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: Differences in Behavior of Links.

Differences in Behavior of Links

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 26, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365

Fay has two documents linked to each other—a form linked to an information document. On her work PC when she hovers the mouse pointer over the link it shows as a "pointer hand." On her PC at home she doesn't get the hand but can right-click and select to open the link. Fay is wondering why the behavior is different on the two systems and what she can do to fix her home PC.

The behavior difference that Fay notes is actually controlled by a configuration setting within Word. Follow these steps to find the setting:

Display the Word Options dialog box. (In Word 2007 click the Office button and then click Word Options. In Word 2010 or a later version, display the File tab of the ribbon and then click Options.)
Click Advanced at the left side of the dialog box.
Make sure the Editing Options section is visible. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Editing options for Word.

Pay attention to the setting named Use CTRL+Click to Follow Hyperlink. If this check box is selected, then Word requires the use of the Ctrl key to activate the link. (Or, as Fay did, right-clicking the link and selecting to open it.) If the check box is unselected, then you'll get the "pointer hand" and be able to simply click on a link to follow it.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (13092) 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: Differences in Behavior of 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

Making Spell Check Ignore Characters

The rules of professional editing often require that editorial changes in a quote be noted with brackets. These brackets, ...

Discover More

Making Ctrl+F Work Traditionally

One change introduced in Word 2010 was the new navigation pane that is used for simple searching of information. This ...

Discover More

Applying Formatting in Lists

If you want to change the formatting applied to numbers or bullets in your lists, you'll appreciate the information in ...

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)

Associating a Name with a Position

Wouldn't it be great if Word allowed you to have a small pop-up that showed you some information associated with a ...

Discover More

Counting Internal Links

Word allows you to easily add hyperlinks to your documents. These links can be to either a bookmark within your document ...

Discover More

Checking for Valid Hyperlinks

If you have a document containing a lot of hyperlinks, it would be cool if there was a way to check all those hyperlinks ...

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 eight more than 3?

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.