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I have an Excel file that I use to manually input values from many files. Those files are then linked to the values, so that if I want to see more information I can click on the value to open the file.

However this system of linking is fragile. If I move a file or decide to redesign the folder structure, the link breaks. Is there a way to dynamically keep those links updated so that if I move a file, its link will keep track of it and update to where it has been moved to?

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  • I'm pretty sure the simple answer is no. To have it done "live", you'd need something that is monitoring your file system for file moves, then go find every Excel file you've got, check each of them for links to the file that was moved, and then update them. Perhaps check out this SU answer: superuser.com/a/926017/23133 Mar 2, 2017 at 19:37

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Is there a way to dynamically keep those links updated so that if I move a file, its link will keep track of it and update to where it has been moved to?

Essentially...no, there isn't. Excel doesn't have routine access to monitor file transactions like this, so it has no way to know if a file has been moved elsewhere.

The system you're using is, as you say, very fragile, and not at all recommended. A lot of things can go wrong with a structure like this. You would be best off either moving the data from the linked files into separate sheets of the same file or, ideally, using a relational database program like Access or SQL Server to construct a real relational database. Excel can support some database functionality, but it's not very good at it.

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Excel leaves the root pathway relative, so you can move linked files from one drive to another. But the folder pathway must remain the same. The parent and child folder path is hard coded into the link and can only be changed manually.

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