Microsoft® Office Excel 2003 Inside Out

Linking vs. Hyperlinking

Hyperlinking, discussed in Chapter 22, is an alternative way to connect an Excel document with an external file. (You can also use hyperlinking to connect an Excel document with a Web site or document, of course.) If you want your Excel document to reference supplementary information without making that information obtrusive, you can do it with a hyperlink as easily as with an OLE link displayed as an icon.

Which method you prefer is likely to be a matter of taste. Most people looking at your Excel document will find a hyperlink self-explanatory, but some might not know immediately how to use an OLE link. On the other hand, an iconic OLE link might more easily grab a viewer's attention. OLE links also are self-repairing—in ...