In Excel: select the cell and press Ctrl+K (Insert ▸ Link) — or build one with a formula: =HYPERLINK("#Summary!A1","Go to Summary").
Click the cell that should carry the link.
Press Ctrl+K, or Insert ▸ Links ▸ Link.
Pick the target type: Existing File or Web Page, Place in This Document, Create New Document, or E-mail Address.
Set Text to display so the cell reads as a label rather than a raw URL.
For a computed target, skip the dialog and use =HYPERLINK(target, friendly_name) instead.
To remove one link right-click ▸ Remove Hyperlink; for a whole range use Home ▸ Editing ▸ Clear ▸ Remove Hyperlinks.
What this does
Excel has two kinds of link. A static hyperlink, added with Ctrl+K, is attached to the cell and survives being copied; the dialog's four tabs point it at a web address, a place in this document, a new document or an email address. The HYPERLINK function builds the link from a formula instead, so the target can be computed — which is what you need when the destination comes from a column of IDs. To remove links, right-click ▸ Remove Hyperlink, or select the range and use Home ▸ Clear ▸ Remove Hyperlinks for a whole block at once. The same idea underpins a lot of everyday Excel work, so the few minutes spent getting it right here pay back across every sheet you build afterwards. Treat it as a pattern, not a one-off, and it stops being something you look up and starts being something you reach for. For “create hyperlink in excel”, the reliable version is a short checking loop, not just the first command that appears to work. Run it on a deliberately small range first, watch how the affected hyperlink change, and only then apply the same setup to the full sheet. When a formula is involved, keep the inputs labelled beside it, reference cells instead of typing values, and apply number formatting only after the result checks out. That is what makes a layout choice that keeps the sheet readable and sortable useful in real work: repeatable, auditable, and not dependent on memory or luck.
A worked example
Static: select A1, Ctrl+K, choose Place in This Document, pick the Summary sheet and cell A1, set the display text to "Go to Summary", OK. Computed: with a ticket ID in A2, =HYPERLINK("https://tracker.example.com/"&A2, A2) makes every row link to its own ticket, and filling it down updates each target. To stop Excel auto-linking typed addresses, use File ▸ Options ▸ Proofing ▸ AutoCorrect Options ▸ AutoFormat As You Type ▸ untick "Internet and network paths with hyperlinks". Links turn a multi-sheet workbook into something navigable — a contents page, a jump back to the summary, a row that opens the record it describes — and the formula version scales that to every row without manual work. One habit worth forming early: name the cells that hold your inputs, so the formula reads in plain language instead of a string of cell addresses. A reviewer — or you in three months — can then follow the logic without decoding what B7 and D2 were supposed to mean, which is most of what makes a sheet maintainable.
In Google Sheets
Everything above works in Google Sheets too. Excel and Sheets share the formula syntax used here; only the surrounding menus are arranged differently. That portability is deliberate — learn it once and it follows you between the two tools and across Windows and Mac. The aim was to get you unstuck fast and leave you a little more capable than a copy-paste would. The answer is at the top, the tool proves it, and the detail above shows why it holds — so the next time a colleague asks, you can answer without reaching for search. Here is the takeaway for “create hyperlink in excel”: copy the answer if you are busy, but if you have a spare few minutes, rebuild the example in Excel yourself with the tool above open beside it. That single pass — type it, run it, watch the result move when you change an input — is what turns a formula you found into a technique you trust. Keep your inputs labelled and referenced, never hard-coded, and the same sheet stays correct and auditable as it grows. Done that way, you will not need to look this up again, and you will be the person others ask.
Common mistakes
- Linking to a file by its local path and sending the workbook to someone who cannot reach that drive.
- Forgetting the # in the
HYPERLINKtarget when jumping within the same workbook — "#Summary!A1", not "Summary!A1". - Deleting the visible text and assuming the link went with it; the hyperlink is attached to the cell, not the text.
- Renaming a sheet after linking to it — a static Place-in-This-Document link updates, but a
HYPERLINKformula holding the old name as text does not. - Clicking a cell to select it and triggering the link instead; click and hold, or use the arrow keys.
Frequently asked questions
How do I insert a hyperlink in Excel?
Select the cell and press Ctrl+K, or use Insert ▸ Link. Choose the target type, set the text to display, and click OK.
How do I link to another sheet in the same workbook?
Ctrl+K ▸ Place in This Document ▸ pick the sheet and type the cell reference. As a formula it is =HYPERLINK("#Sheet2!A1","Go"), and the # is required.
How do I remove all hyperlinks at once?
Select the range, then Home ▸ Editing ▸ Clear ▸ Remove Hyperlinks. Right-click ▸ Remove Hyperlink does one cell at a time.
How do I stop Excel turning typed addresses into links?
File ▸ Options ▸ Proofing ▸ AutoCorrect Options ▸ AutoFormat As You Type, and untick "Internet and network paths with hyperlinks".
Other ways people ask this
This is also commonly searched as “how to make hyperlink in excel”, “create hyperlink in excel”, “how to create a hyperlink in excel” and “how do i create a hyperlink in excel”. They describe the identical operation, so you are in the right place no matter how you phrased it.
Why do people search for this in so many different ways?
Because the same task has many names. “how to make hyperlink in excel”, “create hyperlink in excel”, “how to create a hyperlink in excel” all point at the one operation explained on this page, which is why they all lead here.