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Forum Discussion

viveknaredi83's avatar
viveknaredi83
New member | Level 2
7 years ago

Links in excel not getting updated

l
Sync
  • Jane's avatar
    Jane
    7 years ago
    Hey nnaredi, it would be worth noting that in Microsoft Excel, you can create links in a workbook to another workbook or file on your computer using a formula that references an external location. When this link is created, it points to a location on your own hard drive.
     
    When your workbook is downloaded onto another's computer, the locations that your formula points to are no longer there. The link in the workbook is looking for a specific place, for example /Your_Computer/Your_User/File, and that location is no longer accessible from a different computer.
     
    To learn more about relative and external paths in Excel please consult the following Microsoft support page:
     
     
    While we are unable to support you in configuring Microsoft Excel to work the way you would like, we suggest perhaps using wildcards in your formulas. Wildcards, such as "%HOMEPATH%”, if other users have the Dropbox folder located in the default location, would let you point to a location without having to worry about different usernames in the path.
     
    I hope that my advice points you towards the right direction, though please do let me know how my suggestions work for you on this discussion. Thanks again for posting us on our Forum & enjoy the rest of your day until we talk again! 
Jane's avatar
Jane
Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
7 years ago
Hey viveknaredi83, just in order to understand what’s happening exactly, can you please clarify if you’re facing a similar issue to the one described here by any chance? 
 
Once I have this info, I’ll try to address your initial inquiry in a bit more detail. Thanks in advance for the time you’re devoting on the matter & I’ll be awaiting your next message on this discussion! 
  • nnaredi's avatar
    nnaredi
    Explorer | Level 3
    7 years ago

    Hi Jane,

    I have two excel files in different folders in dropbox.

    I have linked cells from one file to the another but they are not getting updated.

    let me know if you have any solutions

     

     

     

    • Jane's avatar
      Jane
      Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
      7 years ago
      Hey nnaredi, it would be worth noting that in Microsoft Excel, you can create links in a workbook to another workbook or file on your computer using a formula that references an external location. When this link is created, it points to a location on your own hard drive.
       
      When your workbook is downloaded onto another's computer, the locations that your formula points to are no longer there. The link in the workbook is looking for a specific place, for example /Your_Computer/Your_User/File, and that location is no longer accessible from a different computer.
       
      To learn more about relative and external paths in Excel please consult the following Microsoft support page:
       
       
      While we are unable to support you in configuring Microsoft Excel to work the way you would like, we suggest perhaps using wildcards in your formulas. Wildcards, such as "%HOMEPATH%”, if other users have the Dropbox folder located in the default location, would let you point to a location without having to worry about different usernames in the path.
       
      I hope that my advice points you towards the right direction, though please do let me know how my suggestions work for you on this discussion. Thanks again for posting us on our Forum & enjoy the rest of your day until we talk again! 
    • gdpfgudpf's avatar
      gdpfgudpf
      New member | Level 2
      7 years ago

      I am busy creating an excel document that has various link to documents in other folders on my computer. I would like to share this so others in my department can use it as well (via dropbox) but once I have uploaded the original document to dropbox (with all the other folders containing the documents that the links point to) then when I click on the links in the excel document they cannot find the files.

      • Jane's avatar
        Jane
        Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
        7 years ago
        Hey there (gdpfgudpf), I’ve moved your post here, in order to ping you on my suggestions above. Please have a look at your convenience & let me know how my advice works for you whenever you get a chance. Thanks for getting in touch on the Community on this matter! 

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