How to Link Two Cells in Excel (6 Methods)

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In this article, we will discuss 6 methods to link two cells in Excel with suitable examples and proper illustrations.


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6 Methods to Link Two Cells in Excel

By linking two cells, we get the value from one cell to another. Or we can link a particular cell to another cell. And by clicking that cell, we can reach that particular cell. Linking of cells is possible within a sheet, different sheets, and different workbooks.


1. Link Two Cells within a Sheet

We will link two single cells within a sheet. We may change the value of the first cell, the second will automatically sync the changes.

We’ve created a column named Linked Cell, that will link to the cells of the Salary column.

Step 1:

  • First, go to Cell E5.
  • Press the Equal sign(=). Then we click to Cell C5. Or you may click the required cell you want to link here.

Link Two Cells within a Sheet

Step 2:

  • Now, press the Enter button.

Step 3:

  • Now, drag the Fill handle icon towards the last cell, as we want to link the rest of the cells sequentially.

Here, all the cells are connected with corresponding cells of Column C.

Step 4:

  • Now, change the value of Cell C7 and see what happens to related Cell E7.

Link Two Cells within a Sheet

Value of Cell E7 modified as Cell C7 changes.

Read More: How to Link Cells in Same Excel Worksheet (4 Quick Ways)


2. Link a Range of Cells within a Sheet

We will reference a range of cells to other cells within a sheet. Applying this process, we do not need to reference each cell separately.

Step 1:

  • Select the cells of Column C.
  • Copy those cells by pressing Ctrl+C.

Step 2:

  • Now, go to Cell E5.
  • Press the Right button of the mouse.
  • Click on Paste Special.

Link a Range of Cells within a Sheet

Step 3:

  • The Paste Special window will appear. Select the Paste Link option.

Link a Range of Cells within a Sheet

Now, look at the data set.

All the values are the cells of the Salary column referred to with the Linked Cell column.

Step 4:

  • Now, change the value of Cell C6 and see the effect on Cell E6.

Link a Range of Cells within a Sheet

Here, the value of Cell E6 revises accordingly.

Read More: How to Link Cells in Excel (7 Ways)


3. Link Two Cells of Different Sheets

We can link cells of different sheets in Excel. For this, we need two sheets. We will refer the value of one sheet to another sheet.

Our two worksheets are Data Set and Link Cells of Another Sheet. We will link the cells of the Salary column of the Data Set with the second sheet.

Link Two Cells of Different Sheets

We will link the mentioned cells with the cells of the Linked Cell column of the Link Cells of Another Sheet.

Step 1:

  • First, click on Cell B5 of the second sheet.
  • Put the Equal sign(=) on that cell.
  • Then click on the Data Set sheet from the bottom of the excel file.

Step 2:

  • When we click on the Data Set sheet, we will move on to that sheet. Now, select Cell C5 that we want to refer to.

Link Two Cells of Different Sheets

On the formula bar, we noticed that formula generated.

Step 3:

  • Now, press Enter.

We switched to the second sheet. Look at the formula bar. We can see the previous formula on the formula bar.

Step 4:

  • Now, drag the Fill handle icon to the last cell containing data.

Step 5:

  • To check the linking, we change the value of Cell C9 of the Data Set sheet.

Link Two Cells of Different Sheets

Look at Cell B9 of the Link Cells of Another Sheet. The value of this cell changes accordingly. So, linking is working perfectly.

Read More: How to Link Multiple Cells in Excel (4 Methods)


4. Link Two Cells of Different Workbooks

We can link cells of two different Excel workbooks. This situation is quite different from the previous situations. Some functions will not work in this situation. We have two workbooks named Link Two Cells in Excel, Link Two Cells of Different Workbooks. Now, link the first workbook with the second workbook.

Link Two Cells of Different Workbooks

We will connect the Salary column of the first workbook, with the Linked Cell column of the second workbook.

Step 1:

  • Put the Equal sign(=) on that cell.
  • Go to the first workbook, click on Cell C5.

Link Two Cells of Different Workbooks

On the formula bar of both workbooks, a similar formula is shown.

Step 2:

  • Press the Enter button.

Similarly, fill up the rest of the cells.

The Fill handle icon will not work here. So, we need to perform this process manually for each cell.

Step 3:

  • Now, change the value of Cell C5 of the first workbook.

Link Two Cells of Different Workbooks

The changes are reflected in the second workbook.

Read More: How to Link Multiple Cells from Another Worksheet in Excel (5 Easy Ways)


5. Link Two Cells Inserting Hyperlink

In this section, we will use a hyperlink to connect cells. We will use the hyperlink tool here.

Step 1:

  • Select Cell E5 first.
  • Now, press the right button of the mouse.
  • Choose Link from the list.

Link Two Cells Inserting Hyperlink

A new window appeared named Insert Hyperlink.

Step 2:

  • Choose Place in This Document from the window.
  • Then go to the Insert Hyperlink option.
  • Now, put the Cell reference on the marked box.

Link Two Cells Inserting Hyperlink

Step 3:

  • Now, put the name Show Salary on the Text to display box.

Step 4:

  • Then press OK.

Step 5:

  • Now, click on Cell E5 and see what happens.

Link Two Cells Inserting Hyperlink

Here, we link a cell within the same sheet.

Now, we can refer to a different sheet also.

Step 6:

  • Again, go to the Insert Hyperlink window.
  • In Cell Reference select the Data Set sheet.
  • Perform the rest of the process as shown in the following image.
  • Finally, press OK.

Link Two Cells Inserting Hyperlink

Look at the data file below.

Another hyperlink was created on Cell E6.

Step 7:

  • Now, click on Cell E6 and see what happens.

Link Two Cells Inserting Hyperlink

We switched to Cell C6 of the Data Set sheet.


6. Link Two Cells Using Hyperlink Function

We will use the HYPERLINK function to refer to two cells.

Step 1:

  • Go to Cell E5.
  • Write down the formula below.
=HYPERLINK("#C5","Jessica")

Link Two Cells Using Hyperlink Function

Step 2:

  • Now, press Enter.

A hyperlink is created on that cell.

Step 3:

  • Now, click on the hyperlink of Cell E5.

Link Two Cells Using Hyperlink Function

We move to Cell C5 of that sheet.

Now, we will show how to refer to cells of different sheets.

Step 4:

  • Go to Cell E6.
  • Put the formula below.
=HYPERLINK("#'Data Set'!C6","Hen")

Link Two Cells Using Hyperlink Function

The formula contains references from the Data Set sheet.

Step 5:

  • Again, press Enter.

Step 6:

  • Now, click the hyperlink of Cell E6.

Link Two Cells Using Hyperlink Function

It turned us into Cell C6 of the Data Set sheet.


Things to Remember

  • At the time of inserting any cell reference in the HYPERLINK function, put “#” before the cell references.
  • When using the Hyperlink tool, carefully select the sheet.
  • Fill handle operations do not work when we link different workbooks.

Conclusion

In this article, we described how to link two cells in Excel. We show two types of linking. I hope this will satisfy your needs. Please have a look at our website Exceldemy.com and give your suggestions in the comment box.


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Alok Paul
Alok Paul

Hello, this is Alok. I am working as an Excel & VBA Content Developer at Exceldemy. I want to provide solutions to various Excel-based problems. I completed my study at East West University major in Telecommunications Engineering. I love traveling, reading books, playing cricket.

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