XL97: HYPERLINK Doesn't Work If Second Argument Returns Error

ID: Q158330

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows

SYMPTOMS

When you click a hyperlink in a Microsoft Excel worksheet, nothing happens.

CAUSE

This will occur if both of the following conditions are true:

The hyperlink was created by a formula containing the HYPERLINK worksheet function.
```
    -and-
```
The second argument of the HYPERLINK function, friendly_name, equals an error value, such as #DIV/0!, #NAME?, or #VALUE!

WORKAROUND

To prevent this problem from occurring, make sure that your HYPERLINK worksheet function does not contain an error value for the second argument.

For example, if your formula is

   =HYPERLINK("http://msnbc.com",A1/B1)

Since the expression A1/B1 can return an error value of #DIV/0! if B1 is zero, you need to change the second argument so that it won't return an error value. For example:

   =HYPERLINK("http://msnbc.com",IF(B1=0,0,A1/B1))

After you do this, the hyperlink should work correctly.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article.

MORE INFORMATION

In Microsoft Excel 97, the HYPERLINK worksheet function allows you to create a hyperlink within a worksheet cell. The HYPERLINK function accepts two arguments:

   Argument        Description
   -------------------------------------------------------------------

   link_location   the path and file name, or URL, you want to link to
   friendly_name   the text that should appear in the cell

The friendly_name argument can be a text string, a defined name, or any other expression that returns a value.

If the value of the friendly_name argument returns an error value, the hyperlink will not work when you click it. Here are some example formulas that demonstrate this problem.

Example 1: #VALUE! error

This hyperlink will fail because the expression 1+"Alpha" returns a #VALUE! error:

   =HYPERLINK("http://msnbc.com",1+"Alpha")

Example 2: #NAME? error

This hyperlink will fail if the defined name "Bravo" doesn't exist, because it results in a #NAME? error:

   =HYPERLINK("http://msnbc.com",Bravo)

Example 3: #DIV/0! error

This hyperlink will fail if the mathematical expression returns any type of error, such as #DIV/0!:

   =HYPERLINK("http://msnbc.com",A1/B1)

Additional query words: 8.00 XL97

Keywords          : kbweb xlformula 
Platform          : WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbprb

Last Reviewed: February 12, 1999