Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007 and 2010. 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 February 13, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 2007 and 2010

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 if you are using Word 2007:

Click the Office button and then click Prepare.
Click Edit Links to Files. (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. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Links dialog box.

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

If you are using Word 2010 the process is a bit different:

Display the File tab of the ribbon.
Click Info and then click Edit Links to Files. (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 and 2010. 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...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Changing Icons

Windows provide a surprising amount of flexibility when it comes to what you see on the screen. You can even make changes ...

Discover More

Locking All Non-Empty Cells

Need to make sure that your worksheet is locked, with only the blank cells accessible to editing? You can do this easily ...

Discover More

Summing Based on Part of the Information in a Cell

Excel provides a variety of tools that allow you to perform operations on your data based upon the characteristics of ...

Discover More

The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2013. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2013 For Dummies 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

Weird Hyperlink Behavior

When you insert a hyperlink, you expect it to look like, well, a hyperlink. But what if it really looks like some strange ...

Discover More

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.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is one less than 9?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

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.