22.2 Inserting and Using Hyperlinks

In the video below, you will see a sort of table of contents for a workbook. The list shown gives users the option to click on the name of each worksheet or tab within the workbook and then be directed to that worksheet. Now, you may be using your fresh knowledge of VBA and thinking of a solution involving writing a short VBA script and buttons. Excel offers a simpler solution, however, via its Hyperlink feature.

Figure 22.1: Hyperlinks to other worksheets in the workbook.

You can link to many different resources in Excel, including the following:

  • An existing worksheet in the workbook

  • A file on the computer

  • A URL

  • External data or files, including Excel, Word, and PowerPoint

  • Email functionality

Excel’s Hyperlink feature can be accessed by navigating to the Insert tab in the toolbar and then selecting Link in the Links group.

Figure 22.2: Links can be inserted from the Insert menu using the Link option under the Links group.

A dialog box will open, allowing users to select what type of resource to link to, selecting from options in the list shown below.

Figure 22.3: Insert Hyperlink dialog adds links within the document to an external document, a website, or an email address.

You can also insert or embed objects into your Excel document. On the Insert menu, select the Object icon in the Text group and then specify which type of document you would like to embed.

Figure 22.4: Object icon in the Text group on the Insert menu.
Figure 22.5: Selecting the object type.

You can select an existing document, or you can create a new one. When you click OK, Excel will embed the document into your worksheet. Here we embedded a Word document so that we could take notes related to the class.

Figure 22.6: Embedded Word document.

Notice how the menu changes to the Microsoft Word menu and allows you to use any of the formatting or functionality of that product. Once you click out of the object, the menus switch back to Excel. To edit an embedded document, simply double-click on it and the appropriate menus appear, allowing you to edit as if you were in that program.

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