Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 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: Don't Update Links to Other Programs.

Don't Update Links to Other Programs

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 12, 2020)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365


You know that Excel allows you to create links to data in other workbooks. Excel also allows you to link to non-Excel data from other programs as well. For instance, you could link to pictures or to Word data or to data in any number of other programs. The linking is done via OLE and DDE, as is discussed in other issues of ExcelTips.

Normally, data from other programs is updated whenever you open a workbook, and thereafter whenever the source data changes. If you want to tell Excel to not update linked data from other programs, follow these steps:

  1. Display the Excel Options dialog box. (In Excel 2007 click the Office button and then click Excel Options. In Excel 2010 and later versions, display the File tab of the ribbon and then click Options.)
  2. At the left side of the dialog box click Advanced.
  3. Scroll through the available options until you see the When Calculating This Workbook section. (See Figure 1.)
  4. Figure 1. The Advanced options of the Excel Options dialog box.

  5. Clear the Update Links to Other Documents check box.
  6. Click OK.

Changing this setting is only effective for the current session in Excel. The next time you open the workbook, Excel reverts to updating links automatically. If you want to turn off specific links so that they are not continually updated, display the Data tab of the ribbon, click the Edit Links tool (in the Queries & Connecteins group), locate the link, and change its update method to Manual.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (6284) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Don't Update Links to Other Programs.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Converting Endnotes to Regular Text

If you have a document with lots of endnotes, you may need them converted to regular text so that they can be used ...

Discover More

Cannot Add Words to Dictionary

We all run across words that are spelled correctly, but that Word isn't aware of. The solution is to add those words to ...

Discover More

Getting Bookmark Information in VBA

Bookmarks are a handy way to "mark" locations within a document. If you are creating a macro that processes the document ...

Discover More

Save Time and Supercharge Excel! Automate virtually any routine task and save yourself hours, days, maybe even weeks. Then, learn how to make Excel do things you thought were simply impossible! Mastering advanced Excel macros has never been easier. Check out Excel 2010 VBA and Macros today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Changing Link References

If you use UNC paths in your links to external information, those paths may need to be changed at some point. You can ...

Discover More

References to Hyperlinks aren't Hyperlinks

Make a reference to a hyperlink in a formula, and you may be surprised that the reference doesn't return an active ...

Discover More

Restrictions Blocking Hyperlinks

Excel allows you to easily add hyperlinks to your worksheets. If those hyperlinks are suddenly being blocked, it can be ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is four less than 6?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

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.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.