Summary: Here is a step-by-step guide with methods to resolve ‘Hyperlinks not working in Excel’ issue. If nothing works, try using Stellar Repair for Excel software to recover your workbook with hyperlinks and all the data intact.
You must have come across the proverbial advice — “Do not put all your eggs in one basket”. Well, this advice doesn’t just apply to financial savings, but is also relevant to data, for which it translates like this — don’t store all your data in a single large database but instead maintain smaller databases that are easier to manage and don’t get corrupt.
This guiding principle has gained more relevance to the growing rate of data generation and reliance on software tools like Microsoft Excel to process the data.
However, users generally ignore this guiding principle and tend to stack the huge amount of information in a single Excel workbook.
Such data-heavy Excel workbooks have significant chances of corruption, with hyperlinks among the first elements that get affected. As a result, Excel hyperlinks do not work anymore, which affects the overall information sanity and user experience.
Suppose you’re managing the Sales records in an Excel workbook that has a variety of data associated with the final raw data. For instance, data related to regional monthly sales, monthly performance of individual team members and their incentives.
The problem arises when you implement hyperlinks to the classified sheets to assess employee performance and the hyperlinks don’t open. Many a time, this issue may crop up due to Workbook corruption, either due to storing a vast amount of data or abrupt Workbook shutdown.
Causes of ‘hyperlinks not working in Excel’ problem, and solutions thereof
This blog post presents a few common causes of this problem along with the methods to fix them
Cause 1 – Changes in the hyperlinked worksheet file name
Have you renamed the worksheets that are linked through the hyperlinks? If you have renamed the target worksheets, the hyperlinks will not work, as expected.
Solution
- Recreate the hyperlinks again to target the renamed worksheet.
- Use correct address as available in the current worksheet.
The whole process may be tedious but better than the situation where you are unable to open the Excel Hyperlinks.
Cause 2 – Abrupt shutdown and worksheet file closure
The hyperlinks and other data in a worksheet may present discrepancy in case of a sudden system shutdown, without proper saving and closure of the file. There is an inbuilt option in Excel to update Hyperlinks every time the workbook is saved. If these links are updated every time the workbook is saved, chances of the hyperlinks not working is increased.
Solution
Follow these steps to reinstate the Excel hyperlinks:
If you are using Excel 2013, 2016, or 2019:
- Open Excel Workbook ->Go to File->Options->Advanced
- Scroll down to find the General tab and click on Web Options
- Web Options Window pops-up
- On Web Options, pop-up, Click on Files and Uncheck the box for “Update Links on save”
- Click OKbutton and your option is saved
The steps are also explained in the image below:
Uncheck the option to save Hyperlinks
If you are using Excel 2007, click the Office button->Excel Options and follow:
Step 1) to Step 5), as mentioned above and get the Excel Hyperlinks to work again.
Hopefully, you have got the Hyperlinks working now!
Still unable to open hyperlink in Excel?
There may be chances of the Excel hyperlinks not working even after troubleshooting. For all such cases, it is recommended to download and install the Stellar Repair for Excel tool.
See the working of Software here:
This tool offers excellent utility to repair Excel workbooks and troubleshoot the hyperlinks problem. The software works with all Microsoft Excel 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007, 2003, and 2000.
Stellar Repair for Excel comes up with 100% integrity and precision.
It recovers all components of the excel file including tables, charts, chart sheets, cell comments, images, formulas, and more. You can repair multiple worksheets and fix ALL dysfunctional Excel hyperlinks across multiple worksheets in a single workbook. Click on the workbook, select all worksheets and start repairing
You would also like to read MVP Review: Microsoft Excel File Repair Software
Easy, Fast and Hassle-free Solution
Troubleshooting for “Excel Hyperlinks not working” doesn’t involve much time but there is a possibility that what you get is not as expected, meaning the hyperlinks are not repaired. Stellar Repair for Excel lets you perform Hyperlink repair, scan and save the result in all new Excel file, without interfering with worksheet properties and cell formatting.
Is this Working on Windows 10?
Hi Alan, yes these solutions and our software Stellar Repair for Excel are compatible with window 10.
You actually make it seem so easy together with your presentation. I’m having a look forward to your subsequent publish, I will try to
get the hang of it!
Hi, Ramen thank you so much for your feedback. keep reading and learning.
IF still crashing after this steps
please look into C:\Users\User_Name\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Excel (replace user name with your user name, you can directly reach here by copy and pasting following without quotes in Explorer address bar – “%appdata%\Microsoft\Excel”) and see if is contains few files / folders. Move those files to some other location (i.e create a backup of those files / folders and delete all files / folders from here). Hence, make Excel folder blank.
Now open Excel and see if the problem disappears or not…
Worked for me!
Hope, it wouldn’t happen again.
For anyone who’s tried everything, almost literally, and nothing worked, here’s a solution:
Install Internet Explorer. Yes, as stupid as it may be, it was the only thing that worked for me after weeks trying to solve this.
On Windows 10, go to settings, apps, manage optional functionalities, click Internet Explorer 11 and install.
That’s it, instantly every hyperlink worked for me, either withing document, to others, or even browser links.
Thanks for sharing your creative findings with our blog readers.
Now, my Excel hyperlinks are working. Thank YOU!
As per the above method, I have done but not getting the desired outcome.
Can I get any other options?
Please make sure that all steps implemented without a single error. If still, you are unable to find the root cause then try Stellar Repair for Excel.
So how do you explain the situation where if I click the link in Excel for SOME websites, it either won’t open (or in some cases takes me to a DIFFERENT URL which states “You may need to update your browser. I don’t.) , but if I copy and paste the cell contents into the browser it WILL take me to the correct location?
If you still unable to fix this one error after implementing several troubleshooting tips, then go for Stellar Repair for Excel. You can start with its free demo.
Well for me, some links open and some won’t. But those that don’t have the correct hyperlink … I checked after trying to edit them. And when i copy them and paste them into the browser they open immediately. Some links open directly from Excel to Chrome.
I don’t understand what the issue is. Any feedback/solution to the problem will be highly appreciated.
Regards,
RNB
Don’t worry Ravi, this happens sometimes but you can go for Stellar Repair for Excel. This will solve your problem. You can start with our demo version.
Now, it’s running fine and no more pop-up of error message. It took only 15 minutes to make the Excel Hyperlinks functional.
Good Efforts!
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