Help me Hyperlink & Bookmark in Word

January 26, 2009 11:49 AM

How do I hyperlink across Word Documents?

Hopefully, I can explain this with some clarity:

In a folder, I have a set of Word documents, one of which is a "master" document that acts as a table of contents for the rest of the documents (but is a separate document). The master and remaining documents are contained in one folder. Something like this:

Folder A contains:
Master document A
document B
document C
document D, and so on.


In the master document, I want to hyperlink to another document in the folder, and if possible a particular section within that document.

So, I know how to make a hyperlink from the master document to, let's say, document C...but is it possible to have the link point to a particular section of document C, like text on page 10, for example?

I've looked up bookmarking in Word's "help" section and know how to make a bookmark...but don't know how to hyperlink to that specific bookmark (from an unrelated document, i.e. the master document), or if it's possible.

Any help appreciated!

posted by aelish to Computers & Internet (5 answers total)

Don't.

Word is a wordprocessor. It's intended for writing short documents and reports. You are looking for something else, perhaps a Content Management System? Perhaps a Wiki?
posted by mr. strange at 12:02 PM on January 26, 2009

Add a link to another document the way you normally would. At the end of the link add the appropriate bookmark like this: #bookmarkname

Should look something like this:
C:\Desktop\Documentname.docx#bookmarkname

mr. strange is, however, right. You probably won't do anyone reading the documents any favors, since this isn't a common/accepted way of browsing documents. If they get separated all the links will become worthless.
posted by ttyn at 12:23 PM on January 26, 2009

Best answer: If you absolutely must continue down this road, at least use relative links instead of absolute. That way if you move the folder to a different spot on your computer or give it to someone else, as long as they keep the internal structure of the folder consistent your links will still work. Assuming your docs are in Folder A:

Absolute: C:\Desktop\FolderA\Documentname.docx#bookmarkname
Relative: Documentname.docx#bookmarkname

More from Microsoft KB.
posted by sophist at 1:35 PM on January 26, 2009

I also think you can do this without having to type the URL manually by using the "paste as hyperlink" command; copyi the header you want to link to, and then use paste->paste as hyperlink to paste it into the TOC document. (At least it works this way in Office 2007; couldn't tell you about earlier versions).
posted by phoenixy at 1:53 PM on January 26, 2009

I agree with mr. strange. This sounds like a job that is much more suited by a Content Management System.

If time, money, or other constraints don't allow for that, it might be a good idea to convert your "Master Document" to an HTML file. If there is content in the "Master Document" that goes beyond the Table of Contents you might not be able to go that route, either. In which case sophist has the best answer, IMO.
posted by ElDiabloConQueso at 2:13 PM on January 26, 2009