Step-by-step guide
HlinLink
Inventory and remap supported external Office links into new copies. Scan supported Excel and PowerPoint files, preview an explicit old-to-new link mapping, and apply it to new output copies with an audit trail.
Workbooks or presentations still link to old paths such as S:\Projects\… or \\server\share\…, and you need copies whose links point to the new drive, share or web address, with an audit of every change.
This free pack contains the guide, fictional fixtures and saved reports, without the program. The prepared download supplies program0.1.1 and the original preview archive. Existing preview permissions remain unchanged.
See it in use
Review two link remappings
A screenshot walkthrough with fictional practice data. Select a step to explore.
1. Start with
Review two link remappings
The free pack has two fictional Harborview packages and saved reports.
Sample files and contents
Free illustrated manual, two fictional minimal Harborview packages, a folder-prefix mapping example and saved scan/preview/apply reports.
Practice files and guides are free. The complete app is included only where the product page says so.
2. In the app
Try it in three steps
- Open the scan report and identify both source paths.
- Compare old and new targets in the preview.
- Inspect the apply report and written copies.
Show every click and setting
- Open the saved scan report and inspect the two observed paths.
- Compare the preview’s old and new targets, then the apply report’s two written copies.
- Use the full illustrated exercise after installing the separately supplied program.
3. The result
Inspect the result
Two fictional links map to example.invalid destinations; original files stay unchanged. Real Office documents still need opening and review.
What to check in the practice result
Two fictional links mapped to example.invalid destinations. The reports show the workflow; no destination is fetched, and these minimal fixtures are not Office-authored or intended to open in Office.
This fictional example is shown in the working interface and in the supplied result. Review the guide before using your own files.
See the workflow at a glance
Choose a short explanation, then follow the worked example below. Check the requirements and compatibility before using your own files.
Preview the link rewrite before making new copies.
A moved folder can leave references pointing at yesterday's location. HlinLink scans supported relationships in XLSX, XLSM and PPTX files, previews an explicit mapping, then writes new copies. The Harborview example follows one workbook reference and one slide hyperlink into SharePoint-style example addresses. Its minimal synthetic packages are for the commands, not for opening in Office. Targets are neither opened nor checked, and DOCX rewriting is unsupported. Review the audit and test your own copies: real migrations and every Office encoding remain unverified.
View the illustrated card
Remap a Link, Then Verify the Target
Changing a stored Office link is only one part of a migration. HlinLink inventories supported relationships, previews an explicit mapping and writes new copies. Its fictional bakery example changes two stored links without modifying the source files. It does not open or verify the destinations, and the minimal practice packages are not Office acceptance documents. Real migrations still need a check in the intended Office environment. The guide lists the supported Excel and PowerPoint formats; Word rewriting is unsupported.
View the illustrated card
Know the workflow before you buy
Check installation, inspect the reports, and plan a native review of your own copies.
See the actual output
The free fictional reports show observed links, explicit replacements and written copies.
Confirm the working environment
This is a terminal tool with browser-readable reports. Python and known destinations are required.
Keep the scope narrow
Word is inventory-only. Output parity with dated native fixtures does not verify your migration or destination access.
Before you start
- Python 3.10 or later with venv/pip and a terminal. Current wheel checked with Python 3.12 on Windows and Python on Linux; macOS and other environments unverified.
- Copies of supported Excel .xlsx/.xlsm or PowerPoint .pptx files and known intended destinations. Word is inventory-only.
- HlinLink-0.1.2-guide-bundle.zip for the updated program. Its app/ folder contains the wheel directly; no second extraction or activation is needed.
Your first result
Extract and read the first-run guide
Extract HlinLink-0.1.2-guide-bundle.zip and open START-HERE.html, then GUIDE.html. Program 0.1.1 is directly in app/; the unchanged older archive in program/ is retained for existing permissions and is not needed for this workflow.
Install into a separate Python environment
Open a terminal in the extracted folder. Windows: py -3 -m venv .venv, then .\.venv\Scripts\python.exe -m pip install --no-index --no-deps app/hlinlink-0.1.1-py3-none-any.whl. Linux: python3 -m venv .venv, then .venv/bin/python -m pip install --no-index --no-deps app/hlinlink-0.1.1-py3-none-any.whl. Use that environment’s full Python path for the following commands; the illustrated manual gives copyable examples.
Scan and fill the generated mapping
Run PYTHON -m hlinlink scan examples/hlinlink/input --report first-scan, replacing PYTHON with the environment path. Open first-scan/audit.html and mapping-template.csv. Fill each new_prefix with an intended destination or remove the row deliberately. Word and signed files are excluded from this starter.
Preview every proposed change
Run PYTHON -m hlinlink preview examples/hlinlink/input --mapping first-scan/mapping-template.csv --plan first-plan.json --report first-preview. Read first-preview/audit.html. The manual supplies two fictional destinations for practice; it does not discover real destinations or verify access.
Write new copies and inspect the outcome
Run PYTHON -m hlinlink apply --plan first-plan.json --output first-copies --report first-apply. The exercise produces two copies, zero failures/skips. Read the per-file audit. A mixed batch can partly succeed and still exit 2; unsupported Word is never rewritten, including from an older plan.
Check real files in Office before handoff
Use new plan/report/output names each time. Originals and existing outputs are not overwritten. Keep a backup, use known mappings, and open real output copies in your own Office environment to check links, refresh and content before replacing anything. The fictional minimal exercise files are not meant to open in Office.
A worked example
Inspect two remapped links before buying
Input: Free illustrated manual, two fictional minimal Harborview packages, a folder-prefix mapping example and saved scan/preview/apply reports.
- Open the saved scan report and inspect the two observed paths.
- Compare the preview’s old and new targets, then the apply report’s two written copies.
- Use the full illustrated exercise after installing the separately supplied program.
Expected result: Two fictional links mapped to example.invalid destinations. The reports show the workflow; no destination is fetched, and these minimal fixtures are not Office-authored or intended to open in Office.
More application screens
Three visible steps from inventory to new copies
Actual program 0.1.1 reports in Chrome 152 on Linux, with fictional files and targets.
1. Start from the links actually found
2. Inspect every proposed destination
3. Keep the copies and the audit together
Troubleshooting
The mapping has an empty destination
Fill new_prefix on the named CSV row or remove that row deliberately. Scan leaves destinations blank for you to choose.
Python cannot find HlinLink
Use the full Python executable inside the .venv where you installed the supplied wheel. No shell activation or execution-policy change is required.
An output, report or plan already exists
Choose new names. The program refuses overwrite so earlier files and evidence remain intact.
Apply exits 2
Read every failed/skipped file in the audit. Word is inventory-only and cannot be rewritten; supported files in a mixed batch may still produce copies.
A destination does not open in Office
Check the intended address, permissions and native link behavior yourself. The tool never fetches targets or authenticates to a service.
Compatibility & limits
- Rewrite scope remains supported Excel external workbook relationships and PowerPoint hyperlinks. Word is inventory-only; manual or saved plans cannot enable its rewrite.
- Current Windows-installed program reproduced every uncompressed member of two preserved XLSX/PPTX outputs verified in Office16 on 25 September2026. This is dated native evidence plus current output parity, not a new native Office roundtrip. The current noninteractive control could not open unchanged originals; cause unestablished.
- No rewriting of formulas, Power Query, connections, OLE/DDE or macros; signed/encrypted/malformed packages are refused or skipped. Macro-byte preservation is not native macro validation.
- No target existence/access check, SharePoint login or migration guarantee. Other Office encodings, hosts, real customer migrations and maximum folder scale remain unverified.
- The original preview archive and its no-charge local-use permissions remain unchanged, including use for your own work. The updated program retains those included permissions. Purchase supplies the prepared bundle, manual and examples; no activation or subscription is added.
Need a hand?
Tell us the product, host application and version, what you tried, and the exact error. Contact support with a fictional example; keep private customer files and passwords out of your message.