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How to Remove External Links in Excel?

If you want to keep your Excel worksheets organized and up-to-date, it’s important to know how to remove external links. External links are connections to other worksheets and workbooks that can cause problems if not managed properly. Thankfully, Excel makes it easy to find and delete any external links that might be causing issues. In this article, we’ll go over how to remove external links in Excel and make sure your worksheets are always running smoothly.

How to Remove External Links in Excel?

Removing External Links in Excel

Removing external links in Excel is a straightforward process that can be done quickly and easily. External links are links that are created to other workbooks or documents, and they can be used to reference data from other sources. By removing external links, you can ensure that your data is up-to-date and accurate. In this article, we will explain how to remove external links in Excel.

Identifying External Links

The first step in removing external links is to identify any links that may be present. To do this, go to the Data tab in the ribbon and click on the Edit Links button. This will open the Edit Links dialogue box, which will show you any external links that are present. If there are no external links, the dialogue box will state that no external links are present.

Removing External Links

Once you have identified any external links present, you can remove them by clicking the Break Link button. This will remove the link and any associated data will no longer be available. If you need to keep the data, you can click the Change Source button to update the link with the new source.

Updating Links

If you need to update the link to a new source, you can do so by clicking the Change Source button. This will open the Change Source dialogue box, which will allow you to select the new source for the link. Once you have selected the new source, click the OK button to save the changes.

Preventing Links from Being Updated

If you want to prevent the link from being updated in the future, you can do so by clicking the Options button. This will open the Options dialogue box, which will allow you to uncheck the “Update automatic links at open” option. This will prevent the link from being updated when the workbook is opened.

Conclusion

Removing external links in Excel is a simple process that can be completed in just a few steps. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can ensure that your data is up-to-date and accurate.

Top 6 Frequently Asked Questions

How to remove external links in Excel?

Answer: Removing external links in Excel is a relatively straightforward process. First, open the Excel file you want to edit. Then, select the cell or cells which contain the external link. Right-click the selected cell and select ‘Edit Hyperlink’. This will open the Hyperlink dialog box. Click on the ‘Remove Link’ button, then click ‘OK’. This will remove the external link from the cell.

How to remove multiple external links in Excel?

Answer: To remove multiple external links in Excel, first select the cell or cells which contain the external links. Then, right-click the selected cell and select ‘Edit Hyperlink’. This will open the Hyperlink dialog box. Click on the ‘Remove Link’ button, then click ‘OK’. This will remove the external links from the selected cells. You can then repeat this process for any remaining external links.

How to remove an external link from an entire worksheet in Excel?

Answer: To remove external links from an entire Excel worksheet, first select the entire worksheet. Then, right-click the selected worksheet and select ‘Edit Hyperlink’. This will open the Hyperlink dialog box. Click on the ‘Remove Link’ button, then click ‘OK’. This will remove all external links from the worksheet.

How to prevent Excel from creating external links?

Answer: To prevent Excel from creating external links, open the Excel file you want to edit and then select the cell or cells you want to protect. Right-click the selected cell and select ‘Format Cells’. This will open the Format Cells dialog box. Click on the Protection tab, then check the box next to ‘Locked’. Finally, click ‘OK’. This will prevent Excel from creating external links in the selected cell.

How to delete an external link in Excel without deleting the data?

Answer: To delete an external link in Excel without deleting the data, first open the Excel file you want to edit. Then, select the cell or cells which contain the external link. Right-click the selected cell and select ‘Edit Hyperlink’. This will open the Hyperlink dialog box. Click on the ‘Remove Link’ button, then click ‘OK’. This will remove the external link from the cell without deleting the data.

How to find and delete external links in Excel?

Answer: To find and delete external links in Excel, first open the Excel file you want to edit. Then, select the cell or cells you want to search. Right-click the selected cell and select ‘Find and Replace’. This will open the Find and Replace dialog box. In the ‘Find What’ field, type ‘#REF!’. This will search for any external links in the selected cells. Then, click ‘Replace All’. This will replace all external links with ‘#REF!’. Finally, right-click the selected cell and select ‘Edit Hyperlink’. This will open the Hyperlink dialog box. Click on the ‘Remove Link’ button, then click ‘OK’. This will delete all external links from the selected cells.

Removing external links from your Excel sheet can be a tricky process, but with some practice, it can become second nature. By understanding the different types of external links, you can make sure you’re only linking to the necessary data and no more. With the right steps and tools, you can remove any external links from your Excel sheet and keep your data secure.