How can I stop these pesky hyperlink warnings?

[terrypin]

Using Excel 365 I am getting warning messages whenever I click hyperlinks to JPG files on my own PC.

WarningMsg.jpg

I followed the advice here
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/off...erlink-warning
but that hasn't stopped the warnings.

I also added the parent and subfolders containing these files as Trusted Locations, again with no success.

Googling found similar complaints going back years. Does anyone know a reliable fix please?

[omahaNative_1023]

that is default message from microsoft because they are good at trying to think what users want. for people that do not understand safety or are scared, works fine. that is old message though. i have not seen in years. i have never found that trusted locations do anything. i change them many times and run tests, and nothing happened. i no longer even care. i never have need for anything in there, in settings. i seen lots of talk about it too, and there never seems be any sort of problems solved by that. many vba programmers say that is good solution but people still complain. bad thing is, if you ask any microsoft workers, they always claim registry changes. like here

https://www.technipages.com/disable-...d-data-message

did you do this too?

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...e-cfa01f1e7525

there are many ways to stop this. many options to check. not just trust. issue also could be related to microsoft protect nature of their directories. like instance of them blocking user activity in c directory that started years ago. no reason for that either. =(

[terrypin]

Thanks omaha. Yep, I tried that registry hack. And played with everything that looked remotely relevant in Trust Centre.

But still no joy.

[omahaNative_1023]

hmmmmmmmmmm.....can you upload for others view? 365 has many versions. 16, 19, etc...

upload here and I, for one, will test. see what extensions cause, what doesn't. you try on other files? viruses not in image file. at least not yet. python will be able to read all information in images in near future, but now it cannot. will not be long for many reasons. python the best.

[terrypin]

It's bedtime for me here so I'll get back on the case in the morning. If it's practical, and if I still cannot fix it, I'll upload a short extract that exhibits the problem. But if others can't then reproduce the behaviour, what then?!

EDIT, few minutes later:
A TXT and an HTML opened without the message. A PNG, an MP4 and an MOV all gave same message as the many JPGs I've tried.

Note that this is a recent change. For many months or years my links opened OK. I wonder if the recent (much postponed) update of Win 10 Pro from 1909 to 20H2 cold be the cause?

Is anyone else getting similar behaviour please?

[omahaNative_1023]

dont cross bridge before giving step 1 try

[terrypin]

What was 'step 1'?

[omahaNative_1023]

what? step one is upload. let people see it. are you posting from your sleep?

[terrypin]

'Step 1' for me yesterday was much research. Followed by changing relevant options in the Trust Centre. Then followed by the registry hack I referenced, and its variations.

I've spent some three hours since getting back into it this morning and have made some progress. I think the cause is somehow dependent on the sequence in which the worksheet is saved, and whether that is XLSX or XLSM. And another factor may perhaps be whether the target files are on the system drive (C: in my case) or a different drive (e.g D: hetre). All rather confusing and inconsistent, at least to this non-programmer. So I'm stepping through some tests methodically and will post again when I've made more sense of it.

[omahaNative_1023]

you say

think the cause is somehow dependent on the sequence in which the worksheet is saved. sequence does not mean anything. process inside file not mean anything

seriously doubt that one. no way

now, drive and area where file at . yes that make sense

[terrypin]

See the attached worksheet. Reproduce my results with your own files or the four I've zipped. I placed all four in C:\Tmp.

Hmm - Seems the site regards my 10.5 MB zip as too big. Download it from here instead, if you need them:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/s1s81esohv...ypes.zip?raw=1

[omahaNative_1023]

see images below. i got a warning for the media files only. not the images. you got it for all of them? if so, more work to do i suppose. sorry.

[terrypin]

And after saving what did you get?

Are you using Win 10 (if so what version?) and Excel 365, as I am?

[omahaNative_1023]

365 has many versions. look at ms website.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/micr...t-365-products

what do you mean after save? i put files in dir and clicked links. that all. no save to do

[AliGW]

Terry - please continue in this thread and this thread only for this hyperlink issue. Thanks.

[terrypin]

Terry - please continue in this thread and this thread only for this hyperlink issue. Thanks.

I concede that the post topics clearly overlap, but I was unaware that I was breaking any rules. Focusing on the substance rather than the rules, and assuming that you've read each of the posts, here is some further clarification:

#1 How can I stop these pesky hyperlink warnings?

- Several independent strands emerged
- Thread was becoming confusing

#2 Why this change after worksheet saved?

- That focuses on one specific but promising strand that I discovered. But it required considerable preparation to make that accessible to others. Including it in #1 is not an effective way to handle it IMO. That seems confirmed by the latest posts.

#3 Where can I find a list of 'protocols'?

- Another specific issue arising
- Again one that I think has a beter chance of getting a useful answer in a separate thread. No evidence so far to the contrary.

#4 Why do hyperlinks change when copy/pasted to new worksheet

- A quite separate issue! How can such a change of link be related to security warnings?
- Have you deemed it "a duplicate post" simply because it contains the word 'hyperlink'? And arises around the same time as the original problem?

[AliGW]

Thanks for the clarification. I will re-open the fourth one you mention, but not the others.

[terrypin]

OK, as you insist, but I'm now unclear how best to proceed with the discussion? Can you perhaps 'merge' the other content here please?

[terrypin]

365 has many versions. look at ms website.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/micr...t-365-products

what do you mean after save? i put files in dir and clicked links. that all. no save to do

Earlier you dismissed my suggestion that saves had any relevance. I prepared the example to show that you were mistaken.

I appreciate your reproducing the first part (assuming that was into a new file), but you did not complete the second part, namely saving that file and re-trying the links.

[AliGW]

OK, as you insist, but I'm now unclear how best to proceed with the discussion? Can you perhaps 'merge' the other content here please?

The other threads contain little more than your questions, so just add those to your next post to this thread. Thanks.

[terrypin]

Re: Where can I find a list of 'protocols'?
why are you posting this again? i doubt there's list for extensions,. its universal warning

There you go again, you “doubt”!

Do you have any hard facts to offer about this? Please read my post again more carefully. (In the thread that’s now locked.)

[terrypin]

SUMMARY
For anyone else who ends up here with a similar problem, my tentative conclusion is that these links cannot be disabled, at least on my PC with Excel 365 in Win 10 Pro Build 20H2, in a NEW worksheet. But so far the good news is that after the worksheet has been saved, the issue disappears. That may be due to one or more of the steps I've taken, so below I've included more detail for those who might find it helpful.

DETAIL
1. Opened Excel in normal mode
2. Placed any file type (JPG, TXT, MP4, etc) as a hyperlink in a cell
3. Clicked to open it

For me, an unwanted security message is always displayed. Which has to be closed before the target is opened.

4. Again checked potentially relevant settings in the following:
Excel > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Trusted Locations:
An entry for this folder (and its subfolders) has already been added

...> Trusted Documents
FWIW 'Allow documents on a network to be trusted' has been enabled

... > Protected View
Nothing enabled

... > External Content
'Security settings for Data Connections' set to Prompt
'Security settings for Workbook Links' set to Prompt
'Security settings for Linked Data Types' set to Prompt
'Security settings for Dynamic Data Exchange' set to Prompt

... > File Block Settings
Nothing enabled except default 'Open selected file types in Protected View and allow editing', which cannot be unchecked

... > Privacy Options > Privacy Settings > Document Inspector
All left enabled

--------------------

5. Saved the worksheet (but didn't close it).
The link now opens without interruption. NEW links placed, of any of the several types I tested, also now work OK.

So, on my PC, all file type hyperlinks get the warning, until after the worksheet is saved.

It's no great issue, but I'd prefer to stop that if possible.

--------------------
One of the scores of threads I've studied said that using Excel in Admin mode was a consistent fix. But it didn't work here. However I do recall at one point that it did!. So perhaps I've since changed an important setting. I may return to that some time, as running in Admin mode would be a simple fix.

--------------------

6. Checked with file types JPG, TXT, PDF, MP4, MOV, WMV, all with same results.

--------------------
7. Revisited this frequently recommended page yet again:
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/off...erlink-warning


Opened regedit to re-check the changes I'd made.
- Method 1. Ignored.

- At the key Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\Security 'DisableHyperlinkWarning' is set to 1, i.e. it is enabled.

- How to enable or disable hyperlink warnings per protocol
At the key Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\Security
disablehyperlinkwarning enable here too.

- Modify the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID>\EditFlags registry subkey
Trying this section as something of a last resort. But I neither understand 'Flags' nor can I locate in regedit any of the relevant 'EditFlag' keys such as HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\WMVFile\EditFlags. So I've set this aside.

- At the key
Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\Security\Trusted Protocols\All Applications
there was one key 'malwarebytes' with entry '(Default) REG_SZ (value not set)
I've added a couple more keys under All Applications, with JPGs and MP4s in mind respectively: IrfanView and PotPlayer. Made no difference to the hyperlink behaviour.

Note: Apart from "Office 365 ProPlus is being renamed to Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise," neither the subject nor content mentions Office 365. Presumably that's why none of it works for me in Win 10?

I have yet to try using Group Policy Editor.

====================

There are several sites that at first glance appear possibly worth a look. But many prove to be outdated. For example
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/...rs=en-us&ad=us
has the note "Important: The option to modify these settings is not available in versions of Microsoft Office newer than 2013."