How do you link cells in Excel?

You can link cells in Excel using several methods, all of which create a reference to data in another cell.

Different Ways to Link Cells

Here are the primary methods to create a cell link in Excel, drawing from the information provided:

• Direct Cell Referencing: The most common way to link cells is to type an equals sign (=) into a cell, and then click on the cell you want to link to. For example, if you want cell A1 in Sheet2 to show the value in cell B2 of Sheet1, you'd enter =Sheet1!B2 in cell A1 of Sheet2.

• Using the Hyperlink Feature: While not directly transferring data, you can create a hyperlink to another cell that will quickly take the user to the specific cell. According to the reference, you can also select an object, such as a picture, or element in a chart to link to another location. You achieve this by:

  1. Selecting the cell where you want the link to exist.
  2. Right-clicking the cell.
  3. Selecting Link (or press Ctrl+K).
  4. In the "Insert Hyperlink" dialog, you can specify another file, place in the document, and even an email address. If it is another cell within the workbook, you choose "Place in This Document", and then specify the cell within the specified sheet.

Linking Across Worksheets and Workbooks

You can link cells both within the same worksheet, across different worksheets of the same workbook, and between different workbooks.

• Within the Same Worksheet: Use a simple cell reference such as =A1 to link to cell A1 in the same sheet.
• Across Different Worksheets: Use a cell reference with the sheet name like =Sheet1!A1 to link to cell A1 in Sheet1.
• Across Different Workbooks: For example, to link to cell A1 of sheet1 in a workbook named Book1.xlsx from a new workbook you would use the following formula: ='[Book1.xlsx]Sheet1'!$A$1
  • Note: When linking across different workbooks, the source workbook (i.e. Book1.xlsx) needs to be open for the linked data to display.

Examples

Goal	Formula	Location
Link to A1 on same worksheet	=A1	Any other cell on same sheet
Link to cell B2 on Sheet1	=Sheet1!B2	Any cell on a different sheet
Link to cell A1 on Sheet1 of Book1.xlsx	'[Book1.xlsx]Sheet1'!$A$1	Any cell in different workbook