How to Extract URLs from HYPERLINK Function in Google Sheets

The HYPERLINK formula of Google Sheets lets you insert hyperlinks into your spreadsheets. The function takes two arguments:

  1. The full URL of the link
  2. The description or the anchor text of the link

The URL and anchor text can either be specified as a string or as a cell reference.

If you insert a hyperlink into a cell using the HYPERLINK function, there’s no direct way to extract the URL from the formula. You may consider writing a complicated Regular Expression to match and extract the hyperlink in the cell formula or use Apps Script with Google Sheets API.

const extractHyperlinksInSheet = () => {
  const ss = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet();
  const sheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSheet();

  const hyperlinks = [];

  const spreadsheedId = ss.getId();
  const sheetName = sheet.getName();

  const getRange = (row, col) => {
    const address = sheet.getRange(row + 1, col + 1).getA1Notation();
    return `${sheetName}!${address}`;
  };

  const getHyperlink = (rowIndex, colIndex) => {
    const { sheets } = Sheets.Spreadsheets.get(spreadsheedId, {
      ranges: [getRange(rowIndex, colIndex)],
      fields: "sheets(data(rowData(values(formattedValue,hyperlink))))",
    });
    const [{ formattedValue, hyperlink }] = sheets[0].data[0].rowData[0].values;
    hyperlinks.push({ rowIndex, colIndex, formattedValue, hyperlink });
  };

  sheet
    .getDataRange()
    .getFormulas()
    .forEach((dataRow, rowIndex) => {
      dataRow.forEach((cellValue, colIndex) => {
        if (/=HYPERLINK/i.test(cellValue)) {
          getHyperlink(rowIndex, colIndex);
        }
      });
    });

  Logger.log(hyperlinks);
};

Also see: Replace Text in Google Docs with RegEx

Amit Agarwal is a web geek, solo entrepreneur and loves making things on the Internet. Google recently awarded him the Google Developer Expert and Google Cloud Champion title for his work on Google Workspace and Google Apps Script.

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