How to Insert a Hyperlink in Microsoft Word (Windows, Mac and Web)

Got a word or phrase selected that you want people to click? Press Ctrl+K, paste the web address into the Address box and click OK. The word turns blue and underlined, and it now opens that page. The same dialog can also point a link at a heading in your document, an email address or a file, and Word for Mac and Word for the web have their own versions of it, all covered below.

What a Word link can point to

A hyperlink is text or a picture that takes the reader somewhere else when clicked: a website, another part of the same document, a new email message or a file. The Windows steps apply to Word for Microsoft 365, Word 2024, 2021, 2019 and 2016. Separate sections cover Word for Mac and Word for the web, as of November 2026.

• Have the destination ready. Copying the address from the browser avoids typos, which cause most broken links.
• Pick link text that describes the destination. “Download the 2026 budget report” tells readers, including people using screen readers, far more than “click here” or a long raw address.
• Know the label in your version. Current Word calls the button and dialog option Link. Some older versions label the same button Hyperlink; it opens the same Insert Hyperlink dialog.

Turn a word or phrase into a web link on Windows

These steps follow Microsoft’s Create or edit a hyperlink page.

1. Select the text or picture you want to use as the link.
2. Open the link dialog in any of three ways: press Ctrl+K, go to the Insert tab and click Link, or right-click the selection and choose Link. Expected result: The Insert Hyperlink dialog opens with Existing File or Web Page selected under Link to on the left.
3. Click in the Address box and paste or type the full web address, including https:// when you have it. If you haven’t copied the address yet, the Browse the Web button opens your browser so you can find the page and copy it.
   

   

4. Look at Text to display at the top. It shows the words you selected. Edit them here if you want the link to read differently.
5. Optional: click ScreenTip in the top-right corner, type a short note that appears when someone hovers over the link, and click OK.
6. Click OK. Expected result: The text becomes a link, blue and underlined in the default style.
7. Hold Ctrl and click the link. Expected result: The page opens in your default browser.

Let Word create the link as you type

When you type a complete web address and then press the Spacebar or Enter, Word turns it into a live link automatically. Typing an email address such as [email protected] works the same way and creates a link that starts a new message. This is the fastest route when the raw address is fine as the visible text, for example in a contact list or a reference section.

If you want friendlier wording afterward, right-click the new link, choose Edit Hyperlink and change Text to display. If you’d rather Word never does this, the setting to switch it off is in the section on how links look and behave, further down.

Link to a place in the same document

Internal links let readers jump straight to another section, which saves a lot of scrolling in long reports, manuals and contracts. Word can link to any heading (text formatted with a built-in Heading style) or any bookmark (a named spot you mark yourself).

Mark the destination

If the destination is a section title, make it a heading:

1. Click in the section title.
2. On the Home tab, in the Styles group, click Heading 1, Heading 2 or another heading style.

For any other spot, such as a table, a figure or a single paragraph, add a bookmark. Microsoft’s bookmark instructions give the naming rules used here.

1. Select the text or click where you want the link to land.
2. Go to Insert and click Bookmark. On a simplified ribbon you may need to open the ellipsis (…) menu to find it.
3. Type a name. It must start with a letter and can’t contain spaces; use an underscore instead, such as Budget_Table.
4. Click Add.

Create the link

1. Select the text that will become the link.
2. Press Ctrl+K or right-click and choose Link.
3. Click Place in This Document on the left. Expected result: A list shows your headings and bookmarks.
4. Pick the destination and click OK.

Link to a spot in a different document

To send readers to a heading or bookmark inside another Word file, choose Existing File or Web Page, select that file, then click the Bookmark button in the dialog and pick the destination from the list. The other file has to stay where the link expects it, so this works best for files kept together in a shared folder.

If what you really want is a clickable list of every section, a table of contents in Word builds those links for you, and readers can also jump between headings by opening the Navigation Pane.

Link to an email address or a file

Email address

1. Select the text, then press Ctrl+K.
2. Click E-mail Address on the left.
3. Type the address in the E-mail address box, or pick one from Recently used e-mail addresses. Word may add mailto: in front; that’s normal and tells the computer to open an email program.
4. Optional: type a Subject. Some web browsers and email programs ignore the subject line, so don’t rely on it.
5. Click OK. Expected result: Clicking the link opens a new message to that address in the reader’s email program.

File on your computer or network

1. Select the text, then press Ctrl+K.
2. Under Existing File or Web Page, browse to the file and select it.
3. Click OK.

Before you share the document, check where the file lives. A link to a file in your own Documents folder only works on your computer. For a document other people will open, store the file in OneDrive, SharePoint or a shared network folder and link to it there. To get an address anyone you choose can open, create a sharing link for the Word document in OneDrive and paste that into the Address box.

Insert a hyperlink in Word for Mac

Word for Mac uses shorter labels in the link dialog. These steps follow Microsoft’s page on creating hyperlinks in Office for Mac, which applies to Microsoft 365 for Mac, Word 2024 and Word 2021.

1. Select the text or picture.
2. Go to the Insert tab and click Link. Command+K is widely used as the shortcut for this; if it does nothing on your Mac, use the ribbon button.
3. Choose what to link to: Web Page or File, This Document or Email Address.
4. For a web page, type the address in the Address box (or click Select to pick a file). For This Document, choose a heading or bookmark from the list. For Email Address, type the address and an optional subject.
5. Optional: click ScreenTip to add hover text.
6. Click OK.

To add a bookmark on a Mac, go to Insert, then Bookmark, type a name without spaces and click Add. The bookmark then appears under This Document.

Insert a hyperlink in Word for the web

Word for the web, the free browser version, has a simpler dialog. Microsoft’s Links in Word for the web page describes it.

1. Select the text.
2. Go to Insert, then Link. If a menu appears, choose Insert Link.
3. Check the wording in Display text and type or paste the address in Enter Link.
4. For an email link, type mailto: followed by the address in Enter Link, for example mailto:[email protected].
5. For a heading or bookmark in the same document, select Headings and Bookmarks on the right side of the dialog and pick the destination.
6. Click Insert.

Typed addresses turn into links automatically here too once you press the Spacebar or Enter. To change a link later, click in it and choose Insert, then Link again, or right-click it and choose Edit Link. On a touch screen, tap and hold the link to see the same commands.

Edit or remove a hyperlink

Change the address or the text

1. Right-click the link and choose Edit Hyperlink (Edit Link in Word for the web).
2. Change the Address or Text to display, then click OK.

Remove one link but keep the words

Right-click the link and choose Remove Hyperlink. The text stays where it was as plain text. Selecting the link and pressing Delete removes the words as well, so use the right-click command when you only want the link gone.

Remove every link in the document

Warning: this shortcut unlinks every field in the document, not just hyperlinks. A table of contents, dates, cross-references and any other fields in the main text also turn into fixed text. Save a copy first if your document contains any of those.

1. Press Ctrl+A to select everything.
2. Press Ctrl+Shift+F9. On some laptop keyboards you need to hold Fn as well, so the keys become Ctrl+Shift+Fn+F9.

Microsoft lists both options on its Remove or turn off hyperlinks page.

Change how links look and behave

Change the color or underline of one link

Right-click the link and choose Font to change its color, underline style or size. This changes only that link. If a link’s blue underline is the line you’re trying to get rid of, removing blue lines in Word separates link underlines from grammar marks and borders.

Change every link at once

Word formats links with a built-in style called Hyperlink, and links that have already been clicked with a separate Followed Hyperlink style (often purple; the Styles pane may list it as FollowedHyperlink). Changing the style updates every link that uses it, which keeps a long document consistent.

1. On the Home tab, open the Styles pane with the small arrow at the corner of the Styles group.
2. Point to Hyperlink, click the arrow beside it and choose Modify. If it isn’t listed, insert one link first, or open Options at the bottom of the pane and choose to show all styles.
3. Pick a new color or underline and click OK.
4. Repeat for Followed Hyperlink if you want visited links to match.

Open links with a plain click

By default, Word on Windows needs you to hold Ctrl while clicking a link, so you don’t open a website by accident while editing. To follow links with a normal click, go to File, then Options, then Advanced, and under Editing options clear Use CTRL + Click to follow hyperlink.

Stop Word from creating links automatically

On Windows, go to File, then Options, then Proofing, click AutoCorrect Options, open the AutoFormat As You Type tab and clear Internet and network paths with hyperlinks. On a Mac, open the Word menu, choose Preferences, then AutoCorrect, and clear the same box under AutoFormat as You Type. This and the Ctrl+click setting are separate, so turning one off doesn’t change the other. Existing links stay; only new ones stop being created.

Which type of link should you use?

You want readers to…	Choose (Windows)	Choose (Mac)
Open a website	Existing File or Web Page	Web Page or File
Jump to another section	Place in This Document	This Document
Send you an email	E-mail Address	Email Address
Open a shared file	Existing File or Web Page (OneDrive link or network path)	Web Page or File

Links can’t be clicked on paper. If the document will be printed, write out the important addresses in the text as well so readers of a paper copy can still find them.

Troubleshooting

Clicking the link does nothing

Hold Ctrl while you click, or turn off the Ctrl+click requirement as described above. If a normal click already works and nothing opens, the address itself is probably the problem.

The link goes to the wrong page or shows an error

Right-click the link, choose Edit Hyperlink and check the Address box for typos, a missing https:// or a cut-off end. Copy the address again from the browser if in doubt.

My heading doesn’t appear under Place in This Document

The destination needs a built-in Heading style or a bookmark. Text that is only bold and large won’t show up. Apply a Heading style from the Home tab or add a bookmark, then create the link again.

A file link stopped working

The file was probably moved or renamed, or the reader can’t reach that location. Edit the link to point to the file’s current place, ideally a shared cloud or network folder.

Links from someone else look suspicious

Hover over a link to see its real address before you Ctrl+click it, especially in a file you weren’t expecting. The visible text can say anything; the address in the tooltip is where it actually goes.

Long addresses can clutter a page even when they work. To tidy them up, see how to shorten a link in Word so it shows a few readable words instead.

Pictures can pick up links too, and stopping Word from hyperlinking screenshots keeps web page captures from opening a site when clicked.

Hyperlink questions

Can I turn a picture into a link?

Yes. Click the picture instead of selecting text, then press Ctrl+K and add the address the same way. Clicking the image (with Ctrl on Windows) then opens the destination.

How do I link to a specific page number?

Word links to headings and bookmarks, not page numbers, because page numbers shift as you edit. Put a bookmark at the top of the page you want, then link to it with Place in This Document.

Why did my link change from blue to purple?

Once a link has been followed, Word switches it to the Followed Hyperlink style, which is often purple. Modify that style if you’d rather visited links keep the original color.

Do hyperlinks still work after saving as PDF?

Web links usually carry over when you save or export the document as a PDF from Word, but open the PDF and click a few to confirm before sending it. Links to files on your own computer won’t work for anyone else.

Next step

Open the document you’re working on, select one word, press Ctrl+K and paste an address. Ctrl+click the result to make sure it lands where you expect, then add the rest of your links the same way.