Insert Link Shortcut in Google Sheets

Linking a cell to a URL, another tab, or a file in your Drive is something you end up doing a lot. Clicking through the Insert menu every time gets old fast.

Google Sheets has a single keystroke for it. Press the combo and a small dialog pops up right under the cell, ready for you to type or paste.

You can stay on the keyboard the whole way through.

Insert Link Keyboard Shortcut in Google Sheets

Insert Link Keyboard Shortcut (Windows Windows)

Ctrl + K

Insert Link Keyboard Shortcut (Mac Mac)

⌘ + K

What this shortcut does

The shortcut opens an inline link dialog right under the selected cell. The cell’s current text becomes the link label, and you fill in where it should point to.

You can link to three different things from this one dialog:

  1. An external URL (paste or type any web address).
  2. A file in your Google Drive (suggestions appear as you type a name).
  3. A sheet or named range in the current file (the dialog lists them under “Sheets and named ranges”).

Press Enter to apply the link. The cell text turns blue and underlined.

How to use it (step by step)

  1. Click the cell you want to turn into a link. If it’s empty, type the label text first.
  2. Press the shortcut. A small dialog opens just below the cell.
  3. Type or paste the URL in the Link field. Or start typing a file name and pick from the Drive suggestions. Or click “Sheets and named ranges” to link inside the file.
  4. The Text field shows what the cell will display. Edit it if you want the label different from the URL.
  5. Press Enter or click Apply.

A quick example. You have a cell with the text “Q3 report” and you want it to open a Drive file by the same name.

Click the cell, press the shortcut, start typing “Q3 report” in the link field. Google Drive suggestions appear. Pick the right file, hit Enter.

The cell now reads “Q3 report” in blue. Hover over it and a preview card shows the file. Click and it opens in a new tab.

Alternative method (Insert menu)

If you’d rather use the menu:

  • Click the cell.
  • Open the Insert menu and click Link. The same dialog appears.

You can also right-click the cell and pick Insert link from the context menu. Same dialog either way.

Things to watch for

  • Editing a linked cell takes an extra step. Clicking the cell follows the link instead of selecting it. Use the arrow keys to land on the cell, or click an adjacent cell and arrow over. Then press F2 (or just start typing) to edit.
  • Remove a link without losing the text. Right-click the cell and pick Remove link. The cell text stays, the URL goes.
  • Linking a range works too. Select multiple cells before pressing the shortcut. The same URL gets applied to each cell in the range.
  • Drive file suggestions need access. If you don’t see a file you expected, you might not have view access to it, or it’s been deleted.
  • The dialog closes if you click elsewhere. Press Escape if you want to dismiss it without applying anything.

Google Sheets keyboard shortcuts

Related Google Sheets shortcuts: