MacXL: How to Remove Links to a Worksheet (308713)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Excel 2001 for Mac
  • Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition
This article was previously published under Q308713

SUMMARY

This article describes how to remove links from a worksheet that is linked to one or more workbooks.

When you open a workbook that is linked to a different workbook, a delay or an error message may appear if the linked workbook is no longer available. To resolve this issue, you need to remove the links from the workbook.

MORE INFORMATION

When you open a worksheet that contains links to other workbooks, Excel asks whether you want to update these links. You can choose to update the links, or you can remove the links.

To remove the links, follow these steps:
  1. Open the worksheet that contains the links and also open the original workbook.
  2. To switch between the worksheet and the workbook, hold down either the COMMAND key or the APPLE key, and then press the tilde (~) key, which is located just below the ESC key.

    Linked workbooks are entered into a cell formula as follows:

    =[workbook1]Sheet1!A1

    When you switch between the worksheet and the workbook, you can see which cells contain the linked sheets.
  3. Locate the brackets, and then use the Find tool to locate occurrences of the worksheet name that is between the brackets:
    1. Hold down the COMMAND or APPLE key, and then press the F key.
    2. In the Find what box, type the worksheet name that is between the brackets, and then click Find Next.
  4. Click each cell that contains the worksheet name, click Edit, and then click Copy.
  5. Keep the cursor where it is, click Edit, click Paste Special, click Values, and then click OK.
  6. Repeat the procedure for each link.
  7. If there are numerous linked worksheets, select all cells that have linked data from the original workbook, hold down the APPLE key, and then press the F key.
  8. In the Find what box, type !, and then click Find Next.
  9. For each occurrence, click Edit, click Copy, click Edit, click Paste Special, click Values, and then click OK.
  10. To make sure that all links have been removed, click Edit and make sure that the Links option is unavailable. If the option is still available, repeat step 3.

REFERENCES

For additional information about how to use a Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications macro to remove links, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

192895 XL98: Macros to Delete Formula Links

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:9/11/2002
Keywords:kbhowto KB308713
©2002 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.