Remove Linked OLE Objects in Excel (2 Ways)

When working with Excel files, you may occasionally encounter prompts like "This workbook contains links to other data sources" or notice that your file opens slowly. In many cases, these issues are caused by Linked OLE Objects.

Linked OLE Objects (Object Linking and Embedding) are external file references inserted into Excel. Instead of storing data directly in the workbook, they link to content from another file—such as a Word document, PDF, or another Excel workbook. While this can help keep file sizes smaller and maintain dynamic updates, it also introduces problems:

• Excel may try to update links every time you open the file
• Broken links can trigger error messages
• Workbooks may become slow or unstable
• External links can pose security concerns

For these reasons, removing unnecessary linked OLE objects is often essential. In this tutorial, you’ll learn two practical methods to remove them.

• Method 1: Delete OLE Objects Manually in Excel
• Method 2: Batch Remove Linked OLE Objects with Kutools

Method 1: Delete OLE Objects Manually in Excel

If your workbook contains only a few objects, you can remove them manually using Excel’s built-in tools. This method is straightforward but becomes inefficient for larger files.

Steps

1. Open your worksheet.
2. Go to the Home tab.
3. Click Find & Select > Selection Pane.

   

4. In the Selection Pane, you will see a list of all objects in the sheet, including embedded OLE objects, linked OLE objects, shapes, charts, and more. Click each object to identify it.
5. After selecting a linked OLE object, press Delete to remove it.

   

6. Repeat for all OLE objects.

Limitations of this method

• You cannot easily distinguish linked vs. embedded OLE objects.
• Requires manual identification and deletion. Very time-consuming, especially when there are many objects in the worksheet.
• Difficult to quickly locate the correct linked OLE objects among multiple object types.
• Risk of deleting the wrong object.

Method 2: Batch Remove All Linked OLE Objects with Kutools

Since Excel do not provide a reliable way to identify and remove only linked OLE objects, a more precise and user-friendly solution is needed. Kutools for Excel provides a dedicated feature to remove only Linked OLE Objects—without affecting other content.

It eliminates the need for manual searching or coding, making it ideal for both beginners and professionals.

Steps

1. Open your Excel workbook.
2. Go to the Kutools tab. Click Delete > Delete Illustrations & Objects.

   

3. In the dialog box:
   1. Only check Linked OLE objects.
   2. Choose where to apply:
      • Active sheet
      • Selected sheets
      • All sheets
   3. Click OK.

      

Result

Once applied, all linked OLE objects are removed instantly. As a result, you will no longer see update link prompts, workbook performance is improved, and any embedded objects remain untouched.

Conclusion

Linked OLE Objects can be useful, but they often cause performance issues, broken links, and annoying update prompts in Excel. Removing them is an important step in maintaining a clean and efficient workbook.

• Manual deletion works for small tasks but lacks efficiency.
• Kutools for Excel provides the best solution—allowing you to remove linked OLE objects in just one click, with full control and no risk.

If you frequently deal with complex Excel files, using Kutools can save you significant time and effort while ensuring accuracy.