Excel Says I Have Links, But I Can Not Find Them
August 24, 2021 - by Bill Jelen
![Excel Says I Have Links, But I Can Not Find Them Excel Says I Have Links, But I Can Not Find Them](/img/excel-tips/2021/08/excel-says-i-have-links-but-i-can-not-find-them.jpg)
Problem: When I open a workbook, Excel tells me there are external links in the file. Where are they?
Strategy: Use Ctrl+F to open the Find dialog. Open the Options>> button and change the Within dropdown from Sheet to Workbook. Search for a left square bracket. If the links are in a formula in a cell, this technique will find the link. If nothing is found, then go to Formulas, Name Manager. Links are often lurking in out-of-use named ranges. I’ve also seen links hiding in the Data, Consolidate dialog box.
If you want to break the links or change the source to a new location, open the File menu. On the right side of the screen, look for Related Documents and click the Edit Links to Files hyperlink.
![If you have links to an external workbook and that workbook moves or changes the file name, you can use the Change Source button in the Edit Links dialog.](/img/content/2021/08/PE1686.jpg)
This article is an excerpt from Power Excel With MrExcel
Title photo by Matthew Lancaster on Unsplash