The warning that a workbook contains links is useful, but it does not tell you what to do next. Breaking every link can freeze an old value or remove logic the recipient needs. Keeping every link can leave the recipient with an inaccessible source. Start with intent.
Work on the delivery copy.
Save the workbook into its real delivery folder. Keep the working model and source files intact. Open the copy from the same folder structure the recipient will receive whenever possible.
Do not remove links, sheets, formulas, or comments from the only copy.
Find calculation errors before link cleanup.
Search every sheet for #REF!, #VALUE!, #DIV/0!, #N/A, #NAME?, and other error values. A broken reference may tell you which source or structural change needs attention.
model.xlsx / Summary!A2Repair the calculation and recalculate the final delivery copy before release.
Trace the precedent, source file, named range, or deleted sheet that caused the error.
Give every workbook link a clear outcome.
Use Data and Workbook Links, plus Document Inspector, to find external references. Microsoft notes that links can appear in formulas, names, objects, chart titles, and chart series.
Record its location, owner, access requirement, refresh behavior, and whether the recipient needs it.
Keep a link only when the recipient can access and trust the source. If you replace it with a value, record the date and source of that value.
The source is approved, accessible, documented, and expected to refresh.
The link is intentional, but the recipient's access or refresh behavior is uncertain.
The source is missing, private, stale, or causing an error in the delivery copy.
Recalculate and read the outputs again.
After any change, run a full recalculation. Compare the key outputs with the approved source or prior review. Close and reopen the delivery copy so you see the same startup warnings and refresh behavior as the recipient.
Confirm totals, charts, named outputs, print areas, and formulas that feed the client-facing sheets.
Record what will happen outside your environment.
Name the reviewed file, the source assumptions, the expected link behavior, and the person who owns the final decision. A local scan can find reproducible signals. It cannot know whether the commercial model is right.