Links not breaking in excel

If you cannot break links in Excel® then follow these steps (backup your file first):

1. Unprotect each sheet in your problem file: HOME RIBBON – (CELLS) FORMAT – PROTECT SHEETS
2. Break links: DATA RIBBON – (CONNECTIONS) EDIT LINKS – Select sheet then BREAK LINK
3. Delete all named ranges to external files: FORMULA RIBBON – (DEFINED NAMES) NAME MANAGER
4. Check all chart series ranges: Right click chart – SELECT DATA – (SERIES) EDIT. Check each series, if any ranges are in external files then cut the range from the external file and paste in to problem file. Also check chart titles and data label ranges.
   • Check Conditional Formats and Data Validation for similar phantom links.
5. Save a copy of the problem file then:
   • Rename it in file explorer: changing the extension from .xlsx to .zip.
   • Navigate to the folder ‘FILENAME.zip>xl’ file and delete the folder named ‘externalLinks’.
   • Rename the ZIP file from extension .zip to .xlsx
6. Save the file as file type ‘xls’ then back to ‘xlsx’ (or whatever the original file type was). Create a backup before trying this.

Some of these problems can be fixed with our add-in: fix and speed up Excel® files tools ADD-IN.

Lets go through each of those steps in more detail to make sure you can break links.

1. Unprotect Sheets in your Problem File

a) When the active sheet is protected and you try to edit links the BREAK LINK button will be grayed out. You will need to unprotect this sheet or go to another sheet before you try and break links.

b) If a cell within a protected sheet is linked to an external file then you won’t be able to break links. Excel® will give you a warning that the external link cannot be broken due to the sheet being protected.

Excel® won’t be helpful enough to tell you which sheet contains the external link so you may need to go searching for it. You can use our audit tools to find all cells with external links.

If you are using Excel® 2010 or later you can go to FILE – INFO. Under PROTECT WORKBOOK at the top you will see a list of any protected sheets.

Once all the sheet are unprotected you can go on the next step.

2. Attempt to Break Links

This step will succeed in breaking links unless there are “phantom links” with the workbook. We will come to these later.

The Break Link function replaces the external links in any formulas with constant values.

If you want to identify all cells with references to external workbooks before you carry out this process you can do so:

• Press CTRL+F
• Type “xl*]” in the ‘Find what:’ box (don’t include the inverted commas in the box)
• Select ‘Within:’ Workbook
• Select ‘Look in:’ Formulas
• Click ‘Find All’

You can now check the list of links before you proceed.

To break links click DATA RIBBON – (CONNECTIONS sub menu) EDIT LINKS

You will see a list of external links that your current file is linking to. You can click each of the files and then click BREAK LINK.

If BREAK LINK is grayed out then go back to step 1 as you must still have a protected sheet in your workbook.

Hopefully you have now broken links successfully. However, if you still cannot break the Excel® link then you need to proceed to the next step.

3. Delete Named Ranges to External Files

This is the most common type of phantom link. It is possible that named ranges used by a file are defined as a range of cells in an external workbook.

You can check these easily and delete any that refer to external files.

Click on FORMULA RIBBON –  (DEFINED NAMES) NAME MANAGER

Select each named range that refers to an external workbook and click DELETE. If there are many named ranges then you may want to sort them by ‘Refers To’. This will group links to the same external file.

You can delete more than one named range at a time. Select one, hold shift then select the one at the end of the range you want to delete.

Note: you could use the file fix and speed up tools to delete named ranges to external files. With the tool you can choose to omit open files when deleting links to external files.

Go back to check EDIT LINKS to see if this has resolved your phantom link problem. If you still cannot break link then go on the next step.

4. Delete Chart External Links

It is possible that some of the series data used by an Excel® chart has been moved to an external file. This will create a phantom link.

Check if your file has any charts. It is possible that your workbook has hidden sheets so you may need to unhide them and check these for charts as well.

If  FILE-INFO is saying there are still hidden sheets then your file may have sheets that are ‘Very Hidden’. This is unlikely unless you or someone else has set the sheet ‘Visible’ property to xlVeryHidden in the Visual Basic Editor. Click FILE – CHECK FOR ISSUES – INSPECT DOCUMENT to find any hidden sheets. You can either click to remove the sheets. Or you can unhide them in the Visual Basic Editor (click ALT+F11). In the VBE you can click on the hidden sheet then change its visible property to xlVisible.

In each chart. Right click the chart then ‘SELECT DATA’. Click on each series then ‘EDIT’.

If you see a link to an external file in the name or values then you have found some phantom links. Go to this data in the external file, cut it and paste it in your problem workbook next to the chart.

If you’ve already tried to BREAK LINKS to this file then instead of the file and range (above), all you will is a list of values (below).

If this is the case then you’ll still need to cut the cells from the external file and paste in your problem workbook. The difficulty is going to be finding the cells. You don’t have a range reference in this case.

Also check the chart titles and other chart elements for external links such as this:

Other Non-Chart Objects

Other objects such as form controls or linked images may reference external files. You can check these as well before you go to the next step.

4a. Delete any external links in Conditional Formats.

UPDATE: Some links to external files can be hidden in any Excel feature that can reference sheet ranges. These features include Conditional Formats. (Thanks to Roger, Yuri and others in the comments for these additions)

Go through each sheet and select every cell. Click CTRL+A

From {Home} menu. In the {Styles} section click on {Conditional Formatting} then {Manage Rules…}.

For each of those rules: click on it then {Edit Rule…}. You’ll need to check there are no references to external files in there. If there are then then amend or delete the rule. You can learn more about conditional formatting here if needed.

You can follow a similar process for Data Validation if you still have external links. To find data validation in a sheet you need to go to the {Home} menu then within the {Editing} section click on {Find & Select} then {Go to Special}. Now select {Data Validation} then click {OK}.

If you still cannot break links then try this:

5. Save a copy of the problem file.

This is the last resort if you cannot break links in Excel®. But this will resolve any remaining phantom link problems.

The downside is that this method is breaking  external links without actually finding them. There is a chance this will impact the functionality of your workbook.

This method goes in to the file structure within the workbook to remove the link data.

1. Create a copy of the file in which you are trying to remove the links
2. In file explorer: right click this new file and RENAME
3. Change the extension from .xlsx to .zip.
4. Open this ZIP folder and navigate to the folder ‘FILENAME.zip > xl’
5. Delete the folder named ‘externalLinks’.
6. Back out of the ZIP folder
7. Rename the ZIP folder from extension .zip back to .xlsx
8. Open this file

When the file opens in Excel® you should not be asked to update links. The EDIT LINKS option should be grayed out.

Compare this new file with the original to ensure it is working correctly.

6. Change the file type to ‘xls’ then back to ‘xlsx’.

Update: this is added courtesy of the comment from Jack below. Thanks Jack.

This is the “last last” resort. Downgrade the file.

1. Create a backup of your file.
2. ‘Save As’ your workbook.
   1. Change the file type to ‘xls’ (Microsoft Excel 5.0/95 Workbook’
   2. Click ‘Save’
3. ‘Save As’ again.
   1. Change the file type to ‘xlsx’
   2. Click ‘Save’

That may well fix any remaining problems.

There can be a downside to this method. Saving a file as ‘xls’ that was created as ‘xlsx’ may result in some features being removed from the file. You will receive a warning if there are any features that are incompatible with the ‘xls’ format so check that first. If there are any issues then your backup should bail you out. 

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When we work with several excel files and use formula to get the work done, we intentionally or unintentionally create links between different files. Normal formula links can be easily broken by using break links option.

When we break links between two files, the values that were dynamically pulled by linked file become static. And this is what we want.  But some times the break links option doesn’t work properly. For such cases, we have this article. This article can help you if you have problem breaking links in Excel file.

Break Links Between Files Effectively

Now if you are working with multiple files and your final file has links to other files that you don’t want to keep, just follow these steps:

Go to Data —> Edit Links. Here you will see all the links to the file. Select the link and click on the break links option.

This should break the link to selected file.

Now sometimes it happens that the break link button is dimmed out and does not work. And sometimes the break link option button is working but id does not break links. Let’s see each case and solve them.

1. Break links button is dimmed out

Sometimes when you click on the edit links menu for breaking the links between the excel files, the break links button gets dimmed out and becomes non functional. It happens when the sheet or the workbook is protected. You need to unprotect the sheet or the workbook.

Go to Review and click on the button unprotect sheet.

It is possible that the sheet is protected using a password. You will need to enter that password. Once the sheet is unprotected, the button for breaking the link will be functional.

This was an usual case. There are some unusual cases of breaking links that does not seem to work properly.

2. Breaking link dialog box pops up every time workbook is opened.

Now this is an rare case but annoying one. Sometimes we break the links to the source file but when reopen the file main file, it again shows the break link dialog box. The links are not actually removed.

It happens when the file has data validations linked to other files. Normal link breaking does work on these. In such cases do this.

1. First Duplicate the file and save it. Now start working on the duplicate file so that your main file is safe.

2. Check the data validation if they contain links to external files. Remove them.

2. Similarly check the conditional formatting formulas you have used. If they contain links to external files then remove them to. Make these conditional formatting local.

3. Check Chart  series ranges. If they contain ranges from different workbook, remove them. Do check the headers. We often link the headers to a cell.

4. Check the named ranges used from different workbook. This is a rare one. But to be on the safe side check for the named ranges if they contain range from external file. Remove or amend them to suit you.

When you have checked all these. Try again to remove the links and save the duplicate file. I am sure that all the external links that you wanted to remove, will be removed from the main file

I hope this was helpful. If you have any doubts regarding this topic or any other Excel/VBA related topic, ask me in the comments section below. Till than keep excelling.

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Trying to break Excel links but Excel can not break links? It may be because you have referred external file in the data source of Excel objects or validations. Excel warning messages become a headache if Excel cannot break links when tried.

In normal cases, it is easy to break links in Excel files by just Alt + A + K or by going to the Data tab-> Queries & Connection manually. Then you have to select the wanted link to break and press the “Break Link” button. This option allows you to break visible known normal external links.

But What if excel won’t break external links even after trying this method?

In this article, we will see methods to fix Excel links issue in the following cases,

Why excel can not break links?

Excel fails to break external links if they are used for Data Validation or defining names in Names Manager.

In normal cases, if external links are placed in Excel date cells you can select and see them, so you can delete, break or edit them manually. But if they are used in the following Excel features,

• Data Validations
• Defined Name range in Name Manage
• Charts

Excel won’t break them using the Edit link option, you have to break them manually. Hence, if links are from the missing files every time you open an Excel file following error message will keep appearing.

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Here is how to break links in Excel

To break links you have to look for links used in the formula or data source of Excel features. If you found one, verify is it the same which causing the problem, and if “yes” then fix it.

1
Break Excel Links used in Data Validation

If external links are used in Data Validation or in Names Manager they are not available to access through applied data cells. It becomes more difficult when you don’t know exactly which cells of rows and columns are used in data validation.

Follow these steps,

Step-1: First identify & select the data range (i.e cells, columns, rows) that have applied data validation referring to external files. If you don’t know then simply select all (Ctrl + A)

Step-2: Then go to Data tab-> Data Validation (Alt + A + V+V).
If your selection is perfect then it will show you referring file address as shown in the above screenshot. Otherwise, it will not and you have to select a large cell range (i.e select all).

Step-3: Then click on “Clear All”. It will clear all data validations from selected cells and so links.

Note: Clear All will remove all applied data validation from the selected range. You have to again set up validation to the required cells.

2
Break Excel Links used in Name ranges

If external links are used in defining names in Names Manager you can delete or edit them by editing names only. You can not break these links from the Edit Links dialog.

Follow these steps,

Step-1: Goto Formula tab->Name Manager (Alt + M + N)

Step-2: Look for a defined name with an external link in the “Refers To” column

Step-3: Edit/Correct or delete the defined Name Range

Note: Deleting a defined Name will cause an error in cells that contain the same Name as part of the formula.

3
Break Excel Links used in Charts

Moving Excel charts to external files cause the creation of phantom links (links to external file you haven’t created). You have to look for a such link in the data source and code of Excel charts if there is any.

Follow these steps,

Step-1: Select Excel chart then Right click->Slect Data.. source

Step-2: Look for links with the external file name

Step-3: Edit/Correct or delete the defined source

If your links are in VBA code, select the item and press Alt + F11 to open the VBA project manager. here you can check if there is any external link that is causing the problem.

Some external links are hidden in the data source of data validation, names, and charts. You can remove hidden external links in Excel by looking inside sources of charts, names, and data validations.

Conclusion

Excel cannot break links if they are used in the data sources of Excel features and objects. Links may become ghost or phantom links if you move sheets, or objects (such as charts) to another sheet. It can also cause problems when you move, edit, or remove referred Excel files. You have to reconfigure and correct reference formulas and data sources to fix such link-related issues.

While breaking the formula links or demonstrating the data between the workbook can’t break links in Excel, this tutorial is for you.

Microsoft Excel allows break link functions to validate the data easily by breaking normal formula links. But recently, some reports have been seen where the Excel break links not working.

This is quite problematic for regular Excel users; therefore, we have done our research and found many different reasons ranging from minor glitches to major technical issues.

So, here in this article, we put together the potential solutions that work for you to fix break links in Excel not working problem. But before jumping straight to the solutions, look at the reasons triggering the problem.

What Causes “Excel Break Links Not Working”?

Breaking links from Data Ribbon via Edit links won’t work for the external links which have conditional formatting, Data validation, defined names, and Chart sources. In this case, you need to search manually for external links.

Another reason has the protected Excel workbook won’t break links rather than the specified links. The protected workbook prevents other users from editing or modifying some parts of the Excel sheet, and this is why you can’t break links in Excel.

Luckily there are multiple ways that help you to fix the problem; below, follow them depending cause you are dealing with.

Before starting with the fixes listed, confirm if the break links button is grey or dimmed out. To do so, go to the Data tab and from the Queries & Connections group, click on the Edit Links option.

If you find the break links button is dimmed, try the solutions listed.

Solution 1 – Check if your Excel Sheet is Protected

If the Excel sheet you are using is protected, it won’t allow you to use the break links option. Protecting the Excel sheet means it won’t allow you to carry out pointless actions without authorization.

Follow the steps to check and unprotect your Excel sheet:

• Open your Excel file and click on the Review option
• Now in the Protect group, click on the option Unprotect Sheet.

• You will ask for the password, type your password and click on OK

• Click on the Data Tab and then on the Queries & Connections group option, and click on the Edit links.

Now click the Break Link button to confirm if the Excel break links not working problem is resolved.

Solution 2 – Delete the Named Ranges

If the External Excel file has the defined names, then this might be causing the problem and cause the Break Links not working problem in Excel. So, deleting the entire defined workbook names may work for you.

Follow the steps to do so:

• Open your problematic Excel sheet and click on the Formulas Tab
• And click on the Defined Names group, then choose Name Manager.

• Here you will see the Name Manager box. Select it and click on Delete.

• Click on OK to save the changes

Check if the problem is resolved or not.

Solution 3 – Remove External Links in the Charts

If on the external files you have created charts, the phantom link is created, which sometimes causes a problem when using the Excel Break links button.

So here are the steps to delete charts in External links

• Right-click on the charts and then click on the Select Data

• Here you will see this chart is linked to the Source Workbook

• And go to the Source workbook and copy the complete dataset.

• Then paste it to the xlsx file in the latest worksheet.

• Choose and right-click on the chart.
• Next, modify the reference to the new worksheet data in the Chart data range box.

Your chart is linked to the latest workbook, and fix the Excel break links button is not working problem.

Solution 4 – Remove the Conditional Formatting of External links in Excel

The external links in the Conditional Formatting in Excel might be causing problems. As hidden conditional formatting rules might be causing problems.

So, check for the hidden conditional formatting and remove it in Excel.

• Open the Excel sheet and click on Home.
• And from the Styles group, choose Conditional Formatting and click on Manage Rules.
• You will see the external links and then click on the Delete Rule the deleting the links.

You need to remove the external links, which will fix the break links that are not working.

Solution 5 – Delete Data Validation Links

In some cases, in the Data Validation field, the external files have formulas associated with the source file. And this will cause problems when you try to break links between the Excel workbooks. Therefore, here it is suggested to delete the links from the source.

• Click on the Data tab in the Excel file and then from the Data Tools group.
• Choose the Data Validation
• And under the Source, remove the formula-like content.

• Alternatively, under the Data validation, click on the Validation Criteria and click on Any Values.

Now check if this works for you to solve the problem.

Solution 6 – Check the Workbook

If your Excel workbook faces compatibility issues, it starts causing various problems. In this case, the compatibility checker will show problems in the workbook. Additionally, it can be prompted for locating and highlighting the problematic areas in the Excel workbook.

Follow the steps to run the compatibility checker in MS Excel:

• Launch the Excel file to open the linked document.
• Then from the menu bar, click on the File option
• Choose Info from the left side
• Click on Check for Issues option next to the Inspect Workbook.
• And from the menu, click on the Check Compatibility option
• Then in the Check Compatibility window, Excel starts displaying entire workbook problems.
• Now to find every problem click on Find and remove the problems from the workbook.

Solution 7 – Convert Excel to a Zip File

If none of the above-listed fixes works for you, make a zip of your Excel file. This helps you to delete the external links and solve the Excel break links not working issue.

Follow the instructions to do so:

• Open the folder where the external file is saved and right-click on the file
• Then choose the Rename option
• And change the extension to .zip
• Launch the zip file and open the Zip folder as your Excel file becomes a zip file.

• And here, delete the externalLinks folder

• Now modify the file extension from .zip to .xlsx

And it will be converted from a zip file to an Excel file, and you can now break links in Excel.

Solution 8 – Change the Excel File Type

Lastly, if none of the above-listed fixes works for you, the problem might be with the Excel file type. In this case, changing the file type might work for you to fix break links not working problem in Excel.

Follow the steps to do so:

• Click on the File option
• And click on the Save As option.
• Then alter the file type, for, eg. .xlsx to .xls.

• And click on Save.
• Now click on the File option again and choose Save As an option
• Then change the file type .xls to .xlsx and click on Save

Launch the Excel file and check if the break links not working problem is resolved.

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Conclusion

So, these fixes work for you to fix the Excel Break Links not working problem. Here I tried my best to list the potential fixes to solve the problem and start using the Break links option in Excel.

I hope our guide works for you to solve the problem. Follow the steps listed carefully to avoid further issues.

If you are facing any other issue related to this specific one, let us know by sharing your experience on our social media FB and Twitter Pages.

1. 07-16-2014, 09:56 AM

   
   

   #1

   

   
   Registered User
   

   

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   Excel file won’t break links
   

   Hello,

   I copied 2 worksheets from one file to another and went in to «Edit Links» and changed the source to itself rather than the original file which took away those links in the cells that the original file was present in, but it still gives me a dialogue when opening the file that links to the original file. I go back to «Edit Links» and press «Break Link» but it doesn’t seem to remove the link to the original file. If I click on «Connections», none are present. I clicked on «Startup Prompt» and set it so that it wouldn’t annoy me with the prompt any more, but I’d ideally like to not have any reference to the original file. What can I do to accomplish this?

   Thanks,
   Ben

   Last edited by benalt; 07-16-2014 at 10:03 AM.

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2. 07-16-2014, 10:04 AM

   
   

   #2

   Re: Excel file won’t break links
   

   Clicking Break Link should break the external references link.

   If possible share a screenshot of breaklink window

   

   If your problem is solved, then please mark the thread as SOLVED>>Above your first post>>Thread Tools>>
   Mark your thread as Solved

   If the suggestion helps you, then

   Click *below to Add Reputation

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3. 07-16-2014, 10:20 AM

   
   

   #3

   

   
   Registered User
   

   

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   Re: Excel file won’t break links
   

   I found the solution. I went to File / Check for issues / Check compatibility which gave me 2 results. The second result said «One or more cells in this workbook contain data validation rules which refer to values on other worksheets…». I clicked on the «Find» button which brought me to 2 adjacent cells with pull down menus. Clicking on «Data Validation» / «Circle Invalid Data» from the «Data» tab put circles around those cells. I clicked on each cell individually and then selected «Data Validation» and it showed that the source line was referencing the other file. I manually removed the file reference from the source and then went back in to «Edit Links» and clicked on «Break Link» again and this time it removed the link!

   Lesson: «Break Link» cannot remove links that are in data validation rules.

   Last edited by benalt; 07-16-2014 at 10:22 AM.

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4. 07-17-2014, 02:50 AM

   
   

   #4

   Re: Excel file won’t break links
   

   Glad you fixed it and thanks for sharing the solution with us

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5. 10-21-2015, 01:24 PM

   
   

   #5

   

   
   Registered User
   

   

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   Re: Excel file won’t break links
   

   Originally Posted by benalt
   

   I found the solution. I went to File / Check for issues / Check compatibility which gave me 2 results. The second result said «One or more cells in this workbook contain data validation rules which refer to values on other worksheets…». I clicked on the «Find» button which brought me to 2 adjacent cells with pull down menus. Clicking on «Data Validation» / «Circle Invalid Data» from the «Data» tab put circles around those cells. I clicked on each cell individually and then selected «Data Validation» and it showed that the source line was referencing the other file. I manually removed the file reference from the source and then went back in to «Edit Links» and clicked on «Break Link» again and this time it removed the link!

   Lesson: «Break Link» cannot remove links that are in data validation rules.

   You just saved my day!!! This is by far the best solution to find broken links.

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6. 06-30-2016, 02:01 PM

   
   

   #6

   

   
   Registered User
   

   

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   Re: Excel file won’t break links
   

   I was dealing with almost the same issue, my links were hidden in some conditional formatting that was copied over from the now-deleted file. Thanks for getting me to the right result!

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7. 07-30-2016, 10:25 AM

   
   

   #7

   

   
   Forum Contributor
   

   

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   Re: Excel file won’t break links
   

   I have excel 2016 and it doesn’t have the Filecheck for issues option (or at least I can’t find it). I have a «master» workbook that opens a «slave» workbook (which has some cell validation) from VBA macros. I moved the «slave» workbook to another directory and changed the «Master» VBA code accordingly. Worked fine but every time I opened the «Master» workbook, I got the «has links» message. It just would not go away and was driving me nuts. Finally after reading your post, I opened the slave workbook and removed all the cell validations. This solved the problem. THANKS for your POST!

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8. 09-19-2016, 03:23 AM

   
   

   #8

   

   
   Registered User
   

   

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   Re: Excel file won’t break links
   

   I had a similar problem with an external link burried in a conditional formatting. None of the search methods mentioned helped so I made a copy of the whole spreadsheed then deleted all the conditional formatting on a sheet, saved, closed and re-opened the workbook. Eventually the error disappeared so I knew which sheet to look it and i found it. I must have just skipped passed in the manual search as the conditional formatting rules have become fragmented.

   This was the best thread on the topic I found in a Google search for a solution so thankyou. I was on the verge of just giving up.

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9. 09-23-2016, 05:27 PM

   
   

   #9

   

   
   Registered User
   

   

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   Re: Excel file won’t break links
   

   Thank you! This post solved the problem for me. Much appreciated!

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10. 09-23-2016, 05:45 PM

    
    

    #10

    

    
    Registered User
    

    

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    Re: Excel file won’t break links
    

    EXCEL.jpg
    HELLO , Can anyone tell me if it is possible to link the content of the box with number (10) in the «NEW FORMATING RULE» window at conditional formating >>format only top or bottom ranked values , with an external cell of the sheet ? Thanks ….

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11. 02-14-2017, 12:46 PM

    
    

    #11

    

    
    Registered User
    

    

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    Re: Excel file won’t break links
    

    Just wanted to add to this post for any still having this issue but not finding a fix. I was also not able to break a link, and running the compatibility did not directly point out the problem. I finally found the issue in the Name Manager. There were lists that were from an external file. I deleted the list, and was able to break the link.

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12. 03-22-2017, 12:20 AM

    
    

    #12

    

    
    Registered User
    

    

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    Re: Excel file won’t break links
    

    Originally Posted by benalt
    

    I found the solution. I went to File / Check for issues / Check compatibility which gave me 2 results. The second result said «One or more cells in this workbook contain data validation rules which refer to values on other worksheets…». I clicked on the «Find» button which brought me to 2 adjacent cells with pull down menus. Clicking on «Data Validation» / «Circle Invalid Data» from the «Data» tab put circles around those cells. I clicked on each cell individually and then selected «Data Validation» and it showed that the source line was referencing the other file. I manually removed the file reference from the source and then went back in to «Edit Links» and clicked on «Break Link» again and this time it removed the link!

    Lesson: «Break Link» cannot remove links that are in data validation rules.

    It works. Awesome

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13. 09-12-2017, 01:02 PM

    
    

    #13

    

    
    Registered User
    

    

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    Re: Excel file won’t break links
    

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14. 09-12-2017, 04:51 PM

    
    

    #14

    Re: Excel file won’t break links
    

    chrismsmith_fw,
    Unfortunately your post does not comply with Rule 2 of our Forum RULES. Do not post a question in the thread of another member — start your own thread.

    If you feel an existing thread is particularly relevant to your need, provide a

    link to the other thread in your new thread.

    Old threads are often only monitored by the original participants. New threads not only open you up to all possible participants again, they typically get faster response, too.

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15. 09-13-2017, 08:27 AM

    
    

    #15

    

    
    Registered User
    

    

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    Re: Excel file won’t break links
    

    What are you talking about? What question? I didn’t ask a question. Try again. There’s nothing wrong with my post. If anything, posts like the one I responded to from Sixthsense need to be banned for good. He clearly didn’t read the initial question, which said clicking «break links» doesn’t work. I simply replied that his solution doesn’t work. Nothing wrong at all.

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16. 09-13-2017, 04:55 PM

    
    

    #16

    Re: Excel file won’t break links
    

    The thread is over three years old, and is marked as solved.

    Ali

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17. 09-13-2017, 05:16 PM

    
    

    #17

    

    
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    Re: Excel file won’t break links
    

    No worries. Thank you so much. Just getting my feet wet here so forgive the learning curve. Thanks for all you do!

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18. 11-23-2017, 02:25 AM

    
    

    #18

    

    
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19. 01-03-2018, 07:11 PM

    
    

    #19

    

    
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    Re: Excel file won’t break links
    

    Is anyone aware of any other places that broken links can be lurking besides within formulas, the Name Manager, Data Validation, or Conditional Formatting mentioned above? I’m trying to find a broken link in one of my inherited files and it is not coming up in any of these things.

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20. 01-03-2018, 09:48 PM

    
    

    #20

    Re: Excel file won’t break links
    

    jdriscol,
    Unfortunately your post does not comply with Rule 2 of our Forum RULES. Do not post a question in the thread of another member — start your own thread.

    If you feel an existing thread is particularly relevant to your need, provide a

    link to the other thread in your new thread.

    Old threads are often only monitored by the original participants. New threads not only open you up to all possible participants again, they typically get faster response, too.

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21. 01-04-2018, 12:11 PM

    
    

    #21

    

    
    Registered User
    

    

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    Re: Excel file won’t break links
    

    I follow all the steps but is still have links that do not break. As final trial i started to delete sheet by sheet to try to find where the link were but this did not help. In some case the links disappeared deleting one sheet, in some cases deleting a different one. So i`m back to square one. I can`t sort this out. Any other advise?

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22. 01-04-2018, 12:14 PM

    
    

    #22

    Re: Excel file won’t break links
    

    @Topacciolo — unfortunately your post does not comply with Rule 2 of our Forum RULES. Do not post a question in the thread of another member — start your own thread.

    If you feel an existing thread is particularly relevant to your need, provide a

    link to the other thread in your new thread.

    Old threads are often only monitored by the original participants. New threads not only open you up to all possible participants again, they typically get faster response, too.

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23. 01-04-2018, 12:21 PM

    
    

    #23

    

    
    Registered User
    

    

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    Re: Excel file won’t break links
    

    Done! Sorry, i thought it was the opposite… I created a new post for this. thanks for your advise.

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24. 08-03-2018, 11:28 AM

    
    

    #24

    

    
    Registered User
    

    

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    Re: Excel file won’t break links
    

    Here’s how I fixed mine:

    FIND THE CULPRIT:
    1) Make a work copy of your problem file
    2) Systematically delete one sheet, save/close the work file, then reopen the file
    a) If the message appears upon opening, delete another sheet, save/close and open the file
    b) repeat this process until the error no longer appears upon opening the file
    c) Make note of the sheet that was deleted that caused the pesky message to stop appearing.
    3) Once the error stops appearing, go back to the original problematic fie and save it as the work version again. Now you know what sheet needs to be fixed.
    NOTE) If there is no conditional formatting on the problematic sheet, this solution is not for you.

    THE FIX
    4) Click on «Conditional Formatting» on the Styles ribbon to open the Conditional Formatting Rules Manager window
    5) From the dropdown, select «This Worksheet»
    6) For each rule, click «Edit Rule» and be sure none of them reference a file. You should be able to cleanly delete any rules that do. Don’t try to fix them…they are extraneous.
    7) Save this work file, close it, and reopen it to make sure the error doesn’t appear. If it does, rinse and repeat.
    If all is well, you can safely overwrite the problematic version with the fixed work version.

    Note: I guess it may be possible to have more than one sheet be a problem. Use your analysis skills to identify sheets that are culprits if the one-by-one system doesn’t get it for you.

    GOOD LUCK! The developers should provide some sort of assistance to finding these little hidden problems.

    Last edited by songjockey; 08-03-2018 at 11:37 AM.

    Reason: clarity

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25. 08-04-2018, 09:17 AM

    
    

    #25

    

    
    Registered User
    

    

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    Re: Excel file won’t break links
    

    MGDASKOS was the person that asked the new question in this thread. MGDASKOS, your post does not comply with Rule 2 of our Forum RULES. Do not post a question in the thread of another member — start your own thread.

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26. 08-04-2018, 09:29 AM

    
    

    #26

    Re: Excel file won’t break links
    

    Thanks for spotting this, however the post in question is two years old and was the only post ever made by that member. As such, it does not require any follow-up.

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27. 10-03-2018, 12:19 PM

    
    

    #27

    

    
    Registered User
    

    

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    Re: Excel file won’t break links
    

    Originally Posted by benalt
    

    I found the solution. I went to File / Check for issues / Check compatibility which gave me 2 results. The second result said «One or more cells in this workbook contain data validation rules which refer to values on other worksheets…». I clicked on the «Find» button which brought me to 2 adjacent cells with pull down menus. Clicking on «Data Validation» / «Circle Invalid Data» from the «Data» tab put circles around those cells. I clicked on each cell individually and then selected «Data Validation» and it showed that the source line was referencing the other file. I manually removed the file reference from the source and then went back in to «Edit Links» and clicked on «Break Link» again and this time it removed the link!

    Lesson: «Break Link» cannot remove links that are in data validation rules.

    Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!! Really, really appreciated sharing this!!!!!!!!!!! Worked for me

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28. 01-24-2019, 09:30 AM

    
    

    #28

    

    
    Registered User
    

    

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    Re: Excel file won’t break links
    

    I had the same type of problem it was because there were named cells from another workbook that had been deleted!

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29. 01-24-2019, 06:05 PM

    
    

    #29

    Re: Excel file won’t break links
    

    Originally Posted by pburgeson
    

    I had the same type of problem it was because there were named cells from another workbook that had been deleted!

    Thanks for the feedback on this

    1. Use code tags for VBA. [code] Your Code [/code] (or use the # button)
    2. If your question is resolved, mark it SOLVED using the thread tools
    3. Click on the star if you think someone helped you

    Regards
    Ford

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30. 02-20-2019, 03:04 AM

    
    

    #30

    

    
    Registered User
    

    

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    Re: Excel file won’t break links
    

    Not Working!! still unable to break the garbage links.

    Broken links are there, but error is showing while removing the links. also not able to change the source location.

    Please help.

    Thanks,
    Ankur

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31. 02-20-2019, 03:37 AM

    
    

    #31

    Re: Excel file won’t break links
    

    Ankur.newid welcome to the forum

    Unfortunately your post does not comply with Rule 4 of our Forum

    RULES. Do not post a question in the thread of another member — start your own thread.

    If you feel an existing thread is particularly relevant to your need, provide a

    link to the other thread in your new thread.

    Old threads are often only monitored by the original participants. New threads not only open you up to all possible participants again, they typically get faster response, too.

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32. 03-21-2019, 06:00 AM

    
    

    #32

    

    
    Registered User
    

    

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    Re: Excel file won’t break links
    

    Great information, thanks! I’ve been struggling for weeks for this solution!

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33. 06-10-2019, 04:41 PM

    
    

    #33

    

    
    Registered User
    

    

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    Re: Excel file won’t break links
    

    Originally Posted by benalt
    

    I found the solution. I went to File / Check for issues / Check compatibility which gave me 2 results. The second result said «One or more cells in this workbook contain data validation rules which refer to values on other worksheets…». I clicked on the «Find» button which brought me to 2 adjacent cells with pull down menus. Clicking on «Data Validation» / «Circle Invalid Data» from the «Data» tab put circles around those cells. I clicked on each cell individually and then selected «Data Validation» and it showed that the source line was referencing the other file. I manually removed the file reference from the source and then went back in to «Edit Links» and clicked on «Break Link» again and this time it removed the link!

    Lesson: «Break Link» cannot remove links that are in data validation rules.

    Many thanks — This worked for me as well. It actually was also pointing to data validation rules that were met, and therefore didn’t show up circled as well.

    One tip that made it easier, was to copy the cells I removed validation for to other sheets causing the same problem in order to save time, once cleared.

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34. 07-23-2019, 05:52 PM

    
    

    #34

    

    
    Registered User
    

    

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    Re: Excel file won’t break links
    

    I had the same issue but could still not break links after going through these suggestions. I realized that I had a Custom Sort List that was created in another workbook file. When I delete that, then it solved the problem — no more unknown external links. Go to File > Options > Advanced > Scroll way down to the General section and click Edit Custom Lists > select the offending list > hit Delete…. or else Go to Sort & Filter > Custom Sort > Sort Order drop-down > Custom Lists > select the offending list > hit Delete > cancel the sort.

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35. 10-28-2019, 12:20 AM

    
    

    #35

    

    
    Registered User
    

    

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    Re: Excel file won’t break links
    

    Thanks Udaman! The Name Manager was the source of my problems. Delete the range with a reference to another sheet and the link was gone.

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36. 04-26-2021, 12:58 PM

    
    

    #36

    

    
    Registered User
    

    

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    Re: Excel file won’t break links
    

    This saved me. CRTL + F3 and delete all anmes. Thanks

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37. 04-28-2021, 02:54 AM

    
    

    #37

    

    
    Registered User
    

    

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    Re: Excel file won’t break links
    

    Thanks the solution worked. The other solution I have found is sometimes if there is an named range that refers to another workbook it also does not allow you to break the links and you have to delete the range

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38. 07-14-2022, 11:28 AM

    
    

    #38

    

    
    Registered User
    

    

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    Re: Excel file won’t break links
    

    For myself the only way I could fix it was to go to «Formulas» / «Defined names» / «Name Manager» and delete all the naming references

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