How to Fix Edit Links Change Source Not Working in Excel

This guide will discuss how to fix edit links change source not working in Excel using three quick and efficient ways.

Excel is a popular tool for numbers, calculations, and creating reports. And one useful tool that Excel offers is the ability to link data from other sources. So we can link data from another sheet to display in our main sheet. This allows us not to waste time retyping data all over again. 

But, sometimes, the links encounter some issues. When we link another file or sheet to our workbook, there is something called a source. So a source is a file or sheet we are linking to.

And there can be times when we need to change our source to update our data or report. But, what happens if edit links change source is not working in Excel?

Let’s take a sample scenario to understand the situation better.

Suppose you are making a monthly sales report for the month of August. And you just want to use a previously made report to save time. So you only need to update the source of the linked data. But, you find out you can’t edit the link source in Excel?

Worry not! There can be many possible reasons why the edit links change source is not working in Excel. And there can also be many possible solutions to this problem. 

Now let’s dive into discussing the three possible reasons and solutions for how to fix edit links not working in Excel.

Excel has gone through many changes and updates over the years. And one of the most significant changes is the ability to share our workbook and collaborate with others. So this has created a manage protection feature. 

Protecting our sheet means that other people won’t be able to edit or make any changes. And this can cause some features in Excel to become unavailable. 

So our first method to fix edit links change source not working in Excel is to turn off the protect sheet button simply.

Now let’s learn the steps on how to do this:

1. Firstly, go to the Review Tab. Then, click on Manage Protection.

Going to the Review tab and Manage Protection feature

 

2. Next, simply turn off the Protect sheet button.

Fix Edit Links Change Source Not Working in Excel

3. And tada! We can now edit links change source in Excel.

Final output

Our second method to fix edit links change source not working in Excel would be removing existing charts in the file or sheet we want to link. 

Sometimes the file or sheet we want to link to our workbook would contain some type of chart. But, sometimes, this can cause issues in changing source links. 

So our second method would involve removing existing charts in our source to fix edit links change source not working in Excel.

1. Firstly, go to the file or sheet we want to link. Then, select the existing chart and press the DELETE key or backspace to remove the chart.

Fix Edit Links Change Source Not Working in Excel

 

2. Once you’ve deleted the chart, go back to the main sheet. And tada! We should now be able to edit links change source in Excel.

After deleting the existing chart

Lastly, we can turn off the update automatic link option in Excel. Basically, Excel shows a warning message whenever we open a workbook containing external links or outside data sources. 

So let’s learn the step-by-step process of how to fix edit links change source not working in Excel by disabling the update automatic links option.

1. Firstly, go to the File tab. Then, head over to Options.

Fix Edit Links Change Source Not Working in Excel

 

2. Secondly, select the Advanced option. Finally, uncheck the Ask to update automatic links under the General tab. Lastly, click OK to apply the changes.

Fix Edit Links Change Source Not Working in Excel

 

3. And tada! You won’t be getting any warning messages whenever you work with external links.

Fix Edit Links Change Source Not Working in Excel

 

You can make your own copy of the spreadsheet above using the link attached below. 

And that’s pretty much it! We have learned the possible reasons why edit links change source is not working in Excel. More importantly, we have discussed three easy and efficient ways to fix these issues in Excel. Now you can choose any of the three methods to fix your issues whenever you encounter them.

Are you interested in learning more about what Excel can do? You can now use the various other Microsoft Excel formulas available to create great worksheets that work for you. Make sure to subscribe to our newsletter to be the first to know about the latest guides and tutorials from us.

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