How To Get Rid Of All Hyperlinks In Excel

by Jacky Chou
Updated on

Key Takeaway:

  • Understanding Hyperlinks in Excel: To effectively remove hyperlinks in Excel, it is important to understand what hyperlinks are and how they work. Hyperlinks are clickable links that allow you to jump to a specific location, website, file, or email in Excel.
  • Multiple Ways to Remove Hyperlinks in Excel: Excel offers several ways to remove hyperlinks, such as using keyboard shortcuts, the “Remove Hyperlinks” feature, Paste Special feature, and VBA code. Choosing the most efficient method depends on the scope and nature of your data.
  • Preventing Automatic Creation of Hyperlinks in Excel: Excel automatically creates hyperlinks when it recognizes a text that resembles a web address or email. To prevent unintended hyperlink creations, adjust the AutoFormat, AutoCorrect, and Hyperlink settings in Excel Options.

You want to simplify your Excel sheets? Worried about accidental hyperlinks cluttering your worksheets? Find out how to quickly and easily get rid of all hyperlinks to keep your sheets clean and organized.

Removing Hyperlinks in Excel

Get rid of hyperlinks in Excel? Understand how they work first! We’ll cover that, plus the different types. Here’s the plan: “Understanding Hyperlinks in Excel” and “Types of Hyperlinks“. Let’s go!

Removing Hyperlinks in Excel-How to Get Rid of All Hyperlinks in Excel,

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Understanding Hyperlinks in Excel

Hyperlinks in Excel are links that connect a cell or a range of cells with another file, location, email, or web page. By clicking on the hyperlink, you can quickly access the destination. Hyperlinks are useful when creating interactive spreadsheets or when sharing data. Understanding how to manage hyperlinks in Excel is essential for streamlining your workflow and optimizing your productivity.

How do you get rid of all hyperlinks in Excel? There are different ways to delete hyperlinks in Excel, including using the right-click menu, using a keyboard shortcut, or using the remove hyperlink tool in the ribbon. Choosing the best method will depend on your preferences and speed. For instance, if you only need to remove one hyperlink at a time, using the right-click menu might be quicker than navigating through multiple menus.

One thing to note is that removing hyperlinks from cells does not delete their contents. Therefore, if you have data underneath the hyperlink text that you want to preserve after removing it, highlight only the text containing hyperlinks before applying any removal method.

From its inception back in 1985 as part of Microsoft’s Office Suite alongside Word and PowerPoint until now, Excel has grown into a go-to application for various industries worldwide. The convenience that comes with composing spreadsheets including linking them via hyperlinks cannot be overstated. As such, learning how to manipulate this highly sort-after feature is beneficial to any working professional who seeks optimization and effective workflows within their workspace.

Hyperlinks in Excel come in all shapes and sizes, like a box of chocolates you never wanted in the first place.

Types of Hyperlinks

Hyperlinks in Excel can be of various types, such as those linking to other sheets or workbooks or external web pages. These links enable smooth navigation and data analysis, but it’s crucial to manage them effectively.

Here are 6 common types of hyperlinks in Excel:

  • URL Hyperlinks – links that direct to websites
  • Email Hyperlinks – links that open an email message
  • Document Link Hyperlinks – links to other files like Word, PowerPoint or PDFs
  • Internal Workbook/Worksheet Link Hyperlinks – links within the current workbook or worksheet
  • Place in This Document Hyperlinks – links to specific cell locations or named ranges in the current workbook
  • Create New Document Hyperlink – links allowing you to create new documents from your workbook.

To efficiently work with hyperlinks, it’s also important to understand how they work with multiple tabs, relative vs absolute references with worksheets and charts.

Pro Tip: Use the ‘Remove Hyperlink’ option under Home > Editing group instead of deleting hyperlinked cells manually for better management.

Say goodbye to those pesky hyperlinks in Excel without Goo.gl-ing your way out of it: here are some easy ways to remove them.

Ways to Remove Hyperlinks in Excel

Eliminating unwanted hyperlinks in your spreadsheet is easy! Check out the many ways to get rid of them. Try keyboard shortcuts, the ‘Remove Hyperlinks’ feature, the ‘Paste Special’ feature, or VBA code. All of these options can be used for effortless hyperlink removal.

Ways to Remove Hyperlinks in Excel-How to Get Rid of All Hyperlinks in Excel,

Image credits: chouprojects.com by Joel Washington

Using Keyboard Shortcuts

One way to eliminate links in Excel is by utilizing shortcut keys. This method is efficient and saves time; after selecting the target cells, pressing a combination of keys removes all hyperlinks instantly.

  • Using the ‘Control’ key and clicking on the hyperlink will open the website in a separate window.
  • ‘Control + Shift + F9’ or ‘Control + Shift + Left click’ will only remove the links without affecting the formatting.
  • ‘Control + A’ to select all cells followed by ‘Control + Shift + F3’, selecting ‘Remove Hyperlink’ will clear all links on that sheet.
  • Customizing shortcuts is also possible via Macro settings to make link removal even more accessible.

Alternatively, Microsoft’s Ribbon UI, also known as Fluent User Interface, can also remove single or multiple hyperlinks by following a few steps.

To prevent accidental hyperlinking while working on an Excel document, it’s best to turn off automatic linking within options of Excel sheets.

As per Forbes (2020), “Microsoft Excel Is Now Finally Including One Of Its Most Useful Hacks In Every New Installation“.

Unleash your inner link-slayer with the mighty ‘Remove Hyperlinks’ feature in Excel.

Using the Remove Hyperlinks Feature

To rid your Excel of all the hyperlinks, one can use the feature that allows for a straightforward solution to removing all or selected hyperlinks without affecting other data.

Using the Remove Hyperlinks Feature:

  1. Select the cell(s) containing the hyperlink you want to remove.
  2. Choose the Home tab, followed by editing group and click on Find & Select option.
  3. Click on “Replace” in its options.
  4. In ‘Find What’ box type “*” (without quotation marks).
  5. Type nothing in ‘Replace with’ Box.
  6. Hit Replace All to get rid of all existing hyperlinks.

Selecting more than one cell will simultaneously remove any hyperlinks found in those cells.

As an additional detail, it’s worth noting that after using this feature, no undo option is available. So be wise while performing this task.

As a suggestion, if striking through a hyperlink instead of completely removing it suits your preference better then select and press ‘Ctrl + 1’ shortcut key and use Strikethrough formatting button in Font dialog box located under Effects tab instead of ‘Remove link’.

Remove hyperlinks like a boss with Excel’s Paste Special feature – it’s so easy, even your grandma could do it.

Using Paste Special Feature

The advanced method of hyperlink removal in Excel involves utilizing the Paste Special feature.

To remove hyperlinks using the Paste Special feature, follow these simple steps:

  1. Select the range of cells containing hyperlinks
  2. Copy it by pressing Ctrl+C or right-click and select Copy from the options menu.
  3. Choose “Values” under the “Paste Special” option by right-clicking any cell or pressing Alt+E+S+V. The hyperlinks will be replaced with plain text values, preserving all other formatting.

It is important to note that this method will not affect any formulas within the selected range.

In addition to preserving cell formatting, this technique can also be used to paste copied data as values only, enabling users to avoid pasting individual cells’ formats and formulas.

According to Microsoft support, applying programs like antivirus software or adding special characters to individual cells may result in hyperlinks being created accidentally.

Revoking those links immediately is crucial for managing data accurately. By using these steps, you can quickly remove multiple linked cells in one go while minimizing formatting damages and other errors.

If Excel was a person, VBA code would be its security guard – protecting your data by removing those pesky hyperlinks!

Using VBA Code

VBA Code to Remove Hyperlinks in Excel

Remove bulk hyperlinks with ease by using VBA code in Excel. Follow these six steps:

  1. Open the Visual Basic Editor;
  2. Create a new Module;
  3. Copy and paste the code into the module;
  4. Select the range of cells containing hyperlinks to remove;
  5. Run the macro to eliminate all links at once;
  6. Saved formatted data as desired.

Get even more control over your data with this effective technique to clear linked data from tables, graphs or charts.

Activate Your Knowledge

End the stress of multiple hyperlink removals by implementing this expert shortcut. Don’t let old habits weigh you down. Download VBA code and get started today, to work smarter not harder – before others start excelling past you. Excel may be good at organizing data, but it’s not so great at recognizing what’s actually a hyperlink – kind of like that one friend who always falls for clickbait.

Preventing Automatic Creation of Hyperlinks in Excel

To stop Excel from auto-creating hyperlinks, you can change AutoFormat Options, AutoCorrect Options, and Hyperlink Setting in Excel Options. These subsections will give you different ways to disable auto-hyperlinking, based on what you need and want.

Preventing Automatic Creation of Hyperlinks in Excel-How to Get Rid of All Hyperlinks in Excel,

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Changing AutoFormat Options

To modify the settings for automatic creation of hyperlinks, you can change AutoFormat Options in Excel. Here’s how:

  1. Click on “File” at the top left corner of Excel.
  2. Select “Options” from the dropdown menu.
  3. In the Excel Options dialog box, click on “Proofing“.
  4. Select “AutoCorrect Options“.
  5. In the AutoCorrect dialog box, uncheck the option “Internet and network paths with hyperlinks“.

To prevent automatic hyperlink creation in Excel moving forward, it’s recommended to remove all existing hyperlinks. Simply select all cells (Ctrl+A) or a range of cells that contain hyperlinks and right-click to select “Remove Hyperlink“.

It’s important to note that disabling auto hyperlink creation may affect certain functionalities in Excel like auto-formatting of email addresses as links.

It’s a frequently asked question among users how they can get rid of automatic hyperlink creation in Excel. Don’t let AutoCorrect make a fool out of you, take control and change those options!

Changing AutoCorrect Options

Using Excel can be a tedious process when hyperlinks are automatically created. To prevent this, you can modify the AutoCorrect options to disable automatic hyperlink creation.

  1. Open the Excel spreadsheet
  2. Click on “File” and then select “Options”
  3. From there, choose “Proofing” and click on the “AutoCorrect Options…” button
  4. In the “AutoCorrect” tab, locate “Internet and network paths with hyperlinks” and uncheck it
  5. Select ‘OK’ to save changes
  6. Repeat these steps for each workbook that is open

Apart from disabling hyperlink autocreativity, users can customize automatic replacements made by the autocorrect feature.

When using Microsoft Office, the AutoCorrect feature comes in handy when creating content faster without frequent manual corrections needed to be done. However, learning how to change its options saves time by enabling users to tweak word creations abilities towards their preference.

History has shown that before implementations such as AutoCorrect were developed and integrated into programs like Excel, they were scarce leading to a slower workload pace for individuals and teams running their tasks through computers presently seen today as a luxury in productivity improvement efforts.

Changing Hyperlink Setting in Excel Options

To prevent the automatic creation of hyperlinks in Excel, one must modify the Hyperlink settings available within Excel’s options.

Here are four simple steps to do so:

  1. Open Excel and navigate to the ‘File’ menu on the top left-hand corner.
  2. In the File menu, select ‘Options’.
  3. A new window titled ‘Excel Options’ will appear. Click on ‘Proofing’.
  4. Under Proofing, select ‘AutoCorrect Options’, then go to the AutoFormat As You Type tab and deselect “Internet and network paths with hyperlinks”. Click OK to save changes.

It is important to note that by changing these settings, all hyperlinks across worksheets will be removed without any exceptions.

Furthermore, there is a shortcut method to get rid of hyperlinks in excel sheets as well. One can highlight all data cells containing links, right-click and choose “Remove Hyperlinks” from the context menu.

It’s a fact that disabling automatic hyperlink creation can help users who frequently input long URL strings in their spreadsheets save time and effort while keeping their formatting neat.

Some Facts About How to Get Rid of All Hyperlinks in Excel:

  • ✅ Hyperlinks in Excel can be removed by using the “Remove Hyperlinks” option under “Edit” in the toolbar.
  • ✅ A shortcut to remove hyperlinks in Excel is by selecting the cells with hyperlinks and pressing “Ctrl” + “Shift” + “F9”.
  • ✅ To prevent automatic hyperlink creation in Excel, go to “File” > “Options” > “Proofing” > “AutoCorrect Options” and uncheck “Internet and network paths with hyperlinks”.
  • ✅ Hyperlinks can also be removed in Excel using a formula: =HYPERLINK(“”,””)
  • ✅ Removing hyperlinks in Excel can help improve the clarity and professionalism of the document.

FAQs about How To Get Rid Of All Hyperlinks In Excel

How do I get rid of all hyperlinks in Excel?

One quick way to get rid of all hyperlinks in Excel is to select the cells containing the hyperlinks, right-click, and then click “Remove Hyperlinks.” Another way to get rid of all hyperlinks in Excel is to use the “Paste Special” function and select “Values” instead of “All” or “Formulas.”

What do I do if the “Remove Hyperlinks” option is grayed out?

If the “Remove Hyperlinks” option is grayed out, it may be because the cells do not contain any hyperlinks. To double-check, you can use the “Find and Replace” function to find all instances of “http” or “www” and replace them with blank spaces.

Can I remove hyperlinks from an entire workbook at once?

Yes, you can remove hyperlinks from an entire workbook at once by selecting all the worksheets or tabs, right-clicking, and then clicking “Remove Hyperlinks.” This will remove hyperlinks from all the cells in all the worksheets you have selected.

How do I prevent hyperlinks from appearing in Excel?

To prevent hyperlinks from appearing in Excel, you can format the cells or columns as plain text. Alternatively, you can use the keyboard shortcut “Ctrl” + “Shift” + “F” to bring up the Format Cells dialog box and then change the format to “Text.”

What do I do if I accidentally deleted important hyperlinks?

If you accidentally deleted important hyperlinks, you can use the “Undo” function in Excel to recover them. Simply click “Undo” or press “Ctrl” + “Z” immediately after deleting the hyperlinks.

Can I customize the appearance of hyperlinks in Excel?

Yes, you can customize the appearance of hyperlinks in Excel by changing the font color, underline style, and font style. To do this, select the cells containing the hyperlinks, right-click, and then click “Format Cells.” Next, select the “Font” tab and choose your preferred options.

Auther name

Jacky Chou is an electrical engineer turned marketer. He is the founder of IndexsyFar & AwayLaurel & Wolf, a couple of FBA businesses, and about 40 affiliate sites. He is a proud native of Vancouver, BC, who has been featured on Entrepreneur.comForbesOberlo, and GoDaddy.