Saturday, 25 June 2011

Excel – Security Warning: Automatic update of links has been disabled [Fix]

Okay, so not quite a fix. But, we have a number of different Excel spreadsheets that we use to build our system, solution, and proposal quotes structures with the lot of them tying in to each other.

Somewhere along the line while editing one of them the following error started to appear an a leaf workbook (Trunk = full proposal, Branch = hardware, software, or labour, Leaf = Individual components/servers/etc.):

image

Security Warning: Automatic update of links has been disabled. Enable Content

Okay, so how do we find these links?

A quick search turned up the following methodology:

  1. Highlight all sheets by CTRL+Clicking on them.
  2. CTRL+F to bring up Find
  3. Click the Options button.
  4. Change Within to: Workbook
  5. Look in: Formulas
  6. Find What: [
  7. Click the Find All button.
    • image

Ah, now it becomes clear as to what happened to bring about the error. An errant copy and paste.

Now that we know where the problem is, we can fix it and no longer receive the warning for this particular leaf workbook.

Hat Tip: Excel Hints: Find (and Delete) External Links

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Windows Live Writer

5 comments:

SHREEDHARAN L said...

Hi,

It's very very useful for me to solve excel 2007 issue. Thanks!
SHREE

Anonymous said...

Worked perfectly. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

That first step shouldn't be necessary. When you hit 'search in workbook' it searches all sheets automatically (unless they're hidden).

Anonymous said...

Thanks. Saved me a boatload of time!

Glen Warriner said...

This steered me in the right direction. I had a small spreadsheet, so I did the "show formulas" command (CNTRL+`) and found a formula referencing another spreadsheet. I replaced the formula with text. I saved the file, closed it, re-opened it, and the "Security Warning" disappeared. THANK YOU.

Glen
Canyon Country, CA