Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated April 6, 2022)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016
Cheryl asked why Word sometimes inserts random OLE bookmarks into a document. These bookmarks are sequentially numbered and follow the naming pattern OLE_LINK##.
It appears that these bookmarks are created automatically by Word during some (but not all) cut-and-paste or copy-and-paste operations. If you are using Word 2007, you can visually see the bookmarks if you turn on the bookmark brackets (Tools | Options | View | Bookmarks) or follow these steps if you are using Word 2010 or a later version:
Figure 1. The Show Document Content group of the Advanced options of the Word Options dialog box.
Or you can examine the list of bookmarks in the Bookmark dialog box if you choose Insert | Bookmark (Word 2007 or Word 2010) or Insert | Links | Bookmark (Word 2013 or Word 2016.)
Microsoft provides no information in the Knowledge Base as to why these bookmarks are created, but they are a real bother to some people. The bookmarks serve no purpose that I can find and they can be safely deleted. If you want an automatic way to delete them, you can use a macro:
Sub RemoveOLE_marks() Dim J As Integer For J = ActiveDocument.Bookmarks.Count To 1 Step -1 If UCase(Left(ActiveDocument.Bookmarks(J).Name, 8)) = "OLE_LINK" Then ActiveDocument.Bookmarks(J).Delete End If Next J End Sub
Running the macro won't bother any other bookmarks in your system. The only ones affected are those that start with the letters OLE_LINK.
Note:
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (10475) 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: Random OLE Bookmarks.
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2017-11-11 14:24:41
Allan Poe
"If you are using Word 2007, you can visually see the bookmarks if you turn on the bookmark brackets (Tools | Options | View | Bookmarks)"
Sorry Allen there is no Tools option in Word 2007. You have to go to Office Button>Word Options>Advanced>Show Document Content>Show Bookmarks.
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.
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