XL: Can't Use Links Dialog Box to Delete Links

ID: Q72504

The information in this article applies to:

SUMMARY

In Microsoft Excel, the Links dialog box (click Links on the Edit menu) allows you to change and move links; however, you cannot use this dialog box to remove links. The "More Information" section of this article describes methods you can use to delete links in Microsoft Excel documents.


MORE INFORMATION

To remove links from Microsoft Excel documents, use any of the following methods.

Method 1

Calculate the remote reference and change it to a value. This method replaces the formula with a constant value.

If the remote reference is part of a larger formula, the reference can be calculated using the F9 key to change the reference to a value. For example, if you have a formula in a cell, such as "=Sheet1.xls!$A$1+150," you can select the link portion of the formula (Sheet1.xls!$A$1) in the formula bar, press F9, and press ENTER. This replaces "Sheet1.xls!$A$1" with its underlying value.

Method 2

Delete the link and its results entirely by selecting the cell that contains the link and clicking Clear on the Edit menu.

Method 3

Search defined names that refer to external workbooks and either delete the defined name or change the name to refer to a static string or value.

To verify that you removed all links, search the dependent sheet by using the Find command. In the Find What box, type an exclamation point (!) and click Formulas in the Look In box. When you click OK, Microsoft Excel looks for any formula that contains the exclamation point, which indicates an external or remote reference.


REFERENCES

"User's Guide 1," version 4.0, pages 270-271
"User's Guide," version 3.0, pages 323-324

Additional query words: breaking xl97 


Keywords          : 
Version           : WINDOWS:3.0,4.0,5.0,7.0,97; MACINTOSH:3.0,4.0,5.0,98
Platform          : MACINTOSH WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbinfo

Last Reviewed: March 21, 1999