Document Links

By the Syncfusion DevTutorials team · Last updated

Insert, edit, and remove hyperlinks, and use bookmarks to mark places in a document and link to them.

Documents are often read on a screen, not just on paper. Links let readers click to open a website, or jump straight to another part of a long document. In this lesson, you'll insert, edit, and remove hyperlinks, and use bookmarks to mark places in your document and link to them.

Open the Word sandbox and follow along.

Insert hyperlink

Links come in two kinds: links to websites, and links to places inside your document. Let's start with websites. A hyperlink is clickable text that opens a web page, an email, or another place.

  1. Type the text readers will click, such as Kenya Wildlife Service, and select it.
  2. Go to Insert > Link, or press Ctrl + K.
  3. In the Address box, type or paste the web address, such as https://www.kws.go.ke.
  4. Click OK (or Insert).

The text turns blue and underlined. To follow the link, hold Ctrl and click it.

Link meaningful words, not "click here". Read the Kenya Wildlife Service guide tells readers where the link goes before they click, and it reads well on paper too.

Edit hyperlink

Sooner or later you'll need to change a link: the address was wrong, or you want different words shown. To change where a link goes, or the words that are shown:

  1. Right-click the link.
  2. Choose Edit Hyperlink.
  3. Change the Text to display or the Address, and click OK.

Remove hyperlink

To turn a link back into normal text without deleting the words:

  1. Right-click the link.
  2. Choose Remove Hyperlink.

The words stay, but they're no longer blue, underlined, or clickable.

Word often turns web addresses into links automatically as you type, for example when you type www.example.com and press Space. If you don't want that link, press Ctrl + Z straight away, or use Remove Hyperlink.

Create bookmark

Website links are only half the story. The other kind of link jumps to a place inside your document, and for that you first need a marker. A bookmark marks a place in your document with a name, like a sticky tab in a book. You can jump to it at any time, and link to it.

  1. Select the text you want to mark, such as a section heading, or click where the bookmark should go.
  2. Go to Insert > Bookmark.
  3. Type a name, such as Samburu, and click Add.

Bookmark names must start with a letter and can't contain spaces. Use letters, numbers, and underscores, such as Section_2 or PriceList.

Edit bookmark

Word doesn't rename bookmarks. To change one, delete the old bookmark and add it again with the new name, or at the new place. To move a bookmark, select the new place, open Insert > Bookmark, pick the existing name, and click Add: the bookmark moves there.

Delete bookmark

  1. Go to Insert > Bookmark.
  2. Pick the bookmark in the list.
  3. Click Delete.

Deleting a bookmark never deletes text. It only removes the invisible marker.

Navigate using bookmarks

Once you've created a bookmark, you can use it to jump straight to that place in the document.

  1. Go to Insert > Bookmark.
  2. Pick the bookmark in the list.
  3. Click Go To.

Word jumps straight to the bookmarked place. In a long report, this is much faster than scrolling.

Link to bookmarks

The real power of bookmarks: you can link to them, so readers click once and jump there.

  1. Select the text readers will click, such as Samburu in a contents list.
  2. Press Ctrl + K to open the link dialog.
  3. Instead of a web address, choose the Bookmark option (in Microsoft Word: Place in This Document), and pick the bookmark.
  4. Click OK.

Now Ctrl + click the link to jump to that place in the document.

Hyperlinks go somewhere else: a website or email. Bookmark links go somewhere in the same document. Both are made with Ctrl + K; only the target is different.

Common mistakes

Here are the most common traps, and how to fix them:

MistakeWhat happensHow to fix it
Missing https:// or a typo in the addressThe link opens an error pageEdit Hyperlink and fix the address
Clicking a link without CtrlNothing happens, or the cursor just movesHold Ctrl and click
Space in a bookmark nameWord won't add the bookmarkUse an underscore, like Price_List
Deleting the bookmarked textThe bookmark disappears and links to it breakAdd the bookmark again, then check the links
Deleting link text to remove a linkThe words are gone tooUse Remove Hyperlink to keep the words

Exercise

Now it's time to add links yourself.

Click New in the sandbox title bar, and type these paragraphs:

  • Contents: Samburu
  • Visit Kenya Wildlife Service for park information.
  • Samburu
  • Samburu National Reserve is home to the Grevy's zebra and the reticulated giraffe.

Now do each task and press Check.

What to remember

  • Ctrl + K inserts a link; Ctrl + click follows it.
  • Right-click a link to Edit Hyperlink or Remove Hyperlink. Removing keeps the words.
  • Insert > Bookmark adds, finds (Go To), and deletes bookmarks.
  • Bookmark names start with a letter and have no spaces.
  • Link to a bookmark with Ctrl + K and the Bookmark option, to jump inside the document.

In the next lesson, you'll use styles to format a whole document quickly and consistently.