How to Hyperlink in Word (Web, Email, Files & Sections)

Want to learn how to create, edit, or remove a hyperlink in Word? Whether you’re working on a report, research paper, digital guide, or interactive document, adding clickable links can make your content more useful and easier to navigate, especially for on-screen readers.

In this step-by-step guide, you’ll learn exactly how to hyperlink in Word, including:

• How to add a hyperlink to a website, file, or email address
• How to create a hyperlink to a section in the same document
• How to edit, rename, or remove hyperlinks in Word
• How to fix links that aren’t working, and even remove all hyperlinks at once

We’ll also show you how to use keyboard shortcuts, bookmarks, and formatting tips to make your links more effective and user-friendly, whether you’re using Word on Windows or Mac.

So if you’ve ever asked:

• How do I insert a hyperlink in a Word document?
• How can I link to another page or section?
• How do I stop Word from turning text into a link?

— This guide has you covered.

Let’s dive into everything you need to know about hyperlinks in Microsoft Word.

How to Insert a Basic Hyperlink in Word

Creating a hyperlink in Microsoft Word is easy once you know where to look. A hyperlink can point to a website, a file, another page or section in the same word document, or even an email address. In this section, we’ll walk you through the steps to add a clickable link to any Word document.

✅ Steps to Add a Hyperlink in Word (Windows or Mac)

Option 1: Use Right-Click Menu

1. Highlight the text or select the image you want to turn into a link.
2. Right-click on the selection and choose Link or Hyperlink (depending on your version of Word).
3. In the Insert Hyperlink dialog box:
   • On the left, choose “Existing File or Web Page”
   • In the Address field at the bottom, type or paste the URL (e.g., https://www.example.com)
4. Click OK.

The text will now appear underlined and blue, indicating it’s a hyperlink.

Option 2: Use the Keyboard Shortcut

1. Select the text or image you want to hyperlink.
2. Press Ctrl + K (Windows) or Cmd + K (Mac).
3. The same Insert Hyperlink dialog will open.
4. Enter your URL in the Address field.
5. Click OK to apply the link.

💡 Tip: You can link to websites, local files (like PDFs or Word docs), or folders using this same method.

🧠 What Happens After You Insert a Link?

• The text turns blue and underlined (Word’s default hyperlink style).
• To open the link, hold down Ctrl (or Cmd on Mac) and click it.
• If you’re linking to a file or document on your computer, Word will try to open it with the default app.

💡 If your links don’t work right away, make sure you’re pressing Ctrl + click — Word disables direct clicking by default to prevent accidental opens.

How to Automatically Insert Hyperlinks in Word (AutoCorrect)

Did you know Microsoft Word can automatically turn URLs and email addresses into clickable links as you type? This is thanks to Word’s AutoCorrect feature, which detects web addresses and formats them as hyperlinks instantly.

Here’s how it works — and how to use it properly.

✅ How It Works

Whenever you type something that looks like a web or email address (such as www.example.com or john@example.com), Word automatically turns it into a blue, underlined hyperlink the moment you press the spacebar or Enter key.

🔄 Examples:

What You Type	What Word Does
www.softwareaccountant.com	Converts it to a clickable link
https://printerpreneur.com	Adds a hyperlink with a hidden protocol
name@gmail.com	Turns it into a mailto link

✅ How to Trigger Auto-Hyperlinking

1. Open a Word document.
2. Type a valid URL (e.g., www.microsoft.com) or an email address.
3. Press spacebar or Enter right after the text.
4. Word will instantly convert it into a hyperlink.

💡 Don’t worry if the full URL doesn’t appear — Word still includes it behind the scenes.

🧠 Good to Know:

• Word will automatically add “http://” or “mailto:” even if you don’t type it.
• If you accidentally hyperlink something you didn’t mean to, you can remove the link (we’ll cover that in an upcoming section).
• This method only works with valid URL or email formats — random text won’t be converted.

🔧 Can You Disable This Feature?

Yes! If you don’t want Word to auto-convert text into hyperlinks:

1. Go to File > Options > Proofing
2. Click AutoCorrect Options…
3. Go to the AutoFormat As You Type tab
4. Uncheck “Internet and network paths with hyperlinks”
5. Click OK

This will stop Word from creating hyperlinks automatically as you type.

How to Create a Hyperlink to Another Section in the Same Word Document

Instead of forcing your reader to scroll, you can create a hyperlink that jumps to a specific part of the document, like a chapter, heading, or paragraph. This is perfect for navigation within long Word files.

To do this, you’ll first need to bookmark the section you want to link to, then create a hyperlink that points to that bookmark.

✅ Step 1: Add a Bookmark

1. Place your cursor where you want the hyperlink to jump to (e.g., the top of a section or heading).
2. Go to the Insert tab in the Ribbon.
3. Click Bookmark in the Links group.
4. In the dialog box:
   • Type a name for the bookmark (e.g., Chapter3 or ResultsSection).
   • Bookmark names must begin with a letter and cannot contain spaces.
5. Click Add.

💡 You can add multiple bookmarks throughout the document and use them as link targets.

✅ Step 2: Create the Hyperlink

1. Select the text that should act as the clickable link (e.g., “Jump to Chapter 3”).
2. Press Ctrl + K (Cmd + K on Mac) or right-click and choose Link.
3. In the Insert Hyperlink dialog:
   • From the left-hand options, choose Place in This Document.
   • You’ll see a list of bookmarks and headings.
4. Select your bookmark and click OK.

Now, when someone Ctrl+Clicks the hyperlink, they’ll jump directly to that section.

🧠 Example Use Cases:

• Jump from an executive summary to a detailed section.
• Link from a table of contents to chapters.
• Cross-reference footnotes, figures, or appendices.

💡 You can also link to built-in headings (e.g., Heading 1, Heading 2) if you don’t want to manually add bookmarks — but bookmarks offer more control.

How to Create a Hyperlink to Another Document or File in Word

In Word, you’re not limited to linking to web pages or places within the same file — you can also create hyperlinks that open other documents, such as PDFs, Excel spreadsheets, Word files, or PowerPoint presentations.

Here’s how to do it.

✅ Steps to Link to Another File or Document

1. Highlight the text (or image) you want to turn into a link.
2. Press Ctrl + K (or Cmd + K on Mac), or right-click and choose Link/Hyperlink.
3. In the Insert Hyperlink dialog box:
   • On the left side, select “Existing File or Web Page.”
   • Use the file browser area to navigate to the document you want to link to.
   • You can also manually paste the file path into the Address field at the bottom.
4. Click OK.

The selected text will now act as a hyperlink that opens the document when clicked (Ctrl+Click).

🧠 Tips for File Linking:

• You can link to Word, Excel, PDF, images, folders, and more.
• If you’re sharing the document with others, make sure the linked file is accessible on their device (e.g., on a shared drive or cloud).
• For best results, keep the linked files in the same folder as your main document or use relative file paths.

🔒 Important Notes:

• If you move the target file later, the link may break.
• Word does not embed the file — it just links to its current location.
• If your link doesn’t open, check file permissions and ensure Word is allowed to access local/network files.

How to Edit or Remove a Hyperlink in Word

Once you’ve added a hyperlink in Word, you can easily update or delete it. Whether you want to change the link address, rename the link text, or completely remove the hyperlink, Word gives you full control.

✅ How to Edit a Hyperlink

You can change either the text that appears or the actual link destination — or both.

To change the link address:

1. Right-click on the hyperlink.
2. Select Edit Hyperlink.
3. In the Edit Hyperlink dialog box:
   • Update the URL, file path, or location in the Address field.
4. Click OK.

To rename the hyperlink text:

• Simply click the link text and edit it like normal text — this does not affect the underlying hyperlink.

✅ How to Remove a Hyperlink

Option 1: Right-click method

1. Right-click on the hyperlink.
2. Select Remove Hyperlink.

This will remove the link but keep the text.

Option 2: Keyboard shortcut

1. Click the hyperlink (or highlight multiple).
2. Press Ctrl + Shift + F9 (Windows) or Cmd + Shift + Fn + F9 (Mac with Fn key).

This shortcut removes all hyperlinks from the selected text or the whole document if nothing is selected.

🔄 Removing All Hyperlinks in a Word Document

If you want to remove every hyperlink in your document at once:

1. Press Ctrl + A to select the entire document.
2. Press Ctrl + Shift + F9.

💡 This removes all hyperlinks, but also converts other fields (like auto-updating dates) to plain text — so use it carefully.

Bonus: Formatting and Best Practices for Hyperlinks in Word

Hyperlinks in Word are functional by default — but you can also customize their appearance and apply a few best practices to ensure your document remains polished and user-friendly.

🎨 How to Change the Color of a Hyperlink

By default, hyperlinks in Word are blue and underlined. You can change this style by modifying Word’s built-in hyperlink formatting.

Steps:

1. Go to the Home tab.
2. Click the small arrow in the Styles group to open the Styles pane.
3. Find Hyperlink in the list.
   • If you don’t see it, click Options > Show All Styles.
4. Hover over Hyperlink, click the dropdown arrow, and choose Modify.
5. Change the font, color, or underline style.
6. Click OK to apply.

💡 Use this same method to customize the FollowedHyperlink style (links after they’ve been clicked).

🧠 Best Practices for Hyperlinks in Word

✅ Use meaningful link text
Avoid “Click here.” Instead, use descriptive text like:

• Download the full report
• Jump to Chapter 5
• Visit our homepage

✅ Keep links short and clean
If you’re displaying the full URL, remove tracking parameters or shorten long links. Better yet, hide the URL behind text.

✅ Check links before sharing
Make sure all hyperlinks open the correct page or file. Test them by Ctrl+Clicking each link.

✅ Avoid linking sensitive local files
If others won’t have access to the file path (e.g., C:\Users\John\Documents\), the link won’t work for them.

✅ Use bookmarks for internal navigation
Bookmarks are more reliable than manual page references like “see page 15.”

Conclusion

Hyperlinks in Microsoft Word are a powerful way to make your documents more interactive, informative, and easy to navigate — whether you’re linking to a website, an email address, another file, or a specific section in the same document.

In this guide, you’ve learned:

• How to create, edit, and remove hyperlinks in Word
• How to link to sections within your document using bookmarks
• How to link to other documents or files on your device
• How to customize hyperlink formatting and remove links in bulk
• How to automatically insert hyperlinks using AutoCorrect

Whether you’re using Word on Windows or Mac, these methods will help you work more efficiently and create better experiences for your readers.