Patent ID: 7467148

Claim:
A computer-readable storage medium including computer executable instructions for performing a method for reporting a status of a link in a spreadsheet application, the link associated with a source file, the method comprising: receiving the selection of a link to check using the spreadsheet application; examining the source file within the spreadsheet application without updating the link by determining whether or not the source file is valid, wherein the source file is determined to be valid if source file details are present in pre-specified locations in the source file, the details comprising a number of spreadsheets and the name of the spreadsheets in the source file and the pre-specified locations comprising a particular location from the beginning of the source file, and wherein the source file is determined to be invalid if the details about the source file are not present in the pre-specified locations, wherein an invalid source file cannot be read and comprises at least one of: an incorrect format, a locked file, and a corrupt file; and reporting the status of the link based on the examination of the source file.