You certainly will get more room using one maximized instance of Excel than
with two. However to do what you want you have to edit the XLS file
associations in Windows Explorer to remove "use DDE". (Tools, Folder
Options, File Types, XLS, Advanced, Open).

--
Jim
"Laura" wrote in message
...
| How do I cause a new instance of Excel to be launched when I open a .xls
| file? Every time I open a .xls file it is contained in the same
application
| instance and I want to compare the files and need room to do that. I
tried
| opening separate windows within the application but I really need more
room
| to do this.
| Thanks.