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Gracie1's avatar
Gracie1
Copper Contributor
Jan 07, 2026

Hyperlinks not working on Macbook air

I have had an issue with permissions for accessing files with excel, in my Macbook Air (Apple M4 - Tahoe 26.2) for almost a year now. When I insert a link to a pdf and then I try and open the link, e...
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Excel on Mac
NikolinoDE's avatar
NikolinoDE
Platinum Contributor
Jan 09, 2026

To resolve the hyperlink issue in Excel on your MacBook Air, follow these structured steps. The problem likely stems from macOS security permissions or Excel-specific settings:

Step-by-Step Solution

 1. Check File/Folder Permissions

  • Right-click the PDF file or its containing folder → Get Info.
  • Under Sharing & Permissions, ensure your user account has Read & Write access.
  • If locked, click the lock icon (bottom-right), authenticate, and adjust permissions.

  2. Grant Excel Full Disk Access

  • Go to Apple Menu → System Settings → Privacy & Security → Full Disk Access.
  • Ensure Microsoft Excel is listed and checked. If not:
  • Click + → Navigate to /Applications/Microsoft Excel.app → Add it.
  • Restart Excel after granting access.

 3. Manually Insert Hyperlinks
Instead of using the "Insert Link" tool, use the formula bar:

  • Right-click the PDF in Finder → Copy "File.pdf" as Pathname.
  • In Excel, select a cell and type:
  • =HYPERLINK("Paste/Copied/Path/Here.pdf", "Display Text")
  • Replace Paste/Copied/Path/Here.pdf with the actual path.

 4. Reset Excel Preferences

  • Quit Excel.
  • Open Finder → Press Command + Shift + G → Paste:
    ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Excel/Data/Library/Preferences/
  • Delete com.microsoft.Excel.plist (backup first if needed).
  • Empty Trash and restart Excel.

 5. Clear Excel Cache

  • In Finder, navigate to:
    ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Excel/Data/Library/Caches/
  • Delete all files in this folder.
  • Restart Excel.

 6. Temporarily Disable Security Prompts (Testing Only)

  • Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Security.
  • Set Allow apps downloaded from to App Store (most restrictive).
  • Revert to App Store and identified developers after testing.
  • Manually open the PDF once via Finder to "trust" it, then retry the hyperlink.

 7. Update or Reinstall Excel

  • Update Excel: Open Excel → Help → Check for Updates.
  • Reinstall Excel if issues persist:

Uninstall Excel via Finder → Applications.

Delete residual files:
~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Excel/

Download the latest version from the Mac App Store.

 

If the issue persists after these steps, consider testing with a PDF in your Downloads folder (a trusted location) to rule out folder-specific restrictions.

 

My answers are voluntary and without guarantee!

 

Hope this will help you.

 

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Gracie1's avatar
Gracie1
Copper Contributor
Jan 18, 2026

Thank you so much for your detailed response and apologies that it took so long for me to respond. Excel already has permissions (full) to my disk and I have opted to insert the links manually. 

As I am not an IT minded person, I am too nervous to reinstall excel in case I lose anything and I have a subscription to Microsoft 365 family.

However, I did notice that the links that do not work have a weird path (as below) and I don't understand why this is happening. I did go into my ~/library in finder but there is no folder called "Containers" so I am confused as to how it came up with this path when inserting the links through the 'insert' menu.

Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Excel/Data/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/SDS/COA/NE Cucumber Cellular Extract COA ANE0195SB-10 Batch NE240148-04-01.pdf

Thanks

 

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