Sorting and Filtering Can Break Links

Today while using Excel 2019 I noticed a very disconcerting problem. When you have hyperlinks added to a large number of cells (static links, not links added with the HYPERLINK formula), sorting and filtering on the worksheet can cause the links to be removed - or shifted to other cells. I saw some sign that the links stayed in position on the worksheet - in the same range - after the data was moved.

This is a glitch that has been documented on the Microsoft support site. See this April 2018 post. As Microsoft points out the problem is particularly bad because after the links are removed, "[a]lthough the blue, underlined text appears in the cell, nothing happens when you click the link." Microsoft states that the problem occurs with links that have been copied, and I noticed it happening today with links that I had entered using CTRL + D.

Microsoft doesn't offer a solution other than editing the links manually one by one. As the great Allen Wyatt of Excel Tips points out, this "isn't a real solution."