If you’re a Microsoft Word user, you may be wondering how to disable hyperlinks in your document. Hyperlinks are links that take you to other pages or documents within your document. They can be helpful when you want to refer back to a specific section or page in your document, but they can also be a bit of a distraction. To disable hyperlinks in Microsoft Word, follow these steps:

  1. Open Microsoft Word and click the File tab.
  2. Click the Options button on the left side of the screen.
  3. Click the Hyperlink tab.
  4. In the Hyperlink Types field, select None or No Linking from the drop-down list.
  5. In the Hyperlink Properties field, set the following values: Link Type: None (This setting will not affect hyperlinks that are already enabled in your document). Link Name: This setting will not affect hyperlinks that are already enabled in your document but will add an extra space at the end of each link name so they are easier to find and type into text fields (for example, if you have multiple links to different pages within your document).
  6. Click OK to close Microsoft Word and return to its normal operation.

When you type a web or email address in Word, you may notice that the program automatically formats it as a live hyperlink. This is a setting in Word’s AutoFormat feature that is on by default but can be easily turned off.

Live web hyperlinks in Word allow you to press “Ctrl” and click on a web hyperlink to open that web address in a browser. For live email address hyperlinks, you can press “Ctrl” and click on the email address to open your default email program and automatically insert the email address in the “To” field.

If you don’t want your web and email addresses converted to live hyperlinks, we’ll show you how to turn this AutoFormat setting off. Click the “File” tab.

In the list of items on the left, click “Options.”

On the “Word Options” dialog box, click “Proofing” in the list of items on the left.

In the “AutoCorrect options” section, click the “AutoCorrect Options” button.

On the “AutoCorrect” dialog box, click the “AutoFormat As You Type” tab.

In the “Replace as you type” section, select the “Internet and network paths with hyperlinks” check box so there is NO check mark in the box.

NOTE: The “AutoFormat” tab has some of the same settings, but it’s a slightly different feature. The settings on the “AutoFormat” tab are for automatically formatting existing Word documents, instead of automatically formatting text as you type.

Click “OK” to accept the change and close the dialog box.

You are returned to the “Word Options” dialog box. Click “OK” to close it.

Now, when you type web and email addresses, they will remain formatted as plain text and not converted into live hyperlinks.

If you have a document that already contains web and email addresses formatted as hyperlinks and you want to remove the links, select the whole document and press “Ctrl + Shift + F9” to remove all hyperlinks.

NOTE: Pressing “Ctrl + Shift + F9” will unlink every type of field, such as field codes, in your document, not just web and email links.