Insert a Hyperlink
Select the cell, then press Ctrl+K (Cmd+K on Mac) or go to Insert > Link — both open the same dialog where you paste a URL, browse to a file, or jump to a cell in the current workbook. For a link built from a formula instead of the dialog, use =HYPERLINK(link_location,[friendly_name]): =HYPERLINK("https://example.com","Visit site") shows friendly text over a live link. Google Sheets uses the identical HYPERLINK(url,[label]) syntax and the same Ctrl+K shortcut, but linking to another sheet inside the same file needs a different location string than Excel does.
The formula
=HYPERLINK("https://example.com","Visit site") external link with friendly display text
=HYPERLINK("#Sheet2!A1","Go to Sheet2") Excel: link to a cell on another sheet in this workbook
=HYPERLINK("#gid=123456789&range=A1","Go to Sheet2") Google Sheets: same idea, needs the target sheet's gid instead of its name
=HYPERLINK("mailto:name@example.com","Email me") mailto link, works the same in bothA worked example
B2 is empty and you want it to show "Company site" as clickable text that opens https://example.com.
=HYPERLINK("https://example.com","Company site")
B2 shows "Company site" as blue, underlined, clickable text; clicking it opens the URL in a new browser tab, and the formula itself still shows in the formula bar when the cell is selected.
Which one do I need?
| If you want to… | Use |
|---|---|
| Linking to a website or external URL (add, create, insert or make a link) | Select the cell, press Ctrl+K (Cmd+K on Mac) or Insert > Link, paste the URL and set the display text |
| Linking to another sheet in the same workbook | =HYPERLINK("#Sheet2!A1","Go to Sheet2") — a # plus the sheet name, no full file path needed |
| Linking to a specific cell or range rather than a whole sheet | Same pattern with the target cell after the !, e.g. "#Sheet2!C5", or the dialog's "Place in This Document" option |
| You're building the link in Google Sheets, not Excel | HYPERLINK(url,[label]) and Ctrl+K work the same for external URLs; for a link inside the file, Sheets needs the target sheet's gid instead of its name: ="#gid=123456789&range=A1" |
| Editing or removing a hyperlink you already added | Right-click the cell > Edit Link, or Remove Hyperlink — deleting the cell's text alone leaves the link attached to the empty cell |
Frequently asked questions
Does the HYPERLINK function work the same in Google Sheets?
The function itself does — HYPERLINK(url,[label]) takes the same two arguments in both. The difference is linking within the same file: Excel accepts the sheet's name (#Sheet2!A1), while Google Sheets needs the sheet's gid instead (#gid=123456789&range=A1), which you can read from the tab's URL when it's open.
Why did my hyperlink stop working after I renamed or moved the sheet?
HYPERLINK stores the sheet name as literal text inside the formula, so renaming a sheet breaks every #SheetName!A1 link that pointed to it — Excel doesn't update them automatically. Retype the affected formulas with the new sheet name, or point at a defined named range instead of a raw cell reference so a rename doesn't matter.
Why can't I remove a hyperlink just by pressing Delete?
Delete only clears the cell's displayed text, not the link attached underneath it — the blue underline and click behavior stay. Right-click the cell and choose Remove Hyperlink (Excel) or Remove link (Google Sheets) to clear it completely.
What's the difference between Ctrl+K and the HYPERLINK function?
Ctrl+K inserts a link through a dialog; it doesn't recalculate if the destination should depend on other cells. HYPERLINK is a live formula, so =HYPERLINK(A1,B1) updates automatically when A1 or B1 changes — use it whenever the URL or display text is built from data rather than typed once.
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