Using the GotoButton Field

One of the fields included in Word simulates the Go To command, which is available by pressing F5. This feature allows you to define a field that will appear as a "button" in your document. If the user double-clicks on the field, then Word jumps to the location in the document specified by the field. The syntax for the field is as follows:

GotoButton Location Display

where Location is the name of the bookmark or other valid Go To location to which you wish to jump, and Display is the text you want displayed by the field code. If you use a graphic instead of text for Display, then the graphic is displayed. When a user double-clicks on the displayed text or graphic, then Word jumps to the location specified by Location.

To use this field code, follow these steps:

1. Position the insertion point where you want the button to appear.
2. Press Ctrl+F9 to insert an empty set of field braces.
3. Between the field braces, type GotoButton, then the name of the location where you want to jump. (For instance, if you have a bookmark named MyTarget, that is the name you would type as the location.)
4. Type the text you want displayed, or insert a graphic to be used as a button. (If you use a graphic, make sure it is small enough to fit on a single line and make sure it is inserted inline, not floating.)
5. Press Shift+F9 to hide the field code and show only the Display text.

Now, to jump to the target location, double-click the results of the field.

This all being said, it appears in the latest versions of Word that Microsoft has "broken" the ability to use a graphic as the Display parameter. In multiple tests, I could insert the graphic for the parameter, and it displays properly, but it cannot be double-clicked. (A single click selects the graphic and a double-click displays the properties for the graphic.) So, until Microsoft decides to fix this problem, I would suggest not using a graphic with the GotoButton field, and instead use text.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (9806) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Word in Microsoft 365, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Using the GotoButton Field.