Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: Turning Off Hyperlink Activation.

Turning Off Hyperlink Activation

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated October 5, 2024)
This tip applies to Excel 2000, 2002, and 2003


When you enter a Web address or a LAN server address of a file into an Excel cell, it automatically converts to a hyperlink when you leave the cell. This is part of the "Web-aware behavior" of Excel, first introduced in Excel 2000.

If you want to turn off the automatic conversion, you can follow these steps if you are using Excel 2002 or Excel 2003:

  1. Choose AutoCorrect Functions from the Tools menu. Excel displays the AutoCorrect dialog box.
  2. Make sure the AutoFormat As You Type tab is selected. (See Figure 1.)
  3. Figure 1. The AutoFormat As You Type tab of the AutoCorrect dialog box.

  4. Clear the Internet and Network Paths With Hyperlinks check box.
  5. Click OK.

If you are using Excel 2000, your options are severely limited—Excel doesn't allow you to turn off the conversions. All you can do is press Ctrl+Z after the hyperlink is created, or preface your entry with an apostrophe so that Excel treats it as text. You can also create an application-level event handler—which is beyond the scope of this tip—as described in the Microsoft Knowledge Base, article 233073:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/233073

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2707) applies to Microsoft Excel 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Turning Off Hyperlink Activation.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Entering Large Time Values

If you need to input humongous times into a worksheet, you may run into a problem if you need to enter times greater than ...

Discover More

Making a Cell's Contents Bold within a Macro

When your macro is processing information in a worksheet, do you need to periodically make the contents of a cell bold? ...

Discover More

Pulling Text from a Cell and Placing It in a Shape

Graphic shapes you add to your worksheet can easily contain text; just click on the shape and start typing away. You may ...

Discover More

Comprehensive VBA Guide Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is the language used for writing macros in all Office programs. This complete guide shows both professionals and novices how to master VBA in order to customize the entire Office suite for their needs. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2010 today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Changing Portions of Many Hyperlinks

If you need to modify the URL used in a large number of hyperlinks, you can do so by using a macro and a little ...

Discover More

Pasting a Hyperlink

Need a quick link within a document to some external data? You can paste information so that Excel treats it just like a ...

Discover More

Deleting a Hyperlink

Hyperlinks can be helpful in some worksheets but bothersome in others. Here's how to get rid of any hyperlinks you don't ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 4 - 3?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.