Hi there peeps.

I have searched the Internet extensively for a kludge and am close to believing that it is not possible but...

Can Excel be duped into behaving in a SDI manner?

The reason that I ask is to be able to avoid the following situation:

1. I create a workbook but do not save it.
2. I get an e-mail with an xls attachment
3. I open, read and want to close the attachment
4. I click the big X (Its natural behaviour... this works in Word)
5. Excel prompts me about saving some workbook
THIS IS THE DANGEROUS BIT...
Excel is talking about my original workbook
But the damnable software does not bring the workbook
that it is talking about to the front
6. Thinking that Excel is moaning about changes to the attachment,
partly because Excel asks this question all the time, even when
changes have not been made, I click "No"
7. All Excel closes, losing me my work.

I hasten to add that this does not happen to me (OK, it did happen once) but I have two or three users to whom this repeatedly happens... and I have to agree with their frustration...

Is there anything that I can do?

I've tried the "ignore other applications" checkbox - although all this serves to do is stop Excel listening to Windows DDI calls, so it won't open any spreadsheets from Explorer, IE, Outlook, etc...

I've also looked at the "Windows in taskbar" option, which does not help in the slightest.

By default, I have "group similar taskbar items" off in Windows (XP Pro SP2).

I have tried kludging the XLS file association entries in Win Explorer but this serves to muck up the file associations and requires an Excel /unregserver /regserver combo...

So, I have tried turning the "ignore other applications" on and then trying to get Excel to open by adding a %1 to the end of the registry entry that is behind the XLS File association (editing the registry entry does not seem to upset the association where editing the entry from tools options in Windows Explorer does)

However, nothing seems to work... the "ignore other applications" does open separate instances of Excel (but empty ones)...

And I KNOW it is possible because opening multiple instances of Excel and using File Open works... so what can I do to trick Excel? Is there a way of changing the interfering with Excel spotting that it already has an instance open? Is there a way to encourage Excel to open a dbl-clicked XLS file with the "ignore other apps" on? Is there a way of writing an autoexec macro that asks whether this instance has two workbooks open and, if so, closes the second and opens that book in a new instance?

Surely there must be something cunning that can be done?

Please, somebody help me!!!

Thanks,
Andy