Insert Hyperlink Into Your Excel Worksheet

Do you need to provide quick access from an Excel worksheet to a network file or to a location on the Internet? Perhaps the instructions for filling out the worksheet reside in a network directory, or maybe you need to show the Excel user where timely information can be found on the Internet.

You can provide a hyperlink right in your Excel worksheet that will connect the user with links to another file on your computer, a network file, or an Internet site. Follow these steps to add a hyperlink to a cell in your worksheet:

1. Click on the cell where you want to place the hyperlink.
   
2. Choose Insert, Hyperlink from the Excel menu.
   
3. In the Text to display field, enter the text that will appear on your worksheet. It is this text that will be hyperlinked. For example, if you are linking to IRS instructions for a particular tax computation, you could enter "IRS Instructions" in the Text to display field. If you leave this field blank, Excel will display the actual file name or URL of the hyperlink.
   
4. Click the Screen Tip button if you want to add a text description that will appear when the mouse hovers over your hyperlink. For example, you could enter "Click here to display the IRS instructions for this computation" as your screen tip.
   
5. In the next field, enter the file name, with a complete path (such as "F:\SharedDrive\Instructions\Excel.doc"), or enter an Internet URL, such as http://www.irs.gov.
   
6. You can use the File and Web Page buttons to help you search through your files and folders or through Internet sites if you don't know the file name or URL off the top of your head.
   
7. Click the OK button to place the hyperlink in your worksheet.