Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365. 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: Getting Rid of the Ctrl+Click Message.

Getting Rid of the Ctrl+Click Message

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated October 27, 2020)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365


10

Other issues of WordTips have explained how to use the ScreenTips feature in Word to create pop-up screen help in a document. In some of the later versions of Word, when you move the mouse pointer over a hyperlink, you end up with a message that says "Use Ctrl+Click to Follow Link," which can detract from the use to which you want to put your ScreenTips.

So how do you get rid of the message and the need to press Ctrl when you click the link? It's really quite easy:

  1. Display the Word Options dialog box. (In Word 2007 click the Office button and then click Word Options. In Word 2010 and later versions, display the File tab of the ribbon and then click Options.)
  2. At the left side of the dialog box, click Advanced. (See Figure 1.)
  3. Figure 1. The Advanced options of the Word Options dialog box.

  4. In the Editing Options section of the dialog box, clear the Use Ctrl+Click to Follow Hyperlink check box.
  5. Click on OK.

There is a drawback to clearing this option in Word: Not only is the Ctrl+Click message removed, but so is the need to Ctrl+Click. All it takes is a single click on the hyperlink to do the jump. Note that a message that says, "Click or tap to follow link," shows when you move the mouse pointer over a hyperlink, but all you need to do is click on the link to go to that destination.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (10839) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Getting Rid of the Ctrl+Click Message.

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. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Embedding TrueType Fonts in E-mails Composed in Word

When you use Word as your e-mail editor, it allows you to format the text of your e-mail messages using tools you are ...

Discover More

Shortcut to Return to Document Text

When you are done typing a footnote or endnote in your document, you may want a way to return to the main document text ...

Discover More

Using Mail Merge to Complete Documents

Mail merge can be used to put together groups of documents that rely on common information. This tip shows how mail merge ...

Discover More

Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2013. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word 2013 Step by Step today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Changing from Absolute to Relative Hyperlinks

It is easy to amass a large number of hyperlinks in a document. You may want to process these hyperlinks in some way, ...

Discover More

Replacing Plain Text with a Hyperlink

Active hyperlinks can be a desired feature in some types of documents. If you want to replace multiple instances of plain ...

Discover More

Editing a Hyperlink

Word allows you to embed active hyperlinks in your documents. If you later want to change or edit that hyperlink, you can ...

Discover More
Subscribe

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.

What is 4 + 8?

2020-10-02 16:35:26

Robert

Hi -
I'd rather not turn off the CTRL + Click for all my documents,
But I have one that has a lot of bookmarks, so it would be handy to turn it off just for that document.
Now that I think about it more, I'd be fine with just-click *any* bookmark.
It would be nice if "require CTRL+Click" to follow bookmarks was a separate setting from
"require CTRL+Click" to open files or web sites.


2018-09-07 12:06:43

Janelle

Do you know how to make this permanent? I followed the above and it worked on my document, but when I sent the document to a co-worker the single click feature was re-set.


2017-07-22 09:36:20

catdev

Sorry - I hadn't read all the other comments, which mostly say essentially the same thing I did.


2017-07-22 09:34:45

catdev

In Word 2016, this just replaces the "Ctrl+click..." message with "Click or tap to follow link." What I want is nothing but the text for my ScreenTips. Microsoft strikes again. It's a ScreenTip; why should a link be required to accompany it?


2015-10-22 17:28:08

Patti

Agreeing with Alan and Jackie. I need help with this. Like them, I only want the screen tip visible -- NOTHING ELSE. Thanks,


2015-09-14 09:10:14

Lisa

How very non-helpful of me! I was addressing a different issue entirely--posted in the wrong place, I think. I was referring to the pesky rectangle that has a clipboard icon followed by "(Ctrl)" and a down arrow (which leads to a drop-down list of further paste options). It doesn't want to go away after the paste operation is done and gets in the way, and that's what I hit the Esc key to dismiss. Sorry to muddy the waters with my misdirected advice.


2015-09-11 18:32:07

DRMNZ

Ditto Jackie & Alan's comments. Lisa's suggestion doesn't work either. Only exiting Word appears to fix on my machine (Word 2010 & Windows 10).

Any other suggestions please?


2015-07-31 13:35:03

Jackie

I want to remove all formatted directions from the box... the bold "click to follow link" that appears... the directions above do not remove the words... only changes them... I would like to know how to just keep what I added only, to the tip...


2015-07-11 09:21:29

Alan Pink

Maybe I am missing the point of this tip, but in my Word 2010, when I clear the 'Use Ctrl+Click...' option, although the Ctrl+Click message is removed, it is replaced with 'Click to follow link' instead.


2015-06-29 09:06:17

Lisa

Another way to get rid of the message is to hit the Escape key. It's a simple fix if you won't be moving around lots of bits of text.


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.

Videos
Subscribe

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

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.