Why is LinkFixer Advanced reporting more links than I can find in my files?

Why is LinkFixer Advanced reporting more links than I can find in my files?

Why is LinkFixer Advanced reporting more links than I can find in my files?

Modified on: Wed, 18 Mar, 2026 at 9:19 AM

Have you noticed that LinkFixer Advanced reports more links than you can find by visually examining your files?
This is a known behavior, particularly with Microsoft Office files, and is commonly referred to as “phantom links.”

Phantom links are hidden or residual links that remain embedded within a file, even though they are no longer visible in the document.

These links can occur when users modify or replace existing links. In some cases, the original link is not fully removed but instead becomes hidden beneath the new link. If the newer link is later deleted, the original (phantom) link may still persist in the file.

When LinkFixer Advanced scans a file, it detects and reports both:
  1. The visible (current) links
  1. The hidden (phantom) links

Why Can’t They Be Distinguished?

From the perspective of LinkFixer Advanced, phantom links are indistinguishable from regular links. As a result:
  1. There is currently no reliable method to filter them out of reports
  1. No official guidance from Microsoft exists on how to remove them

What Does This Mean for You?

While this behavior may seem unexpected, it is generally not a cause for concern:

If phantom links are broken:
       They cannot be repaired (“inoculated”) because they are not actively accessible.

If phantom links are valid:
       Updating or correcting them during a migration process does not cause any issues.

Overall impact:
 LinkFixer Advanced is identifying more links than are visible—not fewer. Since phantom links are hidden, most users consider there to be no downside to their inclusion in reports.