Microsoft - Please fix Word's relative hyperlinks!

Anonymous
2013-03-30T16:05:59+00:00

Microsoft Office,

After too many hours of experimentation and working with your "level 2" tech support (Case no. 1201292910), I learned that relative hyperlinks no longer work properly in either Word 2007 or 2010 native (.docx) file formats (Both Windows8 and XP).  As of 2013-03-27 (or earlier) if these types of documents are saved with a new name ("Save As"), their hyperlinks get converted to absolute links as soon as they are saved - you'll see the full paths in their addresses when you view them in "Edit Hyperlink".  The only work-around that I could find (other than always using the same document name - and I'm not sure that will always work) is to save the file in the old (.doc) format.  (So far Excel doesn't seem to share this problem but I haven't checked the other Office apps.)

It seems to me that it would be nice to have the option of easily selecting either the "Relative" or "Absolute" hyperlink option when each link is created or edited.  But, at a minimum, the type of link shouldn't change when the document gets saved with a new name!

I'd greatly appreciate knowing that you have reviewed and understand what I have "said".  I've invested a substantial amount of time and effort in attempt to provide constructive feedback for the benefit of both Microsoft and its Office users.

Thank You!

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments
Answer accepted by question author
Anonymous
2017-11-09T07:38:58+00:00

If anything, you used the hyperlink base - which I previously mentioned. That is the nearest Word has ever had to relative hyperlink support - it's even been described in MS doc as providing relative hyperlinks (which it really doesn't, but that's another story). It is still available. See: https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Set-the-hyperlink-base-address-for-relative-hyperlinks-in-a-document-83a7b7aa-a3a0-4491-8575-1b0ca207f825

Was this answer helpful?

3 people found this answer helpful.
0 comments
Answer accepted by question author
Anonymous
2018-04-25T21:06:49+00:00

It 'isn't fixed' because it 'isn't broken'... Get over it.

Was this answer helpful?

2 people found this answer helpful.
0 comments
Answer accepted by question author
Anonymous
2013-09-14T14:39:48+00:00

Was this answer helpful?

2 people found this answer helpful.
0 comments

51 additional answers

Sort by: Newest
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2018-04-20T13:10:06+00:00

    EXACTLY. Thank you. I have the same issue, and as a tech writer, have been using Word since it first came out a million years ago.

    As far as the BS that the rude "MS MVP" spouted, I've not only reported him to MS, we all know that he is wrong; there HAS been a change to the way hyperlinks are processed within Word, regardless of whether it was an intentional MS change or a bug - they work differently than before.

    The links in my problem document are all to bookmarks within the same document, so none of the "moving to other servers or locations" blah blah blah he talked about are applicable.

    Word is replacing the "#bookmarkname" link to the entire file path on my computer. This never happened before Word 2010, and using Word's Hyperlink Base of "#" for the bookmark doesn't solve the problem.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2018-01-23T00:50:35+00:00

    This is the same text that came up when I searched help. It is fine for external sources, but how can I apply this to something like a Pleading, where we have all the documents in one folder, one word file with all the links to the PDF reference files and I have to export or zip or burn said folder to a CD/DVD. I want the base path to remain in the folder but not out to our network drive.

    That is exactly what that solution is for - maintaining links to multiple files in the same folder or a related folder when the files/folders are moved as a group.

    Was this answer helpful?

    2 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments