53 min read
Hyperlinks & Navigation
Web, email, file, and internal links; Navigation Pane.
What This Lesson Covers
Parents need one click to reach the school website and the open-day booking form — without retyping long URLs. A hyperlink is clickable text or a picture that opens another location: a web page, an email address, or a place in the same document.
James Okonkwo is finishing NorthgateHandbook.docx before Saturday 14 March 2026. The Contact chapter must link to the school site. The table of contents should jump readers straight to Uniform and Open Day. A hyperlink that still shows blue underlined body text after you apply Heading 1 means the style and the link can clash — test with Ctrl+click.
In this lesson you will learn how hyperlinks open web pages and email drafts, and how bookmarks mark a place inside the document.
You will also add a website link and bookmark jumps from a short contents list.
Insert a Web Hyperlink
Link the school website from the Contact chapter:
- Select the text school website (or type it first).
- Right-click the selection → Link — or Insert tab → Links group → Link.
- In the Insert Hyperlink dialog, click Existing File or Web Page (left column).
- Paste the full URL in Address — e.g.
https://www.northgate-academy.example(use your school's real address). - Click OK.
- Hold Ctrl (Windows) or Cmd (Mac) and click the link to test it in Word.
The text stays in place; only the link target is hidden behind it. The phrase Visit our website in the handbook links to the Northgate home page so parents tap once on their phone.
Link to an Email Address
James Okonkwo wants one click to open a new message to the office:
- Select email the school office in the Contact section.
- Insert tab → Link.
- Click E-mail Address in the left column.
- Type office@northgate-academy.example in E-mail address.
- Optional: fill Subject with Open day enquiry.
- Click OK.
When someone clicks the link, their mail app opens with the address filled in. Families see long URLs as unclickable text if you forget to hyperlink — select the URL → Insert → Link → paste the same address → OK.
Create a Bookmark
A bookmark names a spot in the document. Other links can jump to it — useful for a manual contents list or a "Back to top" link.
- Click at the start of the Uniform heading.
- Insert tab → Links group → Bookmark.
- Name: UniformChapter (no spaces — Word allows letters and numbers).
- Click Add.
- Repeat for Open Day with bookmark name OpenDayChapter.
Bookmarks do not show on the printed page unless you link to them.
Link Text to a Bookmark
On page 2, type a short contents list:
Uniform ............... Open Day ...............
- Select the word Uniform in your list.
- Insert tab → Link.
- Click Place in This Document (left column).
- Under Bookmarks, click UniformChapter.
- Click OK.
- Repeat for Open Day → OpenDayChapter.
Ctrl+click each line — Word scrolls to the chapter. To remove a hyperlink but keep the text: right-click → Remove Hyperlink. To edit the address: right-click → Edit Hyperlink.
Link the Open Day Date
Example: in the Open Day chapter, select Saturday 14 March 2026, choose Insert → Link, paste your online booking page in Address, and optional screen tip Book your open-day visit — parents hovering on a laptop see the tip before they click.
Automatic TOC from Heading 1 styles is the main navigation tool; bookmarks help when you build a short manual jump list on page 2.
Hands-on steps
Goal
Link open-day prose to the schedule heading.
James Okonkwo adds this to NorthgateHandbook.docx as part of one polished student handbook, policy pack, and open-day collateral before families arrive.
Select text
Where
Do this
You should see
- Phrase selected.
Verification
Check your work
You are correct if all of these are true:
- Internal link jumps to correct heading — not a dead link.
- Link text describes destination (not Click here).
- Ctrl+Click works in Edit mode.
More lessons in Microsoft Word · Next: Bookmarks · Previous: Accessibility