By default, live hyperlinks in Word are opened in the default browser by pressing and holding the ā€œCtrlā€ button and clicking the link. If you would rather just single click to follow a hyperlink, you can easily disable the ā€œCtrl+Clickā€ using a setting.

To access this setting, click the ā€œFileā€ tab.

On the backstage screen, click ā€œOptionsā€ in the list of items on the left.

On the ā€œWord Optionsā€ dialog box, click ā€œAdvancedā€ in the list of items on the left.

In the ā€œEditing optionsā€ section, select the ā€œUse CTRL + Click to follow hyperlinkā€ check box so there is NO check mark in the box.

Click ā€œOKā€ to accept the change and close the ā€œWord Optionsā€ dialog box.

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Now, when you move your mouse over a hyperlink, the cursor immediately changes to a hand and you can click once to follow the link.

NOTE: Turning off this option prevents you from being able to simply click on hyperlink text to put the cursor there, as clicking will open the link in the default browser. You must use the arrow keys to move the cursor into a hyperlink.

If you have a web address with spaces in it, here’s an easy way to have Word automatically create a live hyperlink as you type. You can also disable the ability to create hyperlinks automatically as you type them, or remove existing hyperlinks from your document.

Profile Photo for Lori Kaufman Lori Kaufman
Lori Kaufman is a technology expert with 25 years of experience. She's been a senior technical writer, worked as a programmer, and has even run her own multi-location business.
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