Share via

Excel "Cannot locate the Internet server or proxy server"

Anonymous
2019-05-17T14:23:12+00:00

I am trying to open links in an excel spreadsheet and I get an Excel error stating "Unable to open https://somesite. Cannot locate the Internet server or proxy server." This is with Office for Mac 2016 with the latest version of Chrome set as the default browser. 

My wife created the spreadsheet using Excel for Windows and it works fine on her system. 

These are https links not http. The use of SSL seems to be the problem. added a cell with http://microsoft.com in it and it opened fine. If I change it to https it does not. 

any way to fix this?

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | For home | Windows

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments

5 answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2019-05-22T12:44:13+00:00

    Me again,

    This is what I get with a new spreadsheet. The 3rd link, http://microsoft.com correctly opens the link.

    thanks for your help

    10 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2019-05-19T14:12:59+00:00

    Yes, If I copy/paste into my browser it opens fine. My wife and I are on the same network. As I think I mentioned, if I change https to http the links open fine. I have seen this error reported in earlier versions of excel. 

    try https://www.casagredohotel.com

    I also tried https://microsoft.com and it won't open but http://microsoft.com will

    again, the error is 

    "Unable to open https://microsoft.com. Cannot locate the internet server or proxy server"

    5 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2019-05-22T12:24:42+00:00

    I am running v14.7.7 of Excel for Mac 2011

    Yes, I know this is no longer supported

    My OSX is v10.12.6

    thanks

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  4. Anonymous
    2019-05-21T22:57:31+00:00

    Hi Coltrane,

    Thanks for the explain. 

    I tested the following link from our side with Excel 2016 for Mac:

    https://microsoft.com

    https://www.casagredohotel.com

    And some other URL starts with https. All of them opened in our browser without any error.

    Can you share the Excel version and MacOS version with us? 

    Office version: in Excel > Excel on the top bar > About Excel

    MacOS: Apple icon on the top bar > About this Mac.

    Regards,

    Alex

    0 comments
  5. Anonymous
    2019-05-18T00:41:04+00:00

    Hi Coltrane,

    The error message says it cannot find the site. To narrow down the issue, Here are some suggestions for you:

    1. Try the link in your browsers and see if it opens. If any error happens, welcome to share it with us.
    2. If you and your wife use different network, you can change yours see if it open's

    If it's public link, you can share the link with us and we can test from out side too.

    Regards,

    Alex

    0 comments