In Excel 2003 and 2007 (and presumably 2010), it is possible to attach a hyperlink to a single cell; this is well known.

Excel also allows you select a range for insertion. In that case, clicking on any cell in the range will jump to the target of the hyperlink. I can't find any web reference to this possibility.

My question is: What is the use case for being able to do this?

My only suggestion: The first worksheet is a menu for the remainder of the workbook. Each worksheet or topic has a hyperlink on the menu sheet. Each hyperlinks occupies a 3x3 range of cells to make it easier for users in a hurry to click on the correct link.

A side question: Interestingly, Excel allows you to overlap ranges. Example: Link from A1:C3 to file1. Then link from B2:D4 to file2. The overlapped cells (B2:C3) now point to file2. Only A1, A2, A3, B1, and C1 now point to file1. No warning is given about the overlap. What is the rationale for this behaviour?