Hyper Links in Personal.xlsb

Question

Hyper Links in Personal.xlsb

rbobcat1 25

Why do hyper links to my local drive or OneDrive keep breaking? I keep the file in the appdata folder under roaming / Microsoft / Excel / XLStart. But every now and then the links to local folder or files break.

Internet Hyperlinks stay good.

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Answer accepted by question author

Thomas4-N 23,140 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hello rbobcat1,

Could you check one affected link and clarify the following?

Right-click the link and select Edit Hyperlink. What appears in the Address field before and after the link breaks? Please hide your Windows username if it appears in the path.
Was the link created using Ctrl+K, the HYPERLINK() function, VBA, or an external workbook formula?
When it breaks, does the address change to the XLStart folder, a local OneDrive path, or somewhere else?
Does PERSONAL.XLSB contain any VBA that creates or updates hyperlinks?

This distinction matters because clickable hyperlinks and external workbook links use different path-handling rules. Microsoft documents that Excel can store workbook links as relative paths, with special handling for files in the XLStart folder: Description of link management and storage in Excel.

Thomas4-N 23,140 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-10-25T15:35:56.72+00:00

Hello rbobcat1,

Just check in to see how things are going. Let me know if you need anything.
rbobcat1 25 Reputation points

2026-10-31T18:11:05.9433333+00:00

It changes it to C:\Users\User\OneDrive\Documents\01-My Money\2026_00-2026 Monthly Expense Budget.xlsm

Above created using Ctrl+K

To the below;

../../../../../OneDrive/Documents/01-My%20Money/2026/_00-2026%20Monthly%20Expense%20Budget.xlsm

Yes, redirects it to the XLStart folder

No VBA that updates hyperlinks
Thomas4-N 23,140 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-11-01T07:10:25.58+00:00

Hello rbobcat1,

Thank you for checking those details.

Since the hyperlink was created using Ctrl+K and its address changes from a full C:\Users\... path to a relative path (../../../../../OneDrive/...), it looks like Excel is converting the hyperlink into a relative reference. Because PERSONAL.XLSB is stored in the XLStart folder, that relative path may no longer point to the intended file.

Rather than recreating the same Ctrl+K hyperlink, could you try using the HYPERLINK function for one affected link?

1.In an empty cell in PERSONAL.XLSB, enter a formula using the full path to your file, for example:

=HYPERLINK("C:\Users\User\OneDrive\Documents\01-My Money\2026_00-2026 Monthly Expense Budget.xlsm","Open Budget")

2.Save PERSONAL.XLSB, then close Excel completely.

3.Reopen Excel and check whether the new link still opens the correct file.

The difference is that the HYPERLINK function keeps the target path explicitly in the formula rather than relying on the address stored by a Ctrl+K hyperlink.

Microsoft Support – HYPERLINK function

If this works, you can use the same approach for your other affected links.
rbobcat1 25 Reputation points

2026-11-03T22:36:55.28+00:00

That worked... Thanks

1 additional answer

Your answer

Thomas4-N 23,140 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-10-25T15:35:56.72+00:00

Hello rbobcat1,

Just check in to see how things are going. Let me know if you need anything.
rbobcat1 25 Reputation points

2026-10-31T18:11:05.9433333+00:00

It changes it to C:\Users\User\OneDrive\Documents\01-My Money\2026_00-2026 Monthly Expense Budget.xlsm

Above created using Ctrl+K

To the below;

../../../../../OneDrive/Documents/01-My%20Money/2026/_00-2026%20Monthly%20Expense%20Budget.xlsm

Yes, redirects it to the XLStart folder

No VBA that updates hyperlinks
Thomas4-N 23,140 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-11-01T07:10:25.58+00:00

Hello rbobcat1,

Thank you for checking those details.

Since the hyperlink was created using Ctrl+K and its address changes from a full C:\Users\... path to a relative path (../../../../../OneDrive/...), it looks like Excel is converting the hyperlink into a relative reference. Because PERSONAL.XLSB is stored in the XLStart folder, that relative path may no longer point to the intended file.

Rather than recreating the same Ctrl+K hyperlink, could you try using the HYPERLINK function for one affected link?

1.In an empty cell in PERSONAL.XLSB, enter a formula using the full path to your file, for example:

=HYPERLINK("C:\Users\User\OneDrive\Documents\01-My Money\2026_00-2026 Monthly Expense Budget.xlsm","Open Budget")

2.Save PERSONAL.XLSB, then close Excel completely.

3.Reopen Excel and check whether the new link still opens the correct file.

The difference is that the HYPERLINK function keeps the target path explicitly in the formula rather than relying on the address stored by a Ctrl+K hyperlink.

Microsoft Support – HYPERLINK function

If this works, you can use the same approach for your other affected links.
rbobcat1 25 Reputation points

2026-11-03T22:36:55.28+00:00

That worked... Thanks

Answer 1

Use full absolute paths for local targets and OneDrive Copy link URLs for cloud targets instead of links that Excel can resolve relative to PERSONAL.XLSB.

Excel treats unspecified file paths as relative to the active workbook by default. Because PERSONAL.XLSB resides in XLSTART and opens automatically in the background, relative links can be resolved from that startup location rather than from the location you expected. Internet links remain stable because they already contain a complete URL. ^1^ ^2^

Replace local links with absolute paths

For each affected link:

Select the hyperlink cell in PERSONAL.XLSB.
Press Ctrl+K or right-click it and select Link.
Select Existing File or Web Page.
In Address, enter or browse to the complete path, for example:
- C:\Users\<username>\Documents\Reports\Report.xlsx
- C:\Projects\Current
Select OK, save PERSONAL.XLSB, close Excel, and reopen it to test the saved link.

Excel also supports an explicit path through the HYPERLINK function:

=HYPERLINK("C:\Users\<username>\Documents\Reports\Report.xlsx","Open report")

The target must continue to exist at exactly that path. Renaming or moving the file, changing the Windows user profile, or using the workbook on another computer will invalidate an absolute local path. Excel documents both full-path and relative-path hyperlink forms. ^1^

Replace OneDrive sync-folder paths with OneDrive web links

A path such as C:\Users\<username>\OneDrive\... points to the local synchronized copy and depends on the current OneDrive sync root. Replace it with the cloud URL:

In File Explorer, right-click the OneDrive file or folder.
Select Share a OneDrive link. Alternatively, open OneDrive on the web, select the item, and choose Share > Copy Link.
In Excel, select the hyperlink cell and press Ctrl+K.
Paste the copied URL into Address, select OK, and save PERSONAL.XLSB.

Review the link’s permission setting when necessary; copied links can grant edit access depending on the selected sharing configuration. [^3^](https://support.microsoft.com/onedrive/share-files-and-folders-in-microsoft-onedrive "Share with "Copy link"")

If these are workbook data links rather than clickable hyperlinks

External formulas referencing another workbook follow additional relative-path storage rules. Excel generally stores workbook links relatively whenever possible, and those links remain valid only while the source and destination retain the same relative locations. XLStart also receives special handling: when a source workbook is in the user-profile XLStart folder, Excel may store an XLStart property and only the filename. ^4^

For that case, inspect Data > Workbook Links and update the source to the intended file. Do not choose Break Links unless conversion of the formulas to their current values is acceptable.

Avoid deleting Office registry keys as a first-line repair. The reported registry workaround concerns hyperlinks that never open in either Excel or Word, which does not match links that intermittently change or break.

References