Edit link in word

How to Add and Edit Links in Word Documents

Insert hyperlinks quickly

Updated on February 11, 2021

What to Know

• Highlight text you want to hyperlink. Right-click it and choose Link. Alternatively, select Insert > Links > Link.
• Then, enter the URL in the Address field.
• Remove a link: Right-click the hyperlink text and choose Remove Hyperlink.

Microsoft Word is primarily used to create word processing documents, but you can also work with hyperlinks and HTML code used in websites. Learn how to insert, remove, or edit hyperlinks using Word for Microsoft 365, Word 2019, Word 2016, Word 2013, and Word 2010.

Insert Links

To link to other documents or web pages from a Word document, insert a hyperlink.

1. Select the text that you want to apply the hyperlink to. This can be the text of a URL, a single word, a phrase, a sentence, or a paragraph.

2. Right-click the text and select Link or Hyperlink to open the Insert Hyperlink dialog box. Or, go to the Insert tab and select Links > Link.

3. In the Address field, enter the URL address of the document or website you want to link to. For online assets, the URL must include the protocol (for example, http, https, or ftp).

   The Text to display text box defaults to the text you selected in step 1. You can change this text here if you like.

4. Select OK.

5. The selected text appears as a hyperlink that can be clicked to open the linked document or website.

   To make changes to the link, right-click the hyperlink and select Edit Hyperlink.

Remove Hyperlinks

When you type a URL into Word, it automatically inserts a hyperlink that connects to the website. This feature is handy if you distribute documents electronically, but it can be a nuisance when printing documents.

To remove a hyperlink, right-click the link and select Remove Hyperlink.

In Word for Mac, right-click then select Hyperlink. In the slide-out menu, select Edit Hyperlink, then choose Remove Link.

More About Editing Hyperlinks

When you work in the Insert Hyperlink dialog box and the Edit Hyperlink dialog box, several other features are available on the left side of the dialog box.

Existing File or Web Page

This tab is selected by default in the Insert Hyperlink and the Edit Hyperlink dialog boxes. This tab displays the text for the hyperlink and the URL of that hyperlink

In the middle of the window, there are three tabs:

• Current Folder displays files that are located in the same folder location as the current document. If you want the selected link to link to a document located in this folder, locate the file and choose it. The Address field changes to reflect the document location on your computer. The Text to display field also changes to the file address, so you may want to edit this field to change the text that displays in the Word document. 
• Browsed Pages shows a list of recent documents and web pages you have accessed. Select one of these as the new link destination.
• Recent Files displays a list of recent files you’ve worked on in Word. This is handy if you’re working on a series of separate documents and want to create links to these files quickly.

Place in This Document

This tab displays sections and bookmarks contained in the current document. Use it to link to specific locations within the current document.

Create New Document

Go to this tab to create a new document to which the link will connect. This feature is useful if you’re creating a series of documents but haven’t created the document you want to link to. Define the name of the new document in the labeled field. 

If you don’t want to edit the new document you create from here, select Edit the new document later.

Email Address

This section creates a link that will generate a new email when someone clicks it and populates several of the new email fields with the defaults you define. Enter the email address where you want the new email to be sent, and add the subject that will appear in the new email by filling in the appropriate fields.

If you have used this feature recently for other links, any email addresses you used in those will appear in the Recently used e-mail addresses list.

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Add, Edit or Remove Links or Hyperlinks in Word Documents

by Avantix Learning Team | Updated October 14, 2022

Applies to: Microsoft^® Word^® 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021 and 365 (Windows)

You can easily add links or hyperlinks in Microsoft Word documents to add interactivity and make it easy for users to click a link to jump to another location in your document, to another file or web page or even to an email. You can also edit hyperlinks and remove individual hyperlinks or all hyperlinks.

Hyperlinks are often used to:

• Take the user to an external website.
• Take the user to another document or file on the same network or another place in the same document.
• Add a layer of text information over a word or phrase.

Hyperlinks can be displayed as full source URLs or internet addresses such as http://abccompany.ca, as descriptive text, as an image or as a drawing object.

Text as a hyperlink appears underlined and in a color (normally blue) and coordinates with the color theme in your document. In Word, the text color changes automatically after you Ctrl – click hyperlink text. Hyperlink objects do not change color.

Recommended article: 3 Microsoft Word Tricks to Keep Text Together

Do you want to learn more about Word? Check out our virtual classroom or live classroom Word courses >

Insert a hyperlink automatically

You can insert hyperlinks to web sites by typing the address of an existing web page (such as https://abccompany.com)  and then pressing Enter or Spacebar. Word will automatically convert the text to a hyperlink using AutoCorrect.

Insert a hyperlink to an existing web page

To insert a hyperlink to an existing file or web page:

1. Click where you want to insert a hyperlink or select the text, shape or image you want to use as a hyperlink.
2. Click the Insert tab in the Ribbon.
3. In the Links group, click Link or Hyperlink. The Insert Hyperlink dialog box appears.
4. Under Link to, select Existing File or Web Page.
5. If you are using a text hyperlink, enter the descriptive text that will become the link text in the Text to display field.
6. In the Address field, enter or choose the address or location where the link should lead. For external references, enter or copy the URL in the Address field.
7. Click OK.

You can also press Ctrl + K to insert or edit a hyperlink.

Below is the Hyperlink dialog box:

Insert a hyperlink to an existing file

To insert a hyperlink to an existing file:

1. Click where you want to insert a hyperlink or select the text, shape or image you want to use as a hyperlink.
2. Click the Insert tab in the Ribbon.
3. In the Links group, click Link or Hyperlink. The Insert Hyperlink dialog box appears.
4. Under Link to, select Existing File or Web Page.
5. If you are using a text hyperlink, enter the descriptive text that will become the link text in the Text to display field.
6. In the Look in field, click the down arrow and select the desired location. Navigate to the appropriate drive and folder and then double-click the file.
7. Click OK.

Use relative or absolute hyperlink addresses to external files

If you are creating hyperlinks to external files, it’s important to understand the difference between a relative and absolute address. A relative hyperlink uses the address relative to the address of the containing document whereas an absolute hyperlink uses the full address of the destination document including the drive location.

The following example uses an absolute hyperlink address (full path address):

C:DocumentsJanuaryBudget.docx

The following relative hyperlink contains only the relative address or path to a Budget document.

JanuaryBudget.docx

You may want to use a relative hyperlink address or path if you want to move or to copy your files to another location such as another server.

Create a hyperlink using the context menu

Another method of creating or editing hyperlinks is to right-click and use the context menu (you can also press Shift + F10 to display the context menu).

To insert a hyperlink using the context menu:

1. Click where you want to insert a hyperlink or select the text, shape or image you want to use as a hyperlink.
2. Right-click and choose Link or Hyperlink from the menu. The Insert Hyperlink dialog box appears.
3. Select the appropriate button under Link to. If you are creating an external link to a webpage or another document, select Existing File or Web Page. If you are creating an internal link within the document, select Place in This Document.
4. If you are using a text hyperlink, enter the descriptive text that will become the link text in the Text to display field.
5. In the address field, enter or choose the address or location where the link should lead. For external references, enter or copy the URL in the Address field. For place in the same document, select the appropriate item.
6. Click OK.

Insert a hyperlink to a location in the same document

To create a hyperlink to a bookmarked location in the same Word document:

1. Select the location, text, image or shape that you want to use as the destination for the hyperlink.
2. Click the Insert tab in the Ribbon and in the Links group, click Bookmark. A dialog box appears.
3. In the Bookmark name box, type a unique name for the bookmark and then click Add. You may not use spaces in the name of a bookmark.
4. Click where you wish to insert a hyperlink or select the text, shape or image you wish to use as a hyperlink.
5. Right-click and choose Link or Hyperlink from the menu. The Insert Hyperlink dialog box appears.
6. Under Link to, select Place in This Document.
7. Select the bookmark that you want to use as the destination hyperlink. Microsoft Word has a default bookmark to jump to the top of the document.
8. Click OK.

Below is the Bookmark dialog box in Microsoft Word:

To create a hyperlink to a built-in heading style in the same document:

1. Click where you want to insert a hyperlink or select the text, shape or image you want to use as a hyperlink.
2. Right-click and choose Link or Hyperlink from the menu. The Insert Hyperlink dialog appears.
3. Under Link to, select Place in This Document.
4. Select the heading that you want to use as the destination hyperlink. You must have applied built-in heading styles such as Heading 1, Heading 2, etc. in your document (normally through the Styles gallery in the Home tab in the Ribbon).
5. If you are using a text hyperlink, enter the descriptive text that will become the link text in the Text to display field.
6. Click OK.

In the following example, note both the headings and bookmarks that appear in the Hyperlink dialog box in a Word file that uses the built-in heading styles:

If you create a table of contents in Word using built-in heading styles, it normally contains hyperlinks to headings in the document. For more information, check out this article on Creating a Table of Contents in Microsoft Word.

Edit a hyperlink

To edit a hyperlink:

1. Right-click the hyperlink.
2. In the context menu, select Edit Hyperlink or Edit Link. The Edit Hyperlink dialog box appears.
3. Select the desired options.
4. Click OK.

You can also select a hyperlink and press Ctrl + K to edit it.

Add screen tips

You can include screen tip text that appears when you hover your cursor over a hyperlink.

To add screen tip text:

1. Place your cursor over the hyperlink to which you want to add a screen tip.
2. Right-click and select Edit Hyperlink or Edit Link from the drop-down menu. The Edit Hyperlink dialog appears.
3. Click ScreenTip on the top right.
4. Type your text in the ScreenTip text box.
5. Click OK twice.

Below is the Hyperlink ScreenTip dialog box:

Jump to a hyperlink

Hyperlinks become active when you save your document as a PDF (portable document format) or web page (HTML) file and users will be able to simply click them. However, in Microsoft Word, to jump to a hyperlink, you will need to point to the hyperlink then Ctrl-click the link.

Remove a single hyperlink

To remove a hyperlink:

1. Right-click the hyperlink you want to remove.
2. In the context menu, select Remove Hyperlink or Remove Link.

Removing all hyperlinks

To remove all hyperlinks:

1. Press Ctrl + A to select all.
2. Press Ctrl + Shift + F9. All hyperlinks (and other fields) will be converted to text.

Hyperlinks can add a new dimension of interactivity to your Microsoft Word documents and when the files are saved in other formats such as PDF, they become active hyperlinks.

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To edit a hyperlink:

1. Right-click the hyperlink.
2. In the context menu, select Edit Hyperlink or Edit Link. The Edit Hyperlink dialog box appears.
3. Select the desired options.
4. Click OK.

How do you make or edit a hyperlink?

Create a hyperlink to a location on the web

1. Select the text or picture that you want to display as a hyperlink.
2. Press Ctrl+K. You can also right-click the text or picture and click Link on the shortcut menu.
3. In the Insert Hyperlink box, type or paste your link in the Address box.

How do I change the appearance of a link in Word?

Word for Windows

1. From the Home tab, click the small icon (
2. In the Styles menu, hover your mouse pointer over Hyperlink, and click the triangle that appears to the right.
3. From the drop-down menu that appears, select Modify….
4. In the “Formatting” section, choose the color you want, and then click OK to save your changes.

How do you edit a hyperlink in Outlook?

Rename hyperlink in Outlook

1. Right click on the hyperlink you want to rename.
2. Then click Edit Hyperlink in the right-clicking menu.
3. In the Edit Hyperlink dialog box, clear the content in the Text to display box, and then type in the words you want to display.

How do I get rid of blue links in Word?

You can also click the Remove Link button to make the text plain again, or press Ctrl+Shift+F9 in the link to remove the hyperlink.

How do I make links blue again in Word?

making links in Word blue?

1. Press Ctrl+H to open the Replace dialog.
2. Click More>> to expand the dialog.
3. In the “Find what” box, type.
4. With the insertion point in the (empty) “Replace with” box, click Format, then Style.
5. Select the Hyperlink style and click OK.
6. Click Replace All.

How do I make a hyperlink look like normal text in Word?

If you want to go a step further, you can add the link to regular text as follows:

1. Copy the url to the Clipboard.
2. Enter the text, TechRepublic, and select it.
3. Right-click the selected text and choose Link from the submenu.
4. In the Address control, paste the url, as shown in Figure B.
5. Click OK.

How do I edit a TinyURL link?

How to edit your TinyURL Links

1. Select the URL you want to update from your recent TinyURLs.
2. To edit the destination URL: A. Click the destination URL to be updated. B. Make revisions on the destination URL field.
3. To edit your TinyURL : A. Click on the Pencil icon beside your TinyURL. B.

How do I shorten a link and rename it?

You can shorten a URL by using an URL shortener website, which will shrink your URL for free.
Here’s how to shorten a URL.

1. Copy the URL you want to shorten.
2. Open Bitly in your web browser.
3. Paste the URL into the “Shorten your link” field and click “Shorten.”
4. Click “Copy” to grab the new URL.

What is hyperlink in MS Word?

A hyperlink in a Microsoft Word document enables readers to jump from the link to a different place in the document, to a different file or website, or to a new email message.

How do you link a word to another in Word?

The hyperlink can be text or graphics.
Add the link

1. Select the text or object you want to use as a hyperlink.
2. Right-click and then click Hyperlink .
3. Under Link to, click Place in This Document.
4. In the list, select the heading or bookmark that you want to link to.

How do I link a document in Word?

Link or Embed a file

1. Go to Insert > Object.
2. Select Create from File.
3. Select Browse and choose the file you want to use.
4. Select Insert.
5. Choose Display as icon to embed, or Link to file for a link.
6. Select OK.

How do you remove hyperlinks from text in Word?

To remove a hyperlink but keep the text, right-click the hyperlink and click Remove Hyperlink. To remove the hyperlink completely, select it and then press Delete.

How do I get rid of the purple hyperlink in Word?

Change the color of the hyperlinks in Word

1. In the Hometab.
2. Click the small icon under Change Styles to open Styles window.
3. Click the Hyperlink drop down menu > Modify…
4. In the Modify window, click on the blue color (default color) and choose your preferred color from the dropdown menu.
5. Click OK to apply the change.

Why are my links not blue?

In order to do this, navigate to the Google home page and click on the grid icon in the top left corner. Select “My Account”. When in your account settings, go to “Personal info & privacy”. Within that section you can turn off “Your searches and browsing history”, which allegedly can turn the links back to blue.

How do I change the hyperlink color?

Change the color of a hyperlink

1. Select the hyperlink you want to re-color. (How do I insert a hyperlink?)
2. On the Home tab of the ribbon, select the Font Color arrow to open the menu of colors.
3. Select the color you want for the hyperlink.

How do you change the color of a clicked link?

To change the color of hyperlink text, click Hyperlink, and then click More Colors. To change the color of the followed hyperlink text, click Followed Hyperlink, and then click More Colors.

How do I change a link in Word for Mac?

Edit a hyperlink

1. Hold down CONTROL, click the hyperlink, and then click Edit Hyperlink.
2. Make the changes that you want, and then click OK.

How do I find links in TinyURL?

Type the shortened URL in the address bar of your web browser and add the characters described below to see a preview of the full URL: tinyurl.com. Between the “http://” and the “tinyurl,” type preview.

Can I redirect TinyURL?

If you recently moved one of your pages or the entire website associated with a TinyURL created from our Legacy Site, you can point your TinyURL to your new location by creating a redirect.

How do you use alias in TinyURL?

You may create a custom alias that can be intuitive and descriptive of your TinyURL.

1. Login to your TinyURL account.
2. Enter the long URL of the destination site and the custom alias you’d like to use for your TinyURL.