How to Fix If Break Links Aren’t Working in Excel (7 Solutions)

To see if the Break Links aren’t working, go to the Data tab. From the Queries & Connections group, click on Edit Links.

You will see this:

The Break links button is dimmed out. It was not supposed to be like that. There are some problems that we need to fix.

Solution 1 – Unprotect Your Sheet to Break Links

Steps

• Go to the Review.
• From the Protect group, click on Unprotect Sheet.

• It will ask for the password. Enter the password.

• Click on OK.
• Go to the Data Tab.
• From the Queries & Connections group, click on Edit Links.

You can see that your Break Link button is working. Click on it to break the link.

Read More: How to Find Broken Links in Excel

Solution 2 – Delete All Named Ranges to Fix Break Links

Steps

• Go to the Formulas Tab.
• From the Defined Names group, select Name Manager.

• You will see the Name Manager dialog box.

• Click on Delete.
• Click on OK.

Solution 3 – Break Data Validation Links in Excel

Steps

• Go to the Data tab.
• From the Data Tools group, select Data Validation.
• If your Break Links not working, you may see this in the dialog box:

• Remove the source and link with the corresponding worksheet.
• Another way is to allow Any Values in Validation Criteria.

Solution 4 – Remove Charts External Links If Break Links Not Working

Steps

• Right-click on the chart and click on Select Data.

• You will see this chart is linked to the Source workbook.

• Go to the Source workbook.
• Copy the whole dataset.

• Paste it to the Total Sales.xlsx file in a new worksheet.

• Select the chart and right-click on it.

• In the Chart data range box, change the reference to your new worksheet data.

Solution 5 – Delete External Links of Conditional Formatting in Excel

Steps

• Go to the Home tab.
• From the Styles group, select Conditional Formatting > Manage Rules.
• You can see any external links here:

• Click on Delete Rule to delete the links.

Solution 6 – Make a Zip of the Excel File

Steps

• Go to the folder where you saved your external file. Here, our external file is Total Sales.xlsx.
• Right-click on the file. Select Rename.
• Change the file extension from .xlsx to .zip.

• Your Excel file will become a zip file.
• Open that zip file.

• Open the xl folder.

• Select the externalLinks folder and delete it.
• Change the file extension from .zip to .xlsx.

Solution 7 – Change the File Type If Break Links Not Working

Steps

• Click on the File
• Select the Save as
• Change the file type from .xlsx to .xls.

• Click on Save.
• Click on the File. Select the Save as option.
• Change the file type from .xls to .xlsx. Click on save.

Things to Remember

✎ You should always create a backup of your external Excel file before making any changes.

✎ Remember, break links will remove all the formulas linked to the source file. You will see your data as only values.

✎ Collect the password from the author for protected sheets.

Download the Practice Workbook

Download these practice workbooks.

Related Articles

• How to Break Links in Excel and Keep Values
• Why Do My Excel Links Keep Breaking?
• How to Break Links in Excel Before Opening File
• How to Break Links in Excel When Source Is Not Found
• Excel VBA to Break Links

<< Go Back To Excel Break Links | Linking in Excel | Learn Excel