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: Editing a Hyperlink.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 30, 2022)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365
Once a hyperlink is placed in your worksheet, it is not unusual to periodically need to change the link in some way. This is quite easy to do, using any of the following methods:
To select a cell in which a hyperlink is located, simply click on an adjacent cell (one without a hyperlink) and use the arrow keys to select the cell. If you try to click on the cell directly, you will instead activate the hyperlink.
At the conclusion of any of these steps, the Edit Hyperlink dialog box is visible. The difference between this instance and actually adding a hyperlink is that all the information in the dialog box is already filled in. You can make edits to your heart's content, and then click on OK to save your changes.
While pulling up the Edit Hyperlink dialog box provides the most flexibility (you can change everything about the link in one place), it can be a pain to do. If all you want to do is change the text used for the hyperlink, Excel makes the process very easy. Simply change the contents of the cell, and the hyperlink text is automatically changed. Thus, you can select the cell containing the hyperlink and begin typing. What you type becomes the text for the hyperlink.
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (11844) 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: Editing a Hyperlink.
Dive Deep into Macros! Make Excel do things you thought were impossible, discover techniques you won't find anywhere else, and create powerful automated reports. Bill Jelen and Tracy Syrstad help you instantly visualize information to make it actionable. You’ll find step-by-step instructions, real-world case studies, and 50 workbooks packed with examples and solutions. Check out Microsoft Excel 2019 VBA and Macros today!
If you have links in your workbook to data in other workbooks, you may want to control whether Excel updates those links ...
Discover MoreIf you have a lot of data stored in Access databases, you may want to get at that information using Excel. There are a ...
Discover MoreIf you have linked information in your worksheets, you may want a way you can easily change the targets to which those ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2022-07-31 02:58:58
Alex Blakenburg
Re: If you try to click on the cell directly, you will instead activate the hyperlink.
This can be overcome.
1) If you have white space in the cell (text is shorter than column width) click on the white space.
2) Left Click BUT long hold the click, the follow hyperlink hand will change to the cell selection cross and the the cell will be selected.
2022-07-30 09:51:38
J. Woolley
After selecting the cell that contains the hyperlink, press Ctrl+K to open the Edit Hyperlink dialog.
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 © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
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:
Comments