Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Converting a Range of URLs to Hyperlinks.
John has a workbook that has well over a thousand URLs in it, all in column A. These are not hyperlinks; they are straight text of individual URLs. John wants to convert the URLs to active hyperlinks, but doing the conversion individually is extremely tedious, especially for that many URLs.
One way to do the conversion is to use the HYPERLINK function. Put this formula in cell B1 and copy it down as many cells as necessary:
=IF(A1="","",HYPERLINK(IF(LEFT(A1,7)="http://","","http://")&A1))
The result is that column B will contain hyperlinks for everything in column A. The formula isn't terribly robust, as it only deals with the presence or lack of the text "http://", and you may need it to also deal with "https" addresses. It is possible to adjust the formula (i.e., making it more complex), but you may also want to consider using a macro to do the conversions.
To be effective, the macro would need to step through each cell in a selected range and, if the cell is not blank, convert the contents to a hyperlink. The following will do the trick:
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: 
Sub URL_List()
Dim sTemp As String
Dim sURL As String
Dim cell As Range
For Each cell In Selection
If cell.Value <> "" Then
sTemp = Left(cell.Value, 7)
If sTemp = "http://" Or sTemp = "https:/" Then
sURL = cell.Value
Else
sURL = "http://" & cell.Value
End If
ActiveSheet.Hyperlinks.Add Anchor:=cell, _
Address:=sURL, TextToDisplay:=cell.Value
End If
Next cell
End Sub
The macro is not foolproof; it assumes that if a cell contains anything at all it is a valid URL. What it does is to check the cell contents and, if the contents aren't prefaced by the "http://" or "https:/" text, then a prefix of "http://" is added. The hyperlink is then created based on the cell contents.
Note:
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (5825) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Converting a Range of URLs to Hyperlinks.
Excel Smarts for Beginners! Featuring the friendly and trusted For Dummies style, this popular guide shows beginners how to get up and running with Excel while also helping more experienced users get comfortable with the newest features. Check out Excel 2019 For Dummies today!
When you enter a URL or e-mail address in a worksheet, Excel usually converts it to a clickable hyperlink. This doesn't ...
Discover MoreIn Excel, a hyperlink consists of two parts: the text displayed for the link and the target of the link. You can use a ...
Discover MoreHyperlinks to many types of Web sites rely on passing parameters in the URL. Knowing this, you can construct a dynamic ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2024-10-09 10:24:33
J. Woolley
@AJnRe. my most recent comment below: On third thought, simply replace the following linen ActiveSheet.Hyperlinks.Add Anchor:=cell, Address:=sURLnwith these linesn On Error Resume Nextn ActiveSheet.Hyperlinks.Add Anchor:=cell, Address:=sURLn On Error GoTo 0nThis should work in either the Tip's version or in my first version of the macro. It skips over cell values that do not make valid http hyperlinks.
2024-10-08 16:58:55
J. Woolley
@AJnRe. my previous comment below: On second thought, replace the following linen ActiveSheet.Hyperlinks.Add Anchor:=cell, Address:=sURLnwith these linesn Dim n As Integern n = InStr(Mid(sURL, InStr(sURL, "://") + 4), "/")n If n = 0 Then n = Len(sURL)n If InStr(Left(sURL, n), " ") + InStr(Left(sURL, n), "%") = 0 Thenn ActiveSheet.Hyperlinks.Add Anchor:=cell, Address:=sURLn End Ifnbecause the address part of a URL must not contain any space characters and the Hyperlinks.Add method will not accept %20 as a substitute. Spaces in the subaddress part are automatically replaced by %20. For example, consider the following cell values:nhttp://my site.com -- cannot create hyperlinknhttp://my%20site.com -- cannot create hyperlinknhttp://mysite.com/a b c/ -- hyperlink is http://mysite.com/a%20b%20c/
2024-10-08 11:05:44
J. Woolley
@AJnYou probably had leading space characters in some cells. Try this version:nnSub URL_List()n Dim sTmp As String, sURL As String, cell As Rangen 'WARNING: This macro assumes web site (http) URLsn For Each cell In Selectionn sURL = Trim(cell.Value)n If sURL <> "" Thenn sTmp = Left(sURL, 7)n If sTmp <> "http://" And sTmp <> "https:/" Thenn sURL = "http://" & sURLn End Ifn ActiveSheet.Hyperlinks.Add Anchor:=cell, Address:=sURLn End Ifn Next cellnEnd Sub
2024-10-07 10:56:35
AJ
HinnFor me, running this code on a selected range, causes a debug (run-time error '1004': Application-defined or object-defined error) at this stage:nn ActiveSheet.Hyperlinks.Add Anchor:=cell, _n Address:=sURL, TextToDisplay:=cell.ValuennRegards,nnAJ
2024-04-28 14:02:53
J. Woolley
My Excel Toolbox includes the following function which is a superior substitute for Excel's HYPERLINK function:n =SuperLink(Link_Location, [Friendly_Name], [Screen_Tip])nSuperLink is fully described in the PDF document UseSuperLink.pdf.nSee https://sites.google.com/view/MyExcelToolbox/
2024-04-28 12:31:02
J. Woolley
@Bill MultacknAssuming you are referring to Ctrl+K hyperlinks, not HYPERLINK(...) formulas, select the column of hyperlinks and run this macro:nnSub ShowHyperlinkAddress()n Dim HL As Hyperlinkn For Each HL In Selection.Hyperlinksn HL.TextToDisplay = HL.Addressn Next HLnEnd Sub
2024-04-27 09:00:09
Bill Multack
I have just the opposite problem. I have a column of hyperlinks that all have display values. I would like to strip away the TextToDisplay values and only show the hyperlink. Any suggestions?
Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu interface.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2026 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Comments