Can You Use Hyperlinks in an Excel Spreadsheet?

Besides tallying data and performing a breathtaking range of mathematical and analytical functions, Excel lets you insert hyperlinks for a variety of address types. Simply copying a URL from a browser's address bar will result in hyperlinked text in a spreadsheet, but you can also use an Excel dialog to hyperlink any data manually.

Website URL Link

Excel automatically creates hyperlinks for cells that appear to be website URLs. If you enter a text string beginning with "http://", "https://", "www." or even "ftp://", Excel changes the formatting to blue underline and creates the appropriate link. Click on the link and it opens in your default browser.

Editing Hyperlinks

You can edit both the link and the display text for your hyperlinks. Right-click on the automatically linked cell -- or on a cell with no link, just data -- and choose either "Edit Hyperlink" for already linked data or "Hyperlink" for data not yet linked. Fill in or edit the "Text to Display" field as you link and the "Address" field with the correct hyperlink, including "http://", "https://" or "ftp://", depending on which is appropriate.

Email Link

If you type something that looks like an email address -- [e-mail], for example -- Excel creates a "mailto:" link. Click on the link and a new email opens in your default email client pre-addressed to that recipient. You can even pre-populate the subject line for the link by right-clicking on the linked text and choosing "Edit Hyperlink." There's a fill-in field in the resulting dialog box marked "Subject."

Network Link

Although Excel gives users the option of automatically creating links for file paths, in practice it can be shaky. You may need to insert a link to a local or network path manually. The "Edit Hyperlink" dialog works for this much as it does for URL and email links; simply insert a full file path such as "C:\Users\YourName\Documents\" or "G:\Company Files\Widget Project" and clicking on the resulting link will open a Windows Explorer window to that location.

Turning Off Linking

Not everyone wants every possible hyperlink inserted. If you generally prefer the automatic linking but occasionally need to remove a link, right-click on the linked cell and choose "Remove Hyperlink." To change the default behavior, the setting is in "Excel Options" under "Proofing." You'll find it in "AutoCorrect" on the "AutoFormat As You Type" tab marked "Replace as you type: Internet and Network Paths with Hyperlinks."