Chapter 28: Linking and Consolidating Worksheets
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click the Startup Prompt button and then select the option that describes how you want to
handle the links.Updating links
If you want to ensure that your link formulas have the latest values from their source
workbooks, you can force an update. For example, say that you just discovered that some-
one made changes to the source workbook and saved the latest version to your network
server. In such a case, you may want to update the links to display the current data.To update linked formulas with their current value, open the Edit Links dialog box (Data ➪
Queries & Connections ➪ Edit Links), choose the appropriate source workbook in the list,
and then click the Update Values button (refer to Figure 28.3). Excel updates the link for-
mulas with the latest version of the source workbook.Excel always sets worksheet links to the Automatic Update option in the Edit Links dialog box, and you can’t change
them to Manual, which means that Excel updates the links only when you open the workbook. Excel doesn’t auto-
matically update links when the source file changes (unless the source workbook is open).
Changing the link source
In some cases, you may need to change the source workbook for your external references.
For example, say that you have a worksheet that has links to a file named Preliminary
Budget, but you later receive a finalized version named Final Budget.You can change the link source using the Edit Links dialog box (choose Data ➪ Queries &
Connections ➪ Edit Links). Select the source workbook that you want to change, and click
the Change Source button (refer to Figure 28.3). Excel displays the Change Source dialog
box from which you can select a new source file. After you select the file, all external refer-
ence formulas that referred to the old file are updated.Severing links
If you have external references in a workbook and then decide that you no longer need
the links, you can convert the external reference formulas to values, thereby sever-
ing the links. To do so, access the Edit Links dialog box (choose Data ➪ Queries &
Connections ➪ Edit Links), select the linked file in the list, and then click Break Link
(refer to Figure 28.3).Excel prompts you to verify your intentions because you can’t undo this operation.