I was working on a file when I suddenly hit something that closed the file.
When I reopened, there were two versions of the same data -- One with the
file name plus the extension :1 and the other :2. If I close one, the other
closes. If I try to save one file to another file name, I still get two
versions with :1 and :2 in the new file name when I open that file. Only one
file name (without the :1 or :2 extension) shows up on my directory. What
have I done? How can I go back to having only one version of the file?

(I've been using Excel for years and never had this problem. I could find
nothing about it in the Help menu. Any guidance will be appreciated!)

It's actually two different windows or views into the same workbook.

Select the window you don't want and hit ctrl-w.

Then save the workbook--or you'll be doing it again.

Debra Dalgleish has some instructions with pictures:
http://contextures.com/xlfaqApp.html#TwoWindows

mevansva wrote:

I was working on a file when I suddenly hit something that closed the file.
When I reopened, there were two versions of the same data -- One with the
file name plus the extension :1 and the other :2. If I close one, the other
closes. If I try to save one file to another file name, I still get two
versions with :1 and :2 in the new file name when I open that file. Only one
file name (without the :1 or :2 extension) shows up on my directory. What
have I done? How can I go back to having only one version of the file?

(I've been using Excel for years and never had this problem. I could find
nothing about it in the Help menu. Any guidance will be appreciated!)

--

Dave Peterson

You inadvertantly created a new window and not have two active windows.

Select one of the windows and close it by hitting the "x".

Save the file with the one remaining window.


Gord Dibben MS Excel MVP

On Sun, 13 Aug 2006 09:15:01 -0700, mevansva
wrote:

I was working on a file when I suddenly hit something that closed the file.
When I reopened, there were two versions of the same data -- One with the
file name plus the extension :1 and the other :2. If I close one, the other
closes. If I try to save one file to another file name, I still get two
versions with :1 and :2 in the new file name when I open that file. Only one
file name (without the :1 or :2 extension) shows up on my directory. What
have I done? How can I go back to having only one version of the file?

(I've been using Excel for years and never had this problem. I could find
nothing about it in the Help menu. Any guidance will be appreciated!)

Ps this kind of thing can be very useful when you want to see two different
worksheets of the same workbook -- or even two different areas of the same sheet
at the same time.

Window|New Window
and
Window|Arrange|Horizontal (or vertical)

may come in handy some day.

mevansva wrote:

I was working on a file when I suddenly hit something that closed the file.
When I reopened, there were two versions of the same data -- One with the
file name plus the extension :1 and the other :2. If I close one, the other
closes. If I try to save one file to another file name, I still get two
versions with :1 and :2 in the new file name when I open that file. Only one
file name (without the :1 or :2 extension) shows up on my directory. What
have I done? How can I go back to having only one version of the file?

(I've been using Excel for years and never had this problem. I could find
nothing about it in the Help menu. Any guidance will be appreciated!)

--

Dave Peterson