Shortcut to Display Bookmarks

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated January 1, 2026)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021

Susan does quite a bit of work with bookmarks in her documents. To help her do her work more efficiently, she would like to turn on/off the display of bookmarks without having to go to the Word Options dialog box every time.

This is rather easy to do using what is effectively a single-line macro:

Sub ToggleBookmarks()
    ActiveWindow.View.ShowBookmarks = _
      Not ActiveWindow.View.ShowBookmarks
End Sub

This macro can easily be assigned to a shortcut key or to a button on the Quick Access Toolbar. Either way, it toggles the setting of the bookmarks in the current window. (It affects only the current window.)

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the WordTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (9135) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Including Text Box Text in Word Counts

If you use text boxes in the layout of your documents, you should know that any word counts you perform do not include ...

Discover More

Reducing the Size of the Save As Dialog Box

Dialog boxes are designed to be limited in scope, so that they cover only a portion of your screen. What if a dialog box ...

Discover More

Comparing Strings

As your macro is processing information, there will doubtless be times that it will need to compare information in ...

Discover More

Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2021 or Microsoft 365. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word Step by Step today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Setting a VBA Variable from a Bookmark

Bookmarks are quite helpful in a document. You may want to transfer the contents of a bookmark into a macro variable in ...

Discover More

Getting the Names of Defined Bookmarks

When creating a macro, you may need to determine the names of the bookmarks in the document. You can do this using the ...

Discover More

Seeing Where Bookmarks Are

Bookmarks can be great for referencing and finding portions of your document. If you want to easily see where the ...

Discover More

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is two minus 0?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.