Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Helpful Pop-up Screen Tips.

Helpful Pop-up Screen Tips

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated March 14, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016


5

Suppose you wish to create pop-up screen tips similar to the ones you see in Help files, where the cursor turns to a hand and, when the user clicks the link, a pop-up screen tip appears (as opposed to a link to another page). Ordinarily, just inserting a hyperlink would work. However, the cursor would then move to the target of the hyperlink. The instructions below make for a much cleaner user experience.

Let's say you wish to create a pop-up screen tip for the word "hyperlink" in the following sentence:

A hyperlink is useful when navigating in Word.

Follow these steps:

  1. Select the word "hyperlink".
  2. In the Insert tab of the ribbon, click the Bookmark tool in the Links group. Word displays the Bookmark dialog box. (See Figure 1.)
  3. Figure 1. The Bookmark dialog box.

  4. Give the bookmark a name, such as BK1, and click on Add.
  5. While the word "hyperlink" is still selected, press Ctrl+K. The Insert Hyperlink dialog box appears. (See Figure 2.)
  6. Figure 2. The Insert Hyperlink dialog box.

  7. Click the ScreenTip button. Word displays the Set Hyperlink ScreenTip dialog box. (See Figure 3.)
  8. Figure 3. The Set Hyperlink ScreenTip dialog box.

  9. Type the text you want to use for your screen tip and click on OK.
  10. Click the Place in This Document button, at the left side of the screen. Word displays a list of locations in the middle of the dialog box.
  11. In the list of locations, choose the name of the bookmark you created in step 3, then click OK.

When you're finished, you will have a hyperlink that essentially goes nowhere. When you hold the mouse over it, a yellow screen tip will pop up with your message. If the user activates the link (by holding down the Ctrl key and clicking on the link) it will change color, flash, and the cursor will go to the beginning of the bookmark.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (10306) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Helpful Pop-up Screen Tips.

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. ...

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What is five minus 5?

2023-03-15 12:04:18

Sue Wright

I am putting together a training manual for our ministry and I was excited to see this as a useful addition to insert definitions useful for newbies but that would be clutter for those who just need a refresher on a given procedure. I went through the instructions step-by-step but the tip didn't pop up. Could there be another setting in Word that is hampering this function?


2016-09-07 08:54:43

Thomas Redd

This works well. Thanks!


2016-09-06 16:42:33

Linda Racine

This works well! Is there any way to increase the number of characters allowed in the "Screen Tips" box? I'd like to be able to add a paragraph of text and need more space!


2016-08-19 03:09:14

Squiddles

Is it possible to insert more than 256 characters in the screen tips?


2016-01-13 12:48:17

Chris Hyslop

Can you remove the part of the screen tips that says 'Click to follow the link' ?


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