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I am unable to link the files from Excel because they are not appearing in the File Explorer window

Nimesh 0 Reputation points
2026-06-04T11:49:47.7366667+00:00

I am unable to link the files from Excel because they are not appearing in the File Explorer windowRef Image.jpg

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | For business | Windows
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  1. Jess-Q 11,325 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-06-04T12:46:00.07+00:00

    Hi @Nimesh

    Regarding your issue, when you click the small "Browse for Folder" button (the folder icon), it opens a separate Windows folder-picker dialog. This dialog is designed to select folder paths only it intentionally filters out individual files like PDFs and Excel sheets. That's why you're seeing "No items match your search" even though the files exist in that location. 

    Instead of using that external browse button, stay within the native Insert Hyperlink window itself: 

    • Exist the Link to Folder by clicking X
    • In the Hyperlink dialog (Ctrl + K) use the "Look in:" dropdown at the top of the main view pane to navigate to your folder. 
    • Double-click directly into each folder from the main pane to drill down to your destination. 
    • Your files (PDFs, Excel sheets, etc.) should now be visible.  User's image
    • Select the file you want to link and select OK. 

    Hopefully it will help work with your issue and if you have any other questions or need further assistance, feel free to ask.   

    Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread. 

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  2. AI answer

    2026-06-04T11:50:06.9533333+00:00

    In Excel, links to existing files rely on what File Explorer can see and open. If the files are not appearing in the File Explorer window when trying to create a link, use these steps to create the link correctly and verify the files:

    1. In Excel, select the cell where the link should be created.
    2. Go to Insert > Link (or right‑click the cell and select Link, or press Ctrl+K).
    3. In the Insert Hyperlink dialog, under Link to, select Existing File or Web Page.
    4. Use the navigation pane to choose the correct Current Folder and confirm that the files are actually present there in File Explorer (outside Excel). If needed, change to the correct folder in the Look in list.
    5. Select the file to link to, or type its full path manually in the Address box.
    6. Optionally adjust Text to display, then select OK.

    If the files still do not appear in the File Explorer dialog inside Excel, verify in Windows File Explorer that:

    • The files are not hidden or filtered out.
    • The folder path and file names do not contain unsupported special characters such as < > ? [ ] : | or *, which can prevent Excel from accessing them from outside Excel.
    • The full path length does not exceed 218 characters.

    If special characters or path length are involved, rename or move the files in Windows File Explorer to remove the unsupported characters or shorten the path, then repeat the link creation steps.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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