How to Shorten a Link in Google Docs (Link Text, Smart Chips and Shorteners)

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The simplest way to shorten a link in Google Docs is to hide the long web address behind short, readable text. Select the words you want to link, press Ctrl+K (or Cmd+K on a Mac), paste the URL into the Link box, and click Apply. The link still goes to the full address, but readers only see your text.

If the link points to another Google file, you can also turn it into a compact smart chip that shows the file’s name. You only need a separate URL shortener if people will type the link by hand or see it outside a clickable document, such as in print. Google’s own shortener, goo.gl, no longer creates new links, so that option is off the table.

Quick Answer

  1. Type the short text you want readers to see, such as “Project budget.”
  2. Select that text and press Ctrl+K (Windows, ChromeOS) or Cmd+K (Mac), or click Insert, then Link.
  3. Paste the long URL into the Link field.
  4. Click Apply. The long address is now hidden behind your text.
  5. For links to Google files, consider a smart chip instead. Only use a third-party shortener when you need a short address people can read or type.

In This Guide

What “Shortening a Link” Means in Google Docs

This guide covers Google Docs in a web browser on Windows, Mac and Chromebook, as of September 2026, with notes for the mobile apps. When people want to shorten a link in a document, they usually mean one of three things:

  • Make the link look shorter. The address stays the same, but readers see a few words instead of a long string of characters. This is called display text or anchor text, and Google Docs does it for you with the Link tool.
  • Make the link look richer. A smart chip replaces a URL with a small labeled box, such as a file name with its icon, that people can hover over for a preview.
  • Make the address itself shorter. A URL shortener creates a new, brief web address that redirects to the long one. This happens outside Google Docs, through a separate service.

For most documents that people read on screen, the first option is all you need. It’s built in, free, and doesn’t depend on any outside service staying online.

What you’ll need: a Google Account, edit access to the document, and the full URL you want to link to, copied to your clipboard.

Method 1: Hide a Long URL Behind Short Text

These steps follow Google’s help page on how to add links in Google Docs.

  1. Copy the long URL from your browser’s address bar or wherever it came from.
  2. In your Google Doc, click where you want the link, or highlight the words you want to turn into a link. Choose words that describe where the link goes, such as “2026 budget spreadsheet,” not “click here.”
  3. Click Insert, then Link, or press Ctrl+K (Windows and ChromeOS) or Cmd+K (Mac). Expected result: A small link box opens next to your cursor.
  4. Under Text, check the words readers will see. If you highlighted text in step 2, it’s already filled in. If not, type the short text you want.
  5. Under Link, paste the long URL. You can also search for a web page or pick another document here.
  6. Click Apply. Expected result: Your short text appears underlined in blue. Clicking it shows a small preview with the full address, and it opens the page when followed.

That’s it. The URL hasn’t changed, so the link won’t break the way a third-party short link might, and it keeps working even if you download the document as a PDF or Word file. For a deeper walkthrough of links, see our guide on adding a hyperlink in Google Docs.

Tips for good link text

  • Keep it short but specific. “Meeting notes, March 3” is clearer than “notes.”
  • Avoid “click here” and “link.” Screen reader users often jump from link to link, and vague labels don’t tell them anything.
  • Don’t repeat the full URL as the text. That defeats the purpose.
  • If the document will be printed, add the short address in a footnote or appendix, because readers can’t click on paper.

If someone pasted a raw URL into the document and it’s stretching across several lines, you can swap the visible address for short text without re-copying anything.

  1. Click anywhere inside the long link. Expected result: A small link preview box appears.
  2. Click Change (the pencil icon, labeled Edit link in some versions).
  3. In the Text field, delete the long address and type the short text you want to display. Leave the Link field alone.
  4. Click Apply. Expected result: The long address is replaced by your text, and the link still points to the same place.

To remove a link completely but keep the words, click the link and choose Remove. Our guide to editing a hyperlink in Google Docs covers these options in more detail.

If you’re pasting text from websites or emails and links arrive with odd formatting, pasting without formatting gives you plain text you can link cleanly.

On the Google Docs mobile app

The Google Docs app for Android and iPhone also lets you add links. In most versions you select text, then tap the insert or link option from the editing menu. Menu names differ between app versions and between Android and iPhone, so if you don’t see a link option, look under the + (insert) button or in the text selection menu. Setting display text is easiest on a computer.

Method 2: Turn Links Into Smart Chips

Smart chips are small interactive labels in Google Docs. A file chip shows a Google file’s name and icon, and hovering over it shows a preview. They’re a tidy way to link to other Docs, Sheets, Slides and Drive files, and they’re usually shorter than a full URL.

Insert a file chip with the at-symbol menu

According to Google’s help page on how to insert smart chips in Google Docs:

  1. Type the at-symbol anywhere in your document, or click Insert, then Smart chips.
  2. Start typing the file’s name or related keywords. Expected result: A list of matching files from your Google Drive appears.
  3. Click the file you want. Expected result: A chip with the file’s name is inserted.

Convert a pasted link into a chip

When you paste some links into a document, Google Docs may offer to replace the URL with a chip. Google’s help pages describe two ways to do this for supported links: press Tab right after pasting to replace the URL with a smart chip, or click the URL and then click Chip in the preview box. If you don’t see a chip option for a link, that type of link may not support chips, and Method 1 is the better choice.

Keep in mind that chips don’t give anyone access to a file. People who click a file chip still need permission to open that file. If they don’t have it, they’ll be asked to request access.

Sometimes you’re not linking from a document but sharing the document itself, and you want the link to work for the people who receive it. Google’s help page on sharing files from Google Drive gives these steps:

  1. Open the file (or select it in Google Drive) and click Share.
  2. Under General access, click the down arrow.
  3. Choose Restricted (only people you’ve added can open it) or Anyone with the link.
  4. If you chose Anyone with the link, pick a role: Viewer, Commenter or Editor.
  5. Click Copy link, then click Done. Expected result: The link is on your clipboard, ready to paste.

Before choosing Anyone with the link, think about what’s in the document. Anyone who gets the link, including people it’s forwarded to, can open the file with the role you chose. For private information, use Restricted and add people by name.

Copied Google Docs links often end with extra characters after the document’s ID, such as a question mark followed by a sharing tag. In many cases the link still opens the same file if that trailing part is removed, but test the edited link in a private browser window before sending it. Pasting the result behind short link text (Method 1) is usually tidier than trimming addresses by hand.

Method 3: Use a URL Shortener (With Caution)

A URL shortener is a website or app that turns a long address into a short one, such as a domain followed by a few characters. When someone opens the short link, the service redirects them to the original address. This is useful when:

  • People need to type the link by hand, for example from a printed handout or a slide.
  • You’re sharing in a place that shows the raw address, like a text message or a social post with a character limit.
  • You want click counts, which many shorteners provide.

What happened to Google’s URL shortener?

Google stopped offering new goo.gl short links years ago, after announcing in 2018 that it would wind down the Google URL Shortener. In an August 2025 update, Google said that goo.gl links showing no recent activity (those displaying a warning that the link would stop working) would be deactivated on August 25, 2025, while all other goo.gl links would be preserved and keep working. Google also noted that goo.gl links generated by its own apps, such as Maps, aren’t affected. You can’t create new goo.gl links today, so you’ll need a different service if you want a short address.

How to use a shortener safely

  1. Choose a well-known shortening service and read its privacy policy and terms. Some free plans expire links, add ads, or limit how many links you can create.
  2. Copy your document’s link using the sharing steps above, with the access setting you actually want.
  3. Paste it into the shortener and create the short link.
  4. Test the short link in a private browser window to make sure it opens the right file with the right permissions.
  5. Back in Google Docs, insert the short link using Method 1, so readers still see descriptive text on screen.

Things to watch out for:

  • Permissions don’t change. A short link is just a redirect. If the file is Restricted, people still can’t open it without access. If it’s open to Anyone with the link, anyone who finds the short link can open it too.
  • Short links can break. If the service shuts down, changes plans, or removes your account, the link stops working. That’s a real risk for documents that need to last.
  • Short links hide the destination. Some readers, and some workplace email filters, distrust them because they’re sometimes used in scams. Descriptive link text is more trustworthy.
  • Work and school accounts may have rules against third-party link services or add-ons. Check with your administrator first.

Google Workspace Marketplace also lists add-ons that shorten links from inside Docs. Some depend on a separate paid account with a shortening service. Review the permissions an add-on requests before installing it.

Which Option Should You Use?

Situation Best option Why
Link to any website in a document read on screen Display text (Method 1) Built in, readable, never expires
Link to another Google file Smart chip (Method 2) or display text Shows the file name and a preview
Sharing the document itself by email or chat Share, then Copy link Controls exactly who can open it
Printed handout or slide people must type from URL shortener (Method 3) Short address is easy to type
Need click tracking URL shortener with analytics Docs doesn’t count link clicks
Long-term reference document Display text No outside service that could disappear

Related: How to Force a Copy of a Google Doc.

Troubleshooting

Ctrl+K doesn’t open the link box

Click inside the document body first, so the cursor is in the text, then try again. A browser extension may also be using the same shortcut. Use Insert, then Link instead.

The full URL still shows after I added text

You may have typed text in the document and then pasted the URL next to it. Delete the pasted URL, select your text, and use Ctrl+K to link it, so the address sits behind the words.

Google Docs turned my link into a chip I didn’t want

Press Ctrl+Z (or Cmd+Z) right after it converts to undo the change. If a chip is already in place, delete it and add the link with Method 1 instead.

People say the link asks them to request access

The file is shared as Restricted, or they’re signed in with a different Google Account. Open Share and either add them by email or change General access, if that’s appropriate for the content.

A goo.gl link in my document stopped working

It was probably one of the inactive links Google deactivated in August 2025. Find the original destination if you can, then replace the link using Method 1.

The link text wraps onto several lines

That happens with raw URLs because they have no spaces. Replace the visible URL with short display text (see “Shorten a long URL that’s already in your document” above).

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Google Docs have a built-in URL shortener?

No. Google Docs lets you hide long URLs behind display text and turn some links into smart chips, but it doesn’t create new short web addresses.

Can I still use goo.gl to shorten links?

No. New goo.gl links can’t be created. Existing goo.gl links that were still in use were kept working after Google’s August 2025 update, but inactive ones were deactivated.

Does hiding a URL behind text affect where the link goes?

No. The display text only changes what readers see. The link still opens the full address you pasted.

Will my short link text survive if I download the doc as a PDF or Word file?

Links generally carry over when you download a document as PDF or Word, with the display text still clickable. It’s worth opening the downloaded file and testing a link or two.

Is it safe to use a free URL shortener for a Google Doc?

It can be, but the short link is only as reliable as the service behind it, and it doesn’t protect your file. Anyone with the short link can open the document if your sharing settings allow it. For sensitive files, keep sharing restricted.

How do I make a Google Doc link shorter for a text message?

Use Share, then Copy link, and paste it as is. Most phones show a tappable link preview. If you need a shorter address, run it through a reputable shortener and test it first.

Summary

  1. Select short, descriptive text, press Ctrl+K or Cmd+K, paste the URL, and click Apply.
  2. To fix a long pasted URL, click it, choose Change, and replace the Text field with short words.
  3. For Google files, a smart chip shows the file name in a compact, previewable label.
  4. Share documents with Share, General access, and Copy link, choosing access carefully.
  5. Use a third-party shortener only when people must type or read the address, and remember goo.gl no longer creates links.

Next step: open a document with a long, messy URL, click the link, choose Change, and replace the visible address with a few descriptive words.

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