Microsoft KB Archive/181567

= XL98: Unusual Behavior When You Use the HYPERLINK Function =

Article ID: 181567

Article Last Modified on 9/11/2002

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Excel 98 for Macintosh

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This article was previously published under Q181567



SYMPTOMS
In Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition, if a formula in a cell contains the HYPERLINK worksheet function, the following behavior may occur:
 * When the hyperlink that the formula references is not available, and you use the pointer to point to the cell that contains the formula, the pointer becomes a pointing hand. -and-


 * When the hyperlink is not available, and you click the cell that contains the formula, you receive the error message "Cannot open the specified file." -and-


 * When the hyperlink is available, it is not underlined like other hyperlinks.

NOTE: When you click the cell when the hyperlink is available, it functions correctly.



CAUSE
This problem occurs if you nest the HYPERLINK function in an IF function. For example, the problem occurs when you type the following formula into a cell:

=IF(A1<10,HYPERLINK("http://msnbc.com","Welcome to MSNBC!"), "No link!")



STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.



MORE INFORMATION
In Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition, the HYPERLINK worksheet function allows you to create a hyperlink to a World Wide Web page or other Internet resource. The function accepts two arguments, a reference to a location, that is, either a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) or a document name; and the text string that appears in the cell.

