How to Remove Hyperlinks From Microsoft Word Documents

Hyperlinks can be useful for connecting documents and directing readers to more information. However, sometimes hyperlinks need to be removed from Microsoft Word documents. Here are several methods to remove hyperlinks.

Why Remove Hyperlinks?

There are a few reasons you may want to delete hyperlinks from a Word document:

• The links are no longer working or relevant
• You want to use the text for a different purpose
• The links are visually distracting
• You copied text from another source and want only the text

Removing hyperlinks allows you to reuse text and eliminates non-functioning or unnecessary links.

Turn Off Automatic Hyperlinks

Word automatically creates hyperlinks when you type web addresses, but you can disable this feature:

1. Click the File tab > Options > Proofing
2. Click AutoCorrect Options
3. Click the AutoFormat As You Type tab
4. Uncheck the box for Internet and network paths with hyperlinks

Now you can type web addresses without Word automatically making them clickable links.

Remove a Single Hyperlink

To remove an individual hyperlink:

1. Right-click the hyperlinked text
2. Select Remove Hyperlink

The text remains without the link.

Remove Multiple Hyperlinks

To delete multiple hyperlinks at once:

1. Select all text by pressing Ctrl + A
2. Press Ctrl + Shift + F9

All hyperlinks in the document are removed but the text remains.

Paste Text Without Hyperlinks

When you paste text that contains hyperlinks from another document or website, use the Keep Text Only option so links do not transfer over with the text:

1. Copy the text
2. In Word, click Paste > Keep Text Only

The text will paste without any active hyperlinks.

Remove Hyperlinks When Saving a Webpage

If you save a webpage to a Word document, it may retain hyperlinked text from the webpage. To delete them:

1. Open the saved webpage document
2. Press Ctrl + A to select all text
3. Right-click and select Remove Hyperlink

All links from the webpage will be removed in the Word document.

Disable Ctrl + Click Functionality

By default, you can follow a hyperlink by pressing Ctrl while clicking the link. If you want to keep hyperlinks but remove this functionality:

1. Click File > Options > Advanced
2. Scroll to Editing Options
3. Uncheck Use CTRL + Click to follow hyperlink

Now pressing Ctrl + click will not activate hyperlinks.

Remove Underlining from Hyperlinks

The blue underlining identifies text as a hyperlink. If you want non-functioning hyperlink text without underlines:

1. Select the text
2. Right-click and choose Remove Hyperlink
3. With text still selected, click the Font Dialog Box Launcher on the Home tab
4. Uncheck Underline and click OK

This makes the text look like normal body text rather than a clickable hyperlink.

Disable Future Hyperlinks

To prevent Word from creating new hyperlinks automatically:

1. Click File > Options > Proofing
2. Click AutoCorrect Options
3. Click AutoFormat As You Type
4. Uncheck Internet and network paths with hyperlinks
5. Click OK

This option prevents Word from identifying web addresses you type and converting them into hyperlinks.

Remove Hyperlinks from Comments

To eliminate links within document comments:

1. Select the comment with the link
2. Right-click and choose Edit Comment
3. Highlight the hyperlink and press Ctrl + Shift + F9
4. Click outside the comment to save changes

The link is removed but the comment text remains.

Using one of these methods, you can delete hyperlinks from Microsoft Word documents and prevent new ones from automatically being inserted when needed. Removing unnecessary or non-functioning links helps present a clean document and avoids sending readers to broken webpages.

Frequently Asked Questions About Removing Hyperlinks

Here are answers to some common questions about eliminating hyperlinks in Word documents:

Can I remove hyperlinks without deleting the text?

Yes, the text will remain after removing a hyperlink so you can reuse the content. The methods in this article focus on removing only the links while keeping the text.

What’s the shortcut to remove all hyperlinks quickly?

Press Ctrl + A to select the entire document, then press Ctrl + Shift + F9. This instantly strips all hyperlinks without deleting the text.

What if I accidentally create new hyperlinks?

Go to File > Options > Proofing and uncheck the box for automatically creating hyperlinks when you type web addresses. This prevents Word from inserting new links moving forward.

What if I only want to remove the blue underlining but keep the links?

Select the hyperlinks, open the Font dialog box, and uncheck Underline. This makes hyperlinks blend in visually while retaining their functionality.

Can I delete hyperlinks from comments or footnotes?

Yes, you can remove hyperlinks from comments, footnotes, text boxes, and any other text elements using the methods outlined above. Just select the text, right-click, and choose Remove Hyperlink.

Will removing hyperlinks delete my formatting or styles?

No, clearing hyperlinks only strips the links themselves. Text formatting like fonts, sizes, colors, and paragraph styles remain intact after you remove hyperlinks.

Let me know if you have any other questions!