of Excel, each with more
than one workbook open in it.

PT I agree about real estate and there's much else too I prefer about MDI.
However for most most people for most of the time typically it's best to
work with a single instance, and additional instances only for special
needs.

It is easy of course to open multiple instances in 2013 and later for such
needs - right click the Excel icon on the toolbar, hold Alt and click
"Excel", and accept the prompt to open a new instance.

PA Those who started with 2013 or later SDI versions may not easily grasp
the effect of limiting one file or worksheet to one instance of excel.
Reminds me a bit of the arguments about going from DOS to Windows...only in
reverse.

"With MDI not impossible but effectively not viable without using
multiple instances, but easy with SDI."
PA Not sure what you mean. With SDI you can ONLY use multiple instances of
excel. You CANNOT share an instance with multiple workbooks/worksheets open
in that instance as was natural with MDI. Running multiple instances was
the most common way to deal with interlocking workbooks/worksheets, or fast
switching between multiple open worksheets under VBA control. We can only
dream of that world now.

PT I think you misunderstand, SDI means "single document interface", same as
Word has always been. Unless you use the method I described above multiple
workbooks open in the same instance. You can control all workbooks and
windows with code in a single workbook or addin, just as you could with MDI,
but see below.

PA I can't remember who it was, but a Microsoftie told me that the new
programmers they hired had a tough time with MDI and kept screwing up.so
someone decided to "fix" that problem by "simplifying" excel ("dumbing
down?").

PT I can't think of anything programming wise that became easier with the
introduction of SDI. Quite the reverse, SDI introduced a number of issues
for programmers requiring workarounds, particularly anything to do with
windows.

PA Again, IMHO the MDI had NOTHING to do with use on multiple monitors.

PT OK that's an opinion, but what I mentioned about monitors was direct from
the Excel team at the time.

Peter T