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For quick access to related information in another file or on a web page, you can insert a hyperlink in a worksheet cell. You can also insert links in specific chart elements. 

Note: Most of the screen shots in this article were taken in Excel 2016. If you have a different version your view might be slightly different, but unless otherwise noted, the functionality is the same.

  1. On a worksheet, click the cell where you want to create a link.

    You can also select an object, such as a picture or an element in a chart, that you want to use to represent the link.

    • Go to Insert > Link.

    You can also right-click the cell or graphic and then select Link on the shortcut menu, or you can press Ctrl+K.

  2. Under Link to, click Create New Document.

  3. In the Name of new document box, type a name for the new file.

    Tip: To specify a location other than the one shown under Full path, you can type the new location preceding the name in the Name of new document box, or you can click Change to select the location that you want and then click OK.

  4. Under When to edit, click Edit the new document later or Edit the new document now to specify when you want to open the new file for editing.

  5. In the Text to display box, type the text that you want to use to represent the link.

  6. To display helpful information when you rest the pointer on the link, click ScreenTip, type the text that you want in the ScreenTip text box, and then click OK.

  1. On a worksheet, click the cell where you want to create a link.

    You can also select an object, such as a picture or an element in a chart, that you want to use to represent the link.

    • Go to Insert > Link.

    You can also right-click the cell or object and then select Link on the shortcut menu, or you can press Ctrl+K.

  2. Under Link to, select Existing File or Web Page.

  3. Do one of the following:

    • To select a file, select Current Folder, and then select the file that you want to link to.

      You can change the current folder by selecting a different folder in the Look in list.

    • To select a web page, select Browsed Pages and then select the web page that you want to link to.

    • To select a file that you recently used, select Recent Files, and then select the file that you want to link to.

    • To enter the name and location of a known file or web page that you want to link to, type that information in the Address box.

    • To locate a web page, select Browse the Web Browse the Web button, open the web page that you want to link to, and then switch back to Excel without closing your browser.

  4. If you want to create a link to a specific location in the file or on the web page, select Bookmark, and then double-click the bookmark that you want.

    Note: The file or web page that you are linking to must have a bookmark.

  5. In the Text to display box, type the text that you want to use to represent the link.

  6. To display helpful information when you rest the pointer on the link, select ScreenTip, type the text that you want in the ScreenTip text box, and then select OK.

To link to a location in the current workbook or another workbook, you can either define a name for the destination cells or use a cell reference.

  1. To use a name, you must name the destination cells in the destination workbook.

    How to name a cell or a range of cells

    1. Select the cell, range of cells, or nonadjacent selections that you want to name.

    2. Click the Name box at the left end of the formula bar Button image.

      Example of Name box

      Button image Name box

    3. In the Name box, type the name for the cells, and then press Enter.

      Note: Names can't contain spaces and must begin with a letter.

  2. On a worksheet of the source workbook, click the cell where you want to create a link.

    You can also select an object, such as a picture or an element in a chart, that you want to use to represent the link.

    • Go to Insert > Link.

    You can also right-click the cell or object and then select Link on the shortcut menu, or you can press Ctrl+K.

  3. Under Link to, do one of the following:

    • To link to a location in your current workbook, select Place in This Document.

    • To link to a location in another workbook, select Existing File or Web Page, locate and select the workbook that you want to link to, and then select Bookmark.

  4. Do one of the following:

    • In the Or select a place in this document box, under Cell Reference, click the worksheet that you want to link to, type the cell reference in the Type in the cell reference box, and then select OK.

    • In the list under Defined Names, select the name that represents the cells that you want to link to, and then select OK.

  5. In the Text to display box, type the text that you want to use to represent the link.

  6. To display helpful information when you rest the pointer on the link, select ScreenTip, type the text that you want in the ScreenTip text box, and then select OK.

When you click a link to an email address, your email program automatically starts and creates an email message with the correct address in the To box, provided that you have an email program installed.

  1. On a worksheet, click the cell where you want to create a link.

    You can also select an object, such as a picture or an element in a chart, that you want to use to represent the link.

    • Go to Insert > Link.

    You can also right-click the cell or object and then select Link on the shortcut menu, or you can press Ctrl+K.

  2. Under Link to, select E-mail Address.

  3. In the E-mail address box, type the email address that you want.

  4. In the Subject box, type the subject of the email message.

    Note: Some web browsers and email programs won't recognize the subject line.

  5. In the Text to display box, type the text that you want to use to represent the link.

  6. To display helpful information when you rest the pointer on the link, select ScreenTip, type the text that you want in the ScreenTip text box, and then select OK.

    You can also create a link to an email address in a cell by typing the address directly in the cell. For example, a link is created automatically when you type an email address, such as someone@example.com.

By default, unspecified paths to hyperlink destination files are relative to the location of the active workbook. Use this procedure when you want to set a different default path. Each time that you create a link to a file in that location, you only have to specify the file name, not the path, in the Insert Hyperlink dialog box.

  1. Click the File tab.

  2. Click Info.Click Properties, and then select Advanced Properties.Advanced Properties

  3. In the Summary tab, in the Hyperlink base text box, type the path that you want to use.

Note: You can override the link base address by using the full, or absolute, address for the link in the Insert Hyperlink dialog box.

A link opens another page or file when you click it. The destination is frequently another web page, but it can also be a picture, an email address, or a program. The link itself can be text or a picture.

When a site user clicks the link, the destination is shown in a Web browser, opened, or run, depending on the type of destination. For example, a link to a page shows the page in the web browser, and a link to an AVI file opens the file in a media player.

How links are used

You can use links to do the following:

  • Navigate to a file or web page on a network, intranet, or Internet

  • Navigate to a file or web page that you plan to create in the future

  • Send an email message

  • Start a file transfer, such as downloading or an FTP process

When you point to text or a picture that contains a link, the pointer becomes a hand Pointer in the shape of a hand, indicating that the text or picture is something that you can click.

What a URL is and how it works

When you create a link, its destination is encoded as a Uniform Resource Locator (URL), such as:

http://example.microsoft.com/news.htm

file://ComputerName/SharedFolder/FileName.htm

A URL contains a protocol, such as HTTP, FTP, or FILE, a Web server or network location, and a path and file name. The following illustration defines the parts of the URL:

The four components of a URL

1. Protocol used (http, ftp, file)

2. Web server or network location

3. Path

4. File name

Absolute and relative links

An absolute URL contains a full address, including the protocol, the Web server, the path, and file name.

A relative URL has one or more missing parts. The missing information is taken from the page that contains the URL. For example, if the protocol and web server are missing, the web browser uses the protocol and domain, such as .com, .org, or .edu, of the current page.

It is common for pages on the web to use relative URLs that contain only a partial path and file name. If the files are moved to another server, any links will continue to work as long as the relative positions of the pages remain unchanged. For example, a link on Products.htm points to a page named apple.htm in a folder named Food; if both pages are moved to a folder named Food on a different server, the URL in the link will still be correct.

In an Excel workbook, unspecified paths to link destination files are by default relative to the location of the active workbook. You can set a different base address to use by default so that each time that you create a link to a file in that location, you only have to specify the file name, not the path, in the Insert Hyperlink dialog box.

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See Also

Remove or turn off links

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