Bookmarks are a feature in Microsoft Office applications that allows us to mark specific sections or points in the same or a different file. Used primarily for ease of reference and navigation, bookmarks help us move across specific sections. Hence, they can be considered an essential tool that improves the accessibility of the content.
How to insert bookmarks in Microsoft Word
Bookmarks in MS Word can be considered markers that help us save particular locations within a Word document. Like Excel, bookmarks in Word help us navigate locations quickly, especially when working on large documents.
Create a bookmark for text or image
- Select the text or image to be added as a bookmark.
- Click on the Insert section and then select the Bookmarks option under it.
- Enter the name of the bookmark and click on Add.
In the above screenshot, we selected the heading and marked it as a Bookmark with the name bookmark1.
Create bookmarks in the same or different document
Adding a bookmark to link it with a particular section in the same document is more or less the same in Excel and Word.
- Select the text that needs to be linked to another section in the same or different document.
- Right-click on the selected text and click on Hyperlink.
- In the Insert Hyperlink window, click Place in This Document and then select the place or section of the document to be linked along with the Bookmark.
- To link with a different document, select the option Existing File or Web Page and select the file path from the Look In section.
The bookmark named bookmark1, created previously, is now linked with the Employing AI and Automation section.
How to insert bookmarks in Microsoft Excel
Bookmarks in Excel would involve linking the contents of a cell with a particular section in the current file/worksheet or a different file, as detailed below:
Create bookmarks in the current worksheet
- Open the worksheet and select the cell in which the bookmark needs to be added
- Click on the Insert tab from the menu options at the top and select the Hyperlink option under it
- In the Hyperlink dialogue box, enter the name for the bookmark under the option Text to Display
- On the left, click on the option Place in the Document.
- Select the cell and enter the cell number to which the control will shift focus under Type the Cell Reference after clicking the bookmark. Alternatively, a particular space or section of the document can also be selected as per choice.
- Click OK to confirm the bookmark.
Create bookmarks in other worksheets
- Follow the first 3 steps to open the bookmark dialogue box.
- Under Type, the Cell Reference, enter the <sheetname>!<cellnumber> for the destination cell and click OK.
For example, if we need to go to the D2 cell in Sheet3 after clicking on the Section 1 option in Sheet1, we can type in Sheet3!D2 under the Type the Cell Reference option.
Create bookmarks using Microsoft Excel functions
Apart from using the Hyperlink option to create bookmarks in Excel, we can also use the Hyperlink function in Excel to switch to another cell or section in the same file or in a different file. For example,
=HYPERLINK("[Book1.xlsx]Sheet1!A10","Go to Sheet1 > A10")
The above formula allows us to jump to cell A10 in the worksheet Sheet 1 under the file named Book1.xlsx by clicking on the anchor text Go to Sheet1.
Create bookmarks to link a Word Document
The bookmark option can be used in Excel to navigate between within Excel files, whether in the same document or a different one. However, if we need to link a different file type ( for example, .docx file in MS Word) or a particular section or heading within that file, the below-mentioned steps can be followed :
- Enter the required text in the cell
- Select the cell and click on Insert -> Hyperlink
- Click on the option Existing File or Web Page and then select the Folder within which the .docx file is located.
- Enter the filename and the extension in the Address section, followed by a # (hash) and the specific section heading.
How to insert bookmarks in PowerPoint
In PowerPoint, contents of a slide like text, images, audio, and video clips can be bookmarked as detailed below:
Create a bookmark for a specific slide
- Select the text or image that can be used as a Hyperlink.
- Right-click on it and click on Hyperlink.
- In the Insert Hyperlink dialogue box, select Place in This Document to link to the same file or an Existing File or Web Page to link to a different file.
- Please enter the text to display it and click OK.
Bookmark an audio or video clip
- Play the audio or video file.
- Pause the Play precisely at the time that needs to be bookmarked in the audio or video clip and click on Add Bookmark.
- Enter the bookmark name and click OK
Best practices for using Bookmarks effectively
A few methods that can be adopted for the effective and optimized use of bookmarks include:
- The bookmark name should be meaningful and descriptive to ensure better understanding and smooth movement across sections.
- Style and formatting options can also help clarify bookmarks and ease navigation, especially for large documents.
- Testing the bookmarks before sharing or submitting the document can help optimize the document.
- If the file has multiple sections or workbooks (in Excel), using group-related bookmarks can help organize the data in the file.
