How to Disable Smart Tags in Microsoft Word

How to Disable Smart Tags in Microsoft Word How to Disable Smart Tags in Microsoft Word

Smart tags in Microsoft Word recognize certain types of data like names, dates, and addresses, and convert them into hyperlinks that show a menu of actions when clicked. For example, clicking on a name might give you options to add them to your Outlook contacts, schedule a meeting, or insert their address.

While smart tags aim to increase productivity by automating common tasks, some users find them intrusive or simply don’t need the functionality. Fortunately, Microsoft Word provides options to disable smart tags.

In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about disabling smart tags in Word, including:

What Are Smart Tags in Microsoft Word?

Smart tags are a feature introduced in Word 2002 that recognizes certain text and attaches a menu of actions to it. When Word recognizes a smart tag, it underlines the text with a dotted purple line.

Hovering over the smart-tagged text displays the Smart Tag Actions button. Clicking this button shows actions relevant to the tagged content, like adding a name to contacts for recognized names.

Some examples of text Word automatically smart tags include:

  • Names
  • Dates
  • Addresses
  • Stock ticker symbols

Smart tags aim to boost productivity by giving quick access to contextually relevant actions. However, some users consider them distracting visual clutter.

How to Disable Smart Tags in Word

You can disable smart tags in Microsoft Word in a few ways:

Disable a Single Smart Tag

To disable smart tagging on a single piece of text:

  1. Hover over the smart-tagged text until you see the Smart Tag button.
  2. Click the Smart Tag button.
  3. Select Remove this Smart Tag.

This turns off smart tagging for only that text. Word will continue recognizing other instances.

Disable All Instances of a Smart Tag

To stop Word from applying a specific type of smart tag everywhere in the document:

  1. Hover over text with that smart tag type.
  2. Click the Smart Tag button.
  3. Choose Stop recognizing > as Smart Tag.

For example, disable recognizing names as smart tags.

Disable All Smart Tags in a Document

To completely disable smart tags in the current document:

  1. Click the Tools tab.
  2. Select AutoCorrect Options.
  3. Click the Smart Tags tab.
  4. Deselect Label text with smart tags.
  5. Click OK.

This turns off smart tag recognition entirely for that document only.

Disable Smart Tags Application-Wide

To fully disable smart tags in Microsoft Word altogether:

  1. Click the Office Button > Word Options.
  2. Select Proofing.
  3. Click AutoCorrect Options.
  4. Go to the Smart Tags tab.
  5. Click Remove Smart Tags.
  6. Click OK twice.

These steps disable the feature application-wide so smart tags won’t show in any document. You may need to restart Word.

Smart Tags Deprecated in New Versions of Word

Microsoft deprecated smart tags in Word 2010 and they don’t recognize text automatically in newer versions. However, you can still manually trigger recognition and view actions.

To do this in Word 2010 and above:

  1. Right-click on the text.
  2. Select Smart Tags from the context menu.

You’ll then see the menu if that text type has a smart tag defined.

Conclusion

Smart tags in Word aim to boost productivity by surfacing relevant actions on dates, names, and other recognized text. However, some users find them distracting and unnecessary.

Fortunately, Microsoft Word provides granular options to disable smart tags application-wide, per document, per smart tag type, or on individual instances of text.

Newer versions don’t recognize smart tags automatically, but still allow manually triggering them. With the various options covered here, you can configure smart tag behavior in Word to best suit your needs.