Use a screen reader to insert a hyperlink in Word
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This article is for people who use a screen reader program such as Windows Narrator, JAWS, or NVDA with Windows tools or features and Microsoft 365 products. This article is part of the Accessibility help & learning content set where you can find more accessibility information on our apps. For general help, visit Microsoft Support.

Use Word with your keyboard and a screen reader to create hyperlinks in your document. We've tested it with Narrator, JAWS, and NVDA, but it might work with other screen readers as long as they follow common accessibility standards and techniques. You'll learn how to link to a file, web page, or blank email message, or you can link from one location to another in the current document. You'll also learn how to create bookmarks, insert screen tips, and change the link text color.

Notes: 

In this topic

Create an automatic hyperlink

Word can create a hyperlink automatically as you type. In your document, type a web address (URL) like www.contoso.com or an email address like someone@example.com, and then press Spacebar or Enter. Word changes the text to a hyperlink.

Tip: If you don't want the web or email address you typed to be a hyperlink, immediately after pressing Spacebar or Enter, undo the last action by pressing Ctrl+Z. You hear: “Undo.” 

Link to a web page, file, or blank email

In Word, you can create links that point to a web page, file, or a new email. Almost every element in Word can be turned into a link: a piece of text, picture, shape, screenshot, SmartArt, or an icon.

Link to a web page

  1. Place the cursor where you want the link in your document.

  2. Press Ctrl+K to open the Insert Hyperlink dialog box. The focus is on the Address field.

  3. Type the web address of the destination site, and then press Alt+T to move to the Text to display field.

  4. Type the link text you want to display in your document.

    Tip: Link text should describe the link destination. For example, the title of a destination web page makes good link text. When people link to that page, screen readers read the title of the page first. This confirms the destination and makes the link a more accessible experience.

  5. Press Enter. The Insert Hyperlink dialog box closes and the cursor is placed after the inserted link.

Link to a new email message

Sometimes you want to make it possible for people to send email while they read your document. For example, you might want people to contact your office for more information, or you might be collecting feedback about a new idea you proposed. Word lets you add a link that opens a new email message with the address and subject already filled in.

  1. Place the cursor where you want the link in your document.

  2. Press Ctrl+K to open the Insert Hyperlink dialog box.

  3. Press Alt+M to open the email message dialog box. You hear: "Email address."

  4. Type the email address, and then press the Tab key to move to the Subject field.

  5. Type the subject of the email, and then press Alt+T to move to the Text to display field.

  6. Type the link text you want to display in your document.

    Tip: If you don't write the link text, it is displayed as a long mailto: link that includes the address and subject information. Your own link text can be short and informative.

  7. Press Enter. The Insert Hyperlink dialog box closes and the cursor is placed after the inserted link.

Link to a location within a document

You can link to the predefined headings or bookmarks within your document.

For instructions on how to apply the built-in heading styles to your document, refer to the section "Use headings" in Use a screen reader to insert and change text in Word.

  1. Place the cursor where you want the link in your document.

  2. Press Ctrl+K to open the Insert Hyperlink dialog box.

  3. Press Alt+A to open the Select a place in this document tab. The focus is on the list which contains the headings and bookmarks that you can link to in your current document.

  4. Press the Down arrow key to move down in the list. When you reach the link target you want, press Enter to select it and insert the link.

    The Insert Hyperlink dialog box closes and the cursor is placed after the inserted link.

Add a bookmark

Create bookmarks to items within your document, so you can link to them. You can add a bookmark, for example, to the beginning of a paragraph, a table, or an image.

  1. In your document, move the cursor where you want to add a bookmark.

  2. Press Alt+N, K to open the Bookmark dialog box. The focus is on the Bookmark name text field.

  3. Type a name for the bookmark.

    Note: Bookmark names need to begin with a letter. They can include both numbers and letters, but not spaces. If you need to separate words, you can use an underscore (_) between the words.

  4. Press Enter to add the bookmark. The dialog box closes and the focus returns to the body text.

Insert a screen tip

With screen tips you can provide more information on the hyperlinks in your document. For example, if you've added a link to a picture, you can type the hyperlink text to a screen tip and tell your reader where the link will take them.

You can add a screen tip when you're creating a new link or to an existing hyperlink.

  1. Do one of the following:

    • If you're creating a new link, place the cursor where you want the link and screen tip in your document.

    • If you want to add a screen tip to an existing link, select the link or place the cursor within the link text.

  2. Press Ctrl+K to open the Insert Hyperlink dialog box.

  3. Press Alt+P to open the Set Hyperlink ScreenTip dialog box. The focus is on the ScreenTip text text field.

  4. Type the text that you want to appear as the screen tip.

  5. To add the screen tip to the hyperlink, press Enter. The focus returns to the Insert Hyperlink dialog box.

  6. If this is a new link that you’re creating, create the rest of the link as instructed in Link to a web page, file, or blank email. Otherwise, move to the next step.

  7. To apply the changes you made, press the Tab key until you hear "OK button," and then press Enter.

Change the link text color

To change the link text color throughout your document, you can use the Word themes. You can also customize the link theme color to make it more accessible, for example.

  1. To open the Themes menu, press Alt+G, T, H.

  2. Use the arrow keys to browse the available themes. Press Enter to select and apply a theme to your document. A unified color and font is applied to the hyperlink texts.

Customize the link text color

  1. To open the Create New Theme Colors dialog box, press Alt+G, T, C, C.

  2. Press the Tab key until you hear "Hyperlink," and press Spacebar.

  3. Use the arrow keys to locate the color you want, and then press Enter to select it.

  4. To create a name for the new theme colors, press Alt+N, and type the name.

  5. To apply the new color, press the Tab key until you hear "Save," and then press Enter.

Remove a hyperlink

Sometimes you change your mind. Here's how to remove a hyperlink from a document without removing the text itself:

  1. Open the document, and then select the hyperlinked text.

  2. To open the Insert Hyperlink dialog box, press Ctrl+K.

  3. To remove the selected hyperlink, press Alt+R. The Insert Hyperlink dialog box closes, and the hyperlink is removed from the selected text.

Turn off automatic formatting for links  

You can prevent Word from automatically creating a link when you type a web address.

  1. Press Alt+F, T to open the Word Options window, press the Down arrow key until you hear "Proofing," and then press Alt+A to open the AutoCorrect options window.

  2. Press the Tab key until you hear the currently selected tab, and then use the arrow keys to navigate to the AutoFormat As You Type tab.

  3. Press the Tab key until you hear "Internet and network paths with hyperlinks, checkbox checked," press Spacebar to clear the checkbox, and then press Enter.

  4. To exit the Word Options window, press Esc.

See also

Use a screen reader to insert and change text in Word

Use a screen reader to share a document in Word

Keyboard shortcuts in Word

Basic tasks using a screen reader with Word

Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365

Use a screen reader to explore and navigate Word

Technical support for customers with disabilities

Microsoft wants to provide the best possible experience for all our customers. If you have a disability or questions related to accessibility, please contact the Microsoft Disability Answer Desk for technical assistance. The Disability Answer Desk support team is trained in using many popular assistive technologies and can offer assistance in English, Spanish, French, and American Sign Language. Please go to the Microsoft Disability Answer Desk site to find out the contact details for your region.

If you are a government, commercial, or enterprise user, please contact the enterprise Disability Answer Desk.

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