4 Effective Ways to Fix Broken Hyperlinks in Excel

When using Excel or Word, you might make use of hyperlinks. These refer to the location of a file on your computer or within the same worksheet. They can also be a reference to a URL, which allows you to access a website. However, some users have reported that hyperlinks in Excel don't work and they receive an error message that says:

The specified file couldn't be opened

If you're a victim of the "Excel links not working" error, this article has got you covered. It covers everything related to this issue, and you might find your solution here.

Please provide the English content you would like translated, and I will do my best to translate it into Chinese.

How to Fix Broken Hyperlinks in Excel on Windows 11/10

Have you encountered any of these issues? If you're unable to open a specified file due to an Excel hyperlink error, follow the solutions below to fix the problem with unworkable hyperlinks in Excel.

Method 1: Repair Corrupted Excel File to Fix Hyperlink Error

If the Excel file is corrupted or damaged, you might encounter this issue. Repairing the corrupted file can help resolve the problem. Fixo Document Repair Tool is an all-in-one data and file repair software that can assist in such situations.

This Excel repair tool boasts many great features:

- Repairs corrupted Excel files in various scenarios, such as when Excel fails to open the file, Excel runtime error, Excel getting stuck while opening a file, and more. - Supports repairing Excel files with the .xlsm, .xlsx, .xltm, and .xltx formats. - Recovers all data from corrupted Excel files, including tables, formulas, images, hyperlinks, and more. - Allows repairing multiple corrupted Excel files at once.

Download this professional file repair tool, and then follow the steps below to fix your Excel file on Windows 11/10/8/7.

Step 1: Download and run Fixo on your computer or laptop. Choose "File Repair" to fix corrupted Office documents, including Word, Excel, PDF, and more. Click "Add File" to select the damaged document.

Step 2. Click the “Repair All” button to fix multiple files at once. To repair a single document, hover over the target file and click “Repair.” You can also preview the document by clicking on the eye icon.

Select the document to repair

Step 3: Click “Save” to save the selected documents. Choose “Save All” to save all repaired files. Select “View Repaired Files” to locate the folder with the repaired files.

After repairing the Excel file, click the hyperlink to see if the issue is resolved.

Method 2: Link to the Renamed File's Location

If you've moved or renamed the file, you might see this error – can't open the specified file. The quickest way to fix this is to edit the link again.

Step 1: Copy the address of the new file in the File Explorer.

Step 2: Open Excel, and then right-click the hyperlink.

Step 3: Select “Edit Hyperlink” from the menu.

Step 4. In the Address Bar, type the name of the renamed file and click OK.

After that, try opening the Excel file to see if the error persists.

Method 3: Rename the File and Remove the Hash Symbol

If the filename contains the "#" symbol, remove it and edit the hyperlink. To open and rename a file that includes a "#" symbol, follow these steps:

Step 1: Right-click the hyperlink that isn't working, and click Edit Hyperlink.

Step 2: In the Address box, type or paste the address of the file you want to link to.

Step 3: Navigate to where the file is saved, right-click on it, and select "Rename."

Step 4. Remove the “#” character from the filename.

Step 5: Back in the Excel file, right-click on the query link and select “Edit Hyperlink.”

Step 6: Browse and select the renamed file. Click "OK."

If you're having problems with hyperlinks in PowerPoint, you might also be interested in this article:

How to Fix PowerPoint Hyperlink Not Working [4 Simple Solutions]

This article will introduce you to four workable and effective solutions to help you resolve this annoying error.

Method 4: Disable the “Update links on save” option

If the issue persists, you can try disabling the "Update links on save" option. Here's how to disable the "Update links on save" feature in MS Excel. (This applies to Excel 2013, 2016, or 2019.) 1. Open your Excel spreadsheet. 2. Click on the "File" tab in the top-left corner of the screen. 3. In the File menu, select "Options" at the bottom. 4. In the Excel Options window that opens, click on "Advanced" in the left-hand pane. 5. Scroll down until you find the "General" section. 6. Under the "General" section, uncheck the box next to "Update links on save." 7. Click "OK" to apply the changes and close the Excel Options window. Now, when you save your Excel file, it should no longer update the links automatically.

Step 1: Open Excel, click "File" > "Options" > "Advanced."

Step 2. Scroll down and select the “General” tab, then choose “Web Pages.”

Step 3: With the Web Options dialog box open, click on the File tab and uncheck the box for Update links on save.

Step 4: Click “OK” to save your changes.

If the above solutions don't resolve your issue, feel free to reach out to our experts for further assistance. They will help you get your Excel hyperlinks functioning properly.

Possible Reasons for Hyperlinks Not Working in Excel

There are typically four main reasons why Excel might not be working correctly on Windows 10. Here's a list of the main culprits:

• The file name contains a hashtag (#) symbol.
• The Excel file is corrupted or Excel keeps crashing.
• The name of the hyperlinked file has been changed.
• Excel was forced to quit due to a sudden system shutdown.

Conclusions

Hopefully, these solutions have helped you fix your issues with Excel. If none of the above worked for you, consider using a tool like Fixo's Excel Repair Tool to restore all components of your Excel file, including tables, charts, worksheets, cell comments, formulas, and images.

Frequently Asked Questions About Hyperlinks Not Working in Excel (UTF-8)

Read through these related questions and answers for more assistance.

1. How do I make a link clickable?

Select the text or picture that you want to display as a hyperlink. Right-click the text or picture, and then click Hyperlink on the shortcut menu.

**How to Fix the Runtime Error 1004 in Excel?**

You can try the following solutions to fix the Runtime error 1004 in Excel:

• Delete the GWXL97.XLA file
• Check access to the VBA project object model
• Create a new Excel template
• Repair a corrupted Excel file

3. Why can't I open the hyperlinked file?

If a hyperlink suddenly stops working, it could be because:

• The path has changed
• The Excel file is corrupted
• Your web browser has security restrictions

4. How to fix the issue of Excel not being able to open a file?

Fixing the "Excel cannot open the file because the file extension is invalid" error:

• Ensure you have sufficient permissions
• Enable Safe Mode
• Open Excel in Safe Mode
• Repair and Recover Excel

If you found this article helpful, please share it on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to help others find it, too.