HYPERLINK function in Excel: Explained

In this article, you will learn how to use the Hyperlink formula in Excel.

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What does the HYPERLINK formula in Excel do?

The HYPERLINK function in Excel is used to create a clickable hyperlink that can direct you to another location, such as a web page, a file on your computer, or a specific cell within the current workbook.

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What are some uses of the HYPERLINK function in Excel?

The HYPERLINK function in Excel can be used in many ways, such as:

1. Creating clickable links to websites: You can use the HYPERLINK function to create hyperlinks that open specific websites when clicked. This is useful if you frequently access certain websites and want to quickly navigate to them from your Excel worksheet.
2. Linking to other cells or sheets within the workbook: You can use the HYPERLINK function to create links that jump to specific cells or sheets within the current Excel workbook. This is useful for creating navigation within large worksheets or for linking to related data in other sheets.
3. Linking to files or documents: You can use the HYPERLINK function to create hyperlinks that open specific files or documents when clicked. This is useful if you want to create a table of contents or an index for a collection of files, or if you want to link to related documents from within your Excel worksheet.
4. Creating email links: You can use the HYPERLINK function to create hyperlinks that open a new email message when clicked. This is useful if you want to provide an easy way for users to send email messages directly from your worksheet.
5. Creating interactive dashboards: You can use the HYPERLINK function in combination with other Excel functions and features to create interactive dashboards that allow users to navigate to different parts of the workbook, view charts and graphs, and access related data.

Overall, the HYPERLINK function is a versatile tool that can be used to create clickable links to a variety of destinations within and outside of Excel, and can help make your worksheets more interactive and user-friendly.

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How to use the HYPERLINK function in Excel

The syntax of the HYPERLINK function is as follows:

=HYPERLINK(link_location, [friendly_name])

The link_location argument specifies the URL or path to the file you want to link to.

The optional friendly_name argument specifies the text to display in the cell as the hyperlink. If you omit this argument, the cell will display the link_location text.

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Please see below for a step wise guide to use the HYPERLINK function in Excel:

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Step 1: Select the cell where you want to create the hyperlink.

Step 2: Type the HYPERLINK function in the formula bar at the top of the Excel window, or directly into the cell.

Step 3: In the parentheses, specify the link_location and friendly_name arguments separated by a comma.

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For example, to create a hyperlink that points to the website "https://www.example.com" and displays the text "Visit Google" in the cell, type the following formula:

=HYPERLINK("https://www.google.com", "Visit Google")

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Step 4: Press Enter to create the hyperlink. The text in the cell will change to blue and underlined, indicating that it is a hyperlink. Click on the hyperlink to open the linked location in your default web browser, or to open the linked file or cell within Excel.

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You can also use a cell reference or a formula that returns a valid URL or file path as the link_location argument. For example:

=HYPERLINK(J2, "Click here to open file")

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In this case, the link_location argument refers to the cell J2, which contains a file path or URL. When you click on the cell with the hyperlink, Excel will open the file or URL specified in cell A2.

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‍Note: HYPERLINK function only works in cells that are formatted as text or as a hyperlink. If the cell is formatted as a number, date, or other data type, Excel will display an error message when you try to create a hyperlink.