Hyperlinks, Bookmarks, and Cross-References in Microsoft Office

Cindy Grigg is a former freelance contributor to Lifewire and a productivity writer who teaches Microsoft Office software to students and pros.

Since so many of us use Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other Microsoft Office files digitally, it makes sense to become better at using specialty linking so our readers have a richer user experience.

This article applies to Microsoft 365, 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, and 2007.

The Magic of Linking

In Office, hyperlinks, bookmarks, and cross-references can add structure, organization, and navigational functionality to your documents:

• Within an Office document, a hyperlink can direct readers to another document or to a website.
• A bookmark is a kind of hyperlink that directs readers to a specific place within a document. Bookmarks are commonly used within tables of contents to enable readers to go straight to a particular document section.
• A cross-reference directs readers to a named source within the same document, such as a table or graph.

Here we list instructions for inserting each one into a Word document. The process is similar for other Office applications.

Create a Hyperlink

1. To create a hyperlink within your document, highlight the text you'd like readers to click to get to another place.

Right-click the selected text to bring up an editing menu.

In the Insert Hyperlink dialog box, in the Link To section, select Existing File or Web Page.

Alternatively, if you want to link to a document, choose Current Folder, Browsed Pages, or Recent Files.

The text you selected shows up as linked text.

Insert a Bookmark

1. Position your cursor where you want the bookmark to be.

The name must be one continuous line of characters, so if you want to use more than one word, string them together with underscores or hyphens.

To create a link to your bookmark, position your cursor where you want the link to appear.

In the Insert Hyperlink dialog box, under Link to, select Place in This Document.

The link appears at the location you indicated in your document.

Insert a Cross-Reference

1. To insert a cross-reference, you first need to establish the item you want to refer to. For example, you can create a table in your document.

Create a caption for your item. First, select the item.

In the Caption dialog box, in the Caption field, type a caption for your element.

The caption appears with the element.

To create a cross-reference to the item, place your cursor where you want the cross-reference to appear.

On the ribbon, select References.

In the Cross-reference dialog box, under Reference type, select Table.

The cross-reference appears as a hyperlink in the location you indicated.

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