Excel Spreadsheets that are linked

Copper Contributor

I have several spreadsheets with links so that when I open the spreadsheets they update automatically. Now I want to send them to my clients. How do they save them to their computer so that the links will work? The files presently are location in windows on my computer.

10 Replies

@Alice1030 

I'd move all the sheets from these workbooks into a single workbook. That way, you don't need external links.

@Alice1030 

Additional Alternative Solution Suggestions...

 

You can use OneDrive to share linked Excel spreadsheets with your clients.

OneDrive is a cloud storage service that allows you to store and share files with others. Here’s how you can do this:

  1. Save all the linked Excel spreadsheets to a folder in your OneDrive account.
  2. Right-click on the folder and select Share.
  3. In the Send Link dialog box that appears, enter the email addresses of your clients and add a message if desired.
  4. Click Send to share the folder with your clients.

Your clients will receive an email with a link to the shared folder in your OneDrive account.

They can click on the link to access the folder and open the Excel spreadsheets from there.

The links between the spreadsheets should work as expected.

One advantage of using OneDrive to share linked Excel spreadsheets is that any changes you make to the spreadsheets will be automatically synced to your clients’ computers.

This means that your clients will always have access to the most up-to-date versions of the spreadsheets.

 

Or…

If you have several Excel spreadsheets that are linked together and you want to send them to your clients, you need to make sure that the links between the spreadsheets will still work when your clients open the files on their computers.

Here’s what you can do to ensure that the links will work:

  1. Make sure that all the linked spreadsheets are saved in the same folder on your computer.
  2. Compress the folder containing all the linked spreadsheets into a ZIP file.
  3. Send the ZIP file to your clients.
  4. Instruct your clients to extract all the files from the ZIP file into a folder on their computer.
  5. When your clients open the spreadsheets from the extracted folder, the links between the spreadsheets should work as expected.

It’s important to note that if your clients move any of the extracted spreadsheets to a different location on their computer, the links between the spreadsheets may break. To avoid this, make sure that your clients keep all the extracted spreadsheets in the same folder.

 

 

Maybe its helps! :smiling_face_with_smiling_eyes:

@NikolinoDE 

Hi,

Thanks for trying to help me. I created a folder and uploaded the excel files. I entered data into the input sheets. When I opened the totals files it didn't update.

I got an error message stating that the links are disabled. Links to external workbooks are not supported.

@Alice1030 

As said earlier, if you have an Excel workbook saved on your hard drive and want to link it to another PC, you can save the workbook to a cloud storage service like OneDrive.

This way you can access the workbook from any device and make changes that will be automatically synced.

 

However, it is important to note that changes made to a copy of the workbook are not automatically synced to the original workbook.

To ensure that all changes in both workbooks are synchronized, you should always edit the same workbook and not make a separate copy.

 

Please provide the following information in order to be able to assist further should it be required again:

Welcome to your Excel discussion space!

 

Thank you for your understanding and patience

All of the files are saved on OneDrive. The links are disabled. Could this be because I have certain cells within the workbooks password protected?
It’s important to note that if your clients move any of the extracted spreadsheets to a different location on their computer, the links between the spreadsheets may break. To avoid this, make sure that your clients keep all the extracted spreadsheets in the same folder.
It is possible that having password-protected cells within a workbook could cause links to be disabled when the file is opened in OneDrive. However, there could be other reasons for this issue as well. For example, there may be some settings in your workbook that cause it to open as read-only. You could try creating a new workbook with a password to protect it and then share it with the user to see if it is also read-only.

@NikolinoDE 

Please keep in mind that hyperlinks are not the same in OneDrive as on a hard drive for an Excel workbook. If the same hyperlink on an Excel file saved on OneDrive is accessed from the OneDrive web, the hyperlink changes. You can try to recreate the link from Excel to the documents saved on the desktop OneDrive app and check.

You can create hyperlinks in an Excel workbook that work in OneDrive for other users by using the HYPERLINK function. The HYPERLINK function creates a link that opens a document stored on a network server, an intranet, or the Internet. When you click the cell that contains the HYPERLINK function, Excel opens the file stored at the location of the link . 

You can also type a URL directly into a cell or use the Hyperlink button in the Links group in Excel.

Hi,
Thanks for all your help! I figured it out. In order for the totals spreadsheet to update the current data, the input spreadsheets can't be password protected. When I remove the passwords then the totals spreadsheet works.
Thank you for your feedback. I wish you continued success with Excel.