Workaround for HYPERLINK argument length limit

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Dave Booker - 19 Nov 2006 18:06 GMT

The arguments for a HYPERLINK() worksheet function seem to be limited to 256
characters. Is there a workaround for this?

I need to embed functions like this
=HYPERLINK("mailto:address@domain.com?subject=My Subject&body="&A1)
in a worksheet, and I need it to accept very long body arguments. If the
argument in this case gets much longer than 200 characters, the function
becomes a #VALUE.

Also, I can't use macros because of all the security issues the worksheet
users will encounter.

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Epinn - 20 Nov 2006 00:23 GMT

Yes, there is a limit to the number of characters (about 248?)

I put certain data/info in a cell. I can refer to the cell direct or use name definition.

Insert>Name>Define

e.g. In cell A1 I type http://www.yahoo.com and define A1 as YH.

=Hyperlink(YH) or =Hyperlink(Sheet1!A1)

This saves quite a few characters. You can use multiple cells and concatenate using &.

See if this link helps.

http://exceltips.vitalnews.com/Pages/T0463_Dynamic_Hyperlinks_in_Excel.html

If it is URL I can use TinyURL (www.TinyURL.com) to convert the lengthy URL to a much shortened version URL (a handle).

Then I hyperlink to the "tinyurl" - much less characters.

Haven't tried it with e-mail address. Same idea, I guess.

Hope this helps.

Epinn

The arguments for a HYPERLINK() worksheet function seem to be limited to 256
characters. Is there a workaround for this?

I need to embed functions like this
=HYPERLINK("mailto:address@domain.com?subject=My Subject&body="&A1)
in a worksheet, and I need it to accept very long body arguments. If the
argument in this case gets much longer than 200 characters, the function
becomes a #VALUE.

Also, I can't use macros because of all the security issues the worksheet
users will encounter.

Reply to this Message

Epinn - 20 Nov 2006 04:04 GMT

Sorry, I missed that you were using a cell already.

There may still be a problem using concatenation of multiple cells if the characters added up to over 248??

I can't remember what I did.

Yes, there is a limit to the number of characters (about 248?)

I put certain data/info in a cell. I can refer to the cell direct or use name definition.

Insert>Name>Define

e.g. In cell A1 I type http://www.yahoo.com and define A1 as YH.

=Hyperlink(YH) or =Hyperlink(Sheet1!A1)

This saves quite a few characters. You can use multiple cells and concatenate using &.

See if this link helps.

http://exceltips.vitalnews.com/Pages/T0463_Dynamic_Hyperlinks_in_Excel.html

If it is URL I can use TinyURL (www.TinyURL.com) to convert the lengthy URL to a much shortened version URL (a handle).

Then I hyperlink to the "tinyurl" - much less characters.

Haven't tried it with e-mail address. Same idea, I guess.

Hope this helps.

Epinn

"Dave Booker" <dbooksta@newsgroup.nospam> wrote in message news:B11B59AE-D22E-44DE-BD83-B0364EAAEA06@microsoft.com...
The arguments for a HYPERLINK() worksheet function seem to be limited to 256
characters. Is there a workaround for this?

I need to embed functions like this
=HYPERLINK("mailto:address@domain.com?subject=My Subject&body="&A1)
in a worksheet, and I need it to accept very long body arguments. If the
argument in this case gets much longer than 200 characters, the function
becomes a #VALUE.

Also, I can't use macros because of all the security issues the worksheet
users will encounter.

Reply to this Message

Dave Booker - 20 Nov 2006 04:15 GMT

Yes, even if we're using cell references, as soon as the length of the values
of the references exceeds the magic limit -- 248 or whatever it is -- the
function itself fails.

> Sorry, I missed that you were using a cell already.
>
> There may still be a problem using concatenation of multiple cells if the characters added up to over 248??

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Epinn - 21 Nov 2006 06:26 GMT

Dave,

Any luck? I would appreciate it if you could post back the solution i.e. if there is one.

I did more research. The limit is about 255/256 which is the column width. But a cell can hold over 1,000.

We both know that =hyperlink(A1&A2) works when the sum of the characters is below the limit. It will return #VALUE if over.

To my surprise =hyperlink(A1)&hyperlink(A2) also works when below the limit. I don't have a long URL to test for the over limit condition. I put 254 characters in A1 and (also 254 characters in) A2 respectively. The formula does not return #VALUE error. It displays blue fonts and the underline i.e. the hyperlink format. I am not hopeful that this actually works. But I just want to let you know. May be you can think of something else.

Looks like FollowHyperlink method is one way but I know that's not something you want.

Epinn

Yes, even if we're using cell references, as soon as the length of the values
of the references exceeds the magic limit -- 248 or whatever it is -- the
function itself fails.

"Epinn" wrote:

> Sorry, I missed that you were using a cell already.
>
> There may still be a problem using concatenation of multiple cells if the characters added up to over 248??

Reply to this Message