How to Create and Use Bookmarks in Microsoft Word
Bookmarks in Microsoft Word work much like bookmarks in your web browser. They let you save specific spots in your document for easy reference. To make them even more useful, you can add links to those bookmarks within your document.
This feature is especially helpful for navigating long documents, either for your own use or for your readers. By linking to a bookmark, you or anyone reading your document can jump straight to that section, whether it’s a specific piece of text, an image, a table, or another element.
How to Create a Bookmark in Word
- Navigate to the place in your document where you want to add a bookmark.
- Position your cursor there, or highlight the text, image, table, or item you want to bookmark.
- Head to the Insert tab and choose “Bookmark” in the Links section of the ribbon.
When the Bookmark dialog box opens, type a name for your bookmark in the “Bookmark Name” field. Click “Add” to save it, which will add the bookmark to the list and close the dialog box.
You’ve successfully added a bookmark to your document!
Alternatively, you can use the Go To option to navigate to a bookmark:
- On Windows: Go to the Home tab, click Find, and choose Go To.
- On Mac: Select Edit > Find > Go To from the menu bar.
In the Go To tab, select Bookmark on the left, then choose the bookmark name from the drop-down menu on the right. Finally, click Go To to jump to the bookmark.
How to Link to a Bookmark in Word
Instead of using the steps above to navigate to a bookmark, you can make it even easier by adding links to your bookmarks. This allows you or your readers to jump directly to a specific bookmark with a simple click.
Select the text you’d like to link to the bookmark. Then, pick Link > Insert Link on the Insert tab or right-click, move to Links, and pick “Insert Link” in the shortcut menu.
In the Insert Hyperlink box that appears, select Place in This Document on the left (or This Document on Mac). Then, expand the Bookmarks section and choose the bookmark you want to link to.
If needed, you can edit the display text at the top, which defaults to the text you selected for the link. When you’re ready, click OK to add the link.
Now, test your link! Click the hyperlink, and it should take you directly to the assigned bookmark. On Windows, you may need to hold Ctrl while clicking, depending on your settings.
Bookmarks in Word provide a simple way to navigate to specific parts of your document, eliminating the need for a table of contents or endless scrolling to locate what you need.
