Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated February 5, 2024)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021
Susan has a worksheet with cells hyperlinked to corresponding PDF documents. The hyperlinks work fine until she attempts to perform any type of sorting on the data in the worksheet. After sorting, the hyperlinks are linked to incorrect documents.
This is, apparently, a problem with Excel under some circumstances. According to Microsoft, this occurs if you copy and paste cells containing hyperlinks and then sort the pasted cells. You can find out a bit more about this problem at the following Knowledge Base page:
https://support.microsoft.com/kb/214328
The problem is that the only solution noted by Microsoft is to manually correct the hyperlinks after doing the sort that created the messed-up links. In other words, there isn't a real solution.
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (13063) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021.
Best-Selling VBA Tutorial for Beginners Take your Excel knowledge to the next level. With a little background in VBA programming, you can go well beyond basic spreadsheets and functions. Use macros to reduce errors, save time, and integrate with other Microsoft applications. Fully updated for the latest version of Office 365. Check out Microsoft 365 Excel VBA Programming For Dummies today!
If you have some data in a worksheet that is bold, you may want to sort that data based on the text attribute. This is ...
Discover MoreIf the font color used for the data in your worksheet is critical, you may at some time want to move cells that use a ...
Discover MoreWhen you sort data in a worksheet, there are a couple ways you can do it. Using the simple way can result in ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2020-10-29 03:22:59
J Mowatt
I was having this issue where a some of the hyperlinks in a column would be correct until I filtered from another column. Then there were clumps of the links that simply duplicated 1 specific link. When I sorted back again the links were all correct again.
I fixed it by copying the entire column that contained the links and pasting to another blank column. Then I deleted all the data from the original column and saved the file. After that I cust and pasted the column that I moved, back into its original place. When I filtered again the links remained intact. At least it saved having to go in and manually re-enter all of them.
2020-05-18 11:18:26
J. Woolley
A similar bug related to Excel hyperlinks is described in this PDF available on Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1gbzmXEOKBZ0c1W_NjdxWBHsfiQi5ImlP
You might also be interested in the SuperLink function, a superior substitute for Excel's HYPERLINK function, which is described in this PDF available on Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1vAXFMwX43N7b-6fEhdY5E0PZRmIQ9zlA
2020-05-16 17:50:50
Michael
The only solution I have seen for Excel's poor handling of hyperlinks is to use the =HYPERLINK function in a cell or table. They are just as easy to maintain as regular hyperlinks and always sort and resort correctly.
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