Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. 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: Pasting a Hyperlink.

Pasting a Hyperlink

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated February 25, 2025)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021

A common editing task is copying information from one document and pasting it in another. By using a minor variation on pasting, you can actually cause your pasted information to appear as a hyperlink in a document. To paste information in this manner, follow these steps:

Make sure that the document from which you want to copy is saved to disk. (If it is not saved, then Word cannot construct a hyperlink to the information in that document.)
Select the information to be copied and press Ctrl+C. This copies the information to the Clipboard.
Position the insertion pointer where you want the hyperlink to appear.
Display the Home tab of the ribbon.
Click the down-arrow under Paste in the Clipboard group, then choose Paste As Hyperlink.

The information appears as a hyperlink in the document. If you hold down the Ctrl key as you click on it, you are taken directly to the spot in the original document from which it was copied.

If you do not see a Paste As Hyperlink option in step 5, you can always display the Paste Special dialog box, which is available when you click the down-arrow under the Paste tool. In the dialog box you can click the Paste Link option and then choose Word Hyperlink from the available pasting methods. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. Pasting a Word hyperlink.

Note that this tip is for establishing a hyperlink to information in a document, not for establishing a hyperlink to information on the Internet.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (11756) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Pasting a Hyperlink.

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

Editing the Color Palette in Chart

Microsoft Chart uses a palette from which it pulls the colors it uses. Learn how to change the palette.

Discover More

Getting Rid of Numbered Columns

Excel normally refers to columns as A, B, C, etc. It also has a referencing format that allows columns to be referred to ...

Discover More

Cannot Add Worksheets to a Workbook

If you cannot add a worksheet to your workbook, it could be because the workbook is protected. This tip shows how to ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 365 applications with VBA programming. Written in clear terms and understandable language, the book includes systematic tutorials and contains both intermediate and advanced content for experienced VB developers. Designed to be comprehensive, the book addresses not just one Office application, but the entire Office suite. Check out Mastering VBA for Microsoft Office 365 today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Getting Rid of the Ctrl+Click Message

When you add a hyperlink to a document, you can later click that link to display whatever is linked to. Well, you ...

Discover More

Closing Documents after a Hyperlink

When you click a hyperlink that takes you to another document, Word dutifully opens the new document in its own window. ...

Discover More

Non-Printing Hyperlinks

Karen is having problems getting hyperlinks to print in a document on her home computer. There are only a limited number ...

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 seven less than 8?

2025-02-25 04:11:48

Kiwerry

Thank you for this, Allen.
It seems that the source document must be open when you attempt to paste as a hyperlink.

Background:
When I tried it out, I found that the "Paste Link" option button in the Paste Special dialogue was greyed out as soon as I closed the source document; in order to reactivate it, it was necessary to reopen the source document and find, highlight and copy the text before trying again.

2021-05-01 09:08:11

Allen

The screen shot, shown in the tip, was pulled two days ago from the latest version of Office 365. If you cannot see the option, it could be the original document -- the one you want to copy from -- has not been saved to disk. (See step 1.)

-Allen

2021-05-01 09:06:59

Simao de Campos Neto

Sorry - I found my mistake.

I missed selecting the "Paste link" option, as you instructed.

Now it works as indicated.

Thanks!

2021-05-01 09:02:36

Simao de Campos Neto

Thanks Allen for this tip.

Unfortunately, I do not see the "Paste as hyperlink" at all in either the paste special menu or steps 4/5 you indicated above.

Is there a version or file format dependency? I have Office 365 enterprise, version 2103, and my test files were both using the latest docx format.

Thanks

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.