Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 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: Updating Document Links.

Updating Document Links

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 14, 2024)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365

Normally, if you have linked information in your document, the information is updated whenever you open the document. There may be times when you need to update the links manually, however. You do this by following these steps:

Display the File tab of the ribbon.
Click Info at the left of the screen. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. Info about the current document.

Click Edit Links to Files. (This link can be just about anywhere on the screen; in the latest versions of Word it should be near the bottom-right corner of the screen.) Word displays the Links dialog box. (See Figure 2.)

Figure 2. The Links dialog box.

Select the link you want to update.
Click on Update Now.

Note, in step 3, that if you cannot find the Edit Links to Files option, that simply means that Word doesn't think there are any links in the current document.

If you are using Word 2007, then the steps are slightly different:

Click the Office button and then click Prepare.
Click Edit Links to Files. (Again, if this option is not available, it means that Word doesn't think there are any links in the current document.) Word displays the Links dialog box.
Select the link you want to update.
Click on Update Now.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (11517) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Updating Document Links.

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...

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