
Open the Excel file, click File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Protected View, and uncheck these options: Enable Protected View for Files originating from the Internet, Enable Protected View for Files located in potentially unsafe locations, Enable Protected View for Outlook attachments. If this is the problem you are having, here are 2 tips that may help you. When clicking on the attached PDF document in Excel, the file can't open and give you an error: Cannot start the source application for this object. Other than that, the location of the file should remain the same, if you move it to different location, the link won’t work anymore.FAQ: How to Fix Embedded PDF Documents Not Opening in Excel If the link to your file redirects to your computer, you will be the only one able to open it. The file should be stored in a location accessible to those with whom you want to share it. If you only want to add a link to the file instead of embedding the file, select the “Link to File” check box. A new window will then pop up and you can create a new file you want to insert. You can do that by selecting “Create New” instead, and choose the type of object you want to attach.

Yet, to be able to sort or move it with the rest of the content, what you really need is to put it into a single cell. Then, what happens after? Your file will float around your spreadsheet and not into a single cell. Do you ever need to insert files into Excel, so you can share more comprehensive information with your colleagues? Either to insert PDF into Excel or to insert word documents into Excel, it’s just as simple as clicking on Insert, Text, Object, choosing your file, and voila!
