What are Hyperlinks ?
A Hyperlink is a reference to a document, a location or an action that the reader can directly follow by selecting the link.
Hyperlinks are used extensively on the Internet and are generally Words highlighted in Underlined Blue <– Like that.
The use of Hyperlinks in Excel has been extended to a number of areas and this includes:
- Opening Files (of any type)
- Opening Web Pages (Internet or Intranet)
- Jumping/Navigating to locations within an existing document
- Creating New Documents (Excel files only)
- Sending Emails
Microsoft has added the ability to place Hyperlinks,
- Directly on an Excel worksheet ,
- Connected to a number of worksheet objects, including shapes, charts and wordart
- Included as a worksheet formulas.
- Programmatically using VBA
These 4 methods above will be discussed here.
Inserting Hyperlinks
As described above there are 4 methods for inserting hyperlinks in an Excel Workbook.
Directly on an Excel worksheet
There are 3 ways to insert a Hyperlink directly into a cell, either:
Right click on the cell and select Hyperlink; or
Use the Insert, Hyperlinks Tab; or
Use a Keyboard Shortcut – Ctrl K
Connected to a number of worksheet objects, including shapes, charts and wordart
You can also add a Hyperlink to many objects within Excel including Pictures, Shapes, Text Boxes, Word Art and Charts.
Right clicking a lot of these objects brings up the Objects Shortcuts Menu, select Hyperlink…,
or
Select the object, Use the Insert, Hyperlinks Tab; or
Select the Object and Use the Keyboard Shortcut – Ctrl K
Hint: Right Clicking on Charts Doesn’t Show the Add Hyperlink option, so Select the Chart and Ctrl K
Adding Hyperlinks using Worksheet Formulas.
Hyperlinks can be added using worksheet formulas.
=HYPERLINK( Link Location, Name)
Link Location: This is the path and file name to the document to be opened.
The Link Location can refer to a place in a document – such as a specific cell or named range in an Excel worksheet or workbook, or to a bookmark in a Microsoft Word document. The path can be to a file that is stored on a hard disk drive. The path can also be the path on a server or a URL, HTTP or FTP and a location of an object, document, World Wide Web page, or other destination on the Internet or an intranet. The Link Location can be a text string enclosed in quotation marks or a reference to a cell that contains the link as a text string.
Name: This is the text or value that is displayed in the cell. The Name is displayed in blue and is underlined.
Eg:
Jump to a cell on Another sheet
=HYPERLINK(Sheet3!B3,”Monthly Budget”)
The above will add a Hyperlink, titled “Monthly Budget” and link to Sheet3!B3 of the current workbook
Jump to a Named Range on Another sheet
=HYPERLINK(Budget,”Yearly Budget”)
The above will add a Hyperlink, titled “Yearly Budget” and link to the Named Range “Budget” of the current workbook
Open a File on a network Drive
=HYPERLINK(“//Server01\01 Administration\Administration.docx”,”Open Admin File”)
The above will add a Hyperlink, titled “Open Admin File” and link to the file at: //Server01\01 Administration\Administration.docx
Open a File on a network Drive at a specific bookmark
=HYPERLINK(“[//Server01\01 Administration\Administration.docx]Contents”,”Open Admin File @ TOC”)
The above will add a Hyperlink, titled “Open Admin File @ TOC” and link to the Named Section “Contents” of the file at: //Server01\01 Administration\Administration.docx
Jump to a Web Page
=HYPERLINK(“http://chandoo.org/wp/”,”Goto Chandoo.org”)
The above will add a Hyperlink, titled “Goto Chandoo.org” and link to http://chandoo.org/wp/
Send an Email
=HYPERLINK(“mailto:chandoo.d@gmail.com”,”Email Chandoo”)
The above will add a Hyperlink, titled “Email Chandoo” and send an email to chandoo.d@gmail.com
Adding Hyperlinks Programmatically using VBA
Hyperlinks can be added to a worksheet or a worksheet object programmatically using some simple code
Sheets(SheetName).Hyperlinks.Add Anchor:=Sheets(SheetName).Range(Range), Address:=””, SubAddress:=”Address!Range“, TextToDisplay:=NameWhere:
SheetName: The Name of the Sheet where the Hyperlink is to go
Range: The Range where the Hyperlink is to go
Address!Range: The address and Range linked to in the Hyperlink
Name: The Display Name of the Hyperlink
Types of Hyperlinks
There are 5 Types of Hyperlinks which Excel offers, each is described below:
- Existing File
- Existing Web Page
- Place in This Document
- Create a New Document
- Send an Email Link
Existing File
Select the existing File or Web Page icon in the Link to: area
Navigate to the existing file using the Look in: area of the dialog
Add your Display Text in the Text to display: area
Add a ScreenTip…, a Tip which is displayed when you hover the mouse over a Hyperlink
Use the Bookmark… button to jump to predefined Named Ranges and common Cell References dialog
Existing Web Page
Select the Existing File or Web Page icon in the Link to: area
Navigate to the existing file using the Look in: area of the dialog
Add your Display Text in the Text to display: area
Add a ScreenTip…, a Tip which is displayed when you hover the mouse over a Hyperlink
Place in This Document
Select the Place in this Document icon in the Link to: area
Type in Cell Reference using the Type in Cell Reference: area of the dialog or select a Defined Names in the Defined Names area
Add your Display Text in the Text to display: area
Add a ScreenTip…, a Tip which is displayed when you hover the mouse over a Hyperlink
Create a New Document
Select the Create New Document icon in the Link to: area
Type in the Name of the New Document in the Name of the New Document: area of the dialog.
Add your Display Text in the Text to display: area
Add a ScreenTip…, a Tip which is displayed when you hover the mouse over a Hyperlink
You can choose wether to Edit the File Now or Later in the When to Edit area
Send an Email Link
Select the Email Address icon in the Link to: area
Type in the Email Address in the Email Address: area of the dialog.
Add your Display Text in the Text to display: area
Add your Email Subject in the Subject: area
Add a ScreenTip…, a Tip which is displayed when you hover the mouse over a Hyperlink.
Editing Hyperlinks
Once you have a hyperlink established you can edit the hyperlink by right click on the hyperlink and select Edit Hyperlink
The Edit Hyperlink dialog will vary depending on the type of Hyperlink as described above.
Deleting Hyperlinks
Once you have a hyperlink established you can delete the hyperlink by right click on the hyperlink and select Remove Hyperlink
Hyperlink Uses
Hyperlink can be used for a number of uses as described above.
Tables of Contents
One common use of hyperlinks is the creation of Tables of Contents.
The construction of a Table of Contents page was discussed here Table of Contents
The construction of Tables of Contents can also be automated using some simple VBA.
So instead of reinventing the wheel I will direct you to The Microsoft Office Blog where Tables of Conents were recently discussed.
Table of Contents 1 or Table of Contents 2
Dealing with Lots of Hyperlinks
The following 2 posts at http://chandoo.org/forums have solved users problems and will easily be adapted to other Hyperlink issues
Find Dead Hyperlinks
http://chandoo.org/forums/topic/check-broken-external-hyperlinks
Edit Hyperlinks
http://chandoo.org/forums/topic/marco-for-editing-link-in-workbook
How have you used Hyperlinks?
How have you used Hyperlinks?
Let us all know in the comments below:
14 Responses to “Group Smaller Slices in Pie Charts to Improve Readability”
I think the virtue of pie charts is precisely that they are difficult to decode. In many contexts, you have to release information but you don't want the relationship between values to jump at your reader. That's when pie charts are most useful.
[...] link Leave a Reply [...]
Chandoo,
millions of ants cannot be mistaken.....There should be a reason why everybody continues using Pie charts, despite what gurus like you or Jon and others say.
one reason could be because we are just used to, so that's what we need to change, the "comfort zone"...
i absolutely agree, since I've been "converted", I just find out that bar charts are clearer, and nicer to the view...
Regards,
Martin
[...] says we can Group Smaller Slices in Pie Charts to Improve Readability. Such a pie has too many labels to fit into a tight space, so you need ro move the labels around [...]
Chandoo -
You ask "Can I use an alternative to pie chart?"
I answer in You Say “Pie”, I Say “Bar”.
This visualization was created because it was easy to print before computers. In this day and age, it should not exist.
I think the 100% Bar Chart is just as useless/unreadable as Pies - we should rename them something like Mama's Strudel Charts - how big a slice would you like, Dear?
My money's with Jon on this topic.
The primary function of any pie chart with more than 2 or 3 data points is to obfuscate. But maybe that is the main purpose, as @Jerome suggests...
@Jerome.. Good point. Also sometimes, there is just no relationship at all.
@Martin... Organized religion is finding it tough to get converts even after 2000+ years of struggle. Jon, Stephen, countless others (and me) are a small army, it would take atleast 5000 more years before pie charts vanish... patience and good to have you here 🙂
@Jon .. very well done sir, very well done.
good points every one...
I've got to throw my vote into Jon's camp (which is also Stephen Few's camp) -- bars just tend to work better. One observation about when we say "what people are used to." There are two distinct groups here (depending on the situation, a person can fall in either one): the person who *creates* the chart and the person who *consumes* the chart. Granted, the consumers are "used to" pie charts. But, it's not like a bar chart is something they would struggle to understand or that would require explanation (like sparklines and bullet graphs). Chart consumers are "used to" consuming whatever is put in front of them. Chart creators, on the other hand, may be "used to" creating pie charts, but that isn't an excuse for them to continue to do so -- many people are used to driving without a seatbelt, leaving lights on in their house needlessly, and forwarding not-all-that-funny anecdotes via email. That doesn't mean the practice shouldn't be discouraged!
[...] example that Chandoo used recently is counting uses of words. Clearly, there are other meanings of “bar” (take bar mitzvah or bar none, for [...]
[…] Grouping smaller slices in pie chart […]
Good article. Is it possible to do that with line charts?
Hi,
Is this available in excel 2013?