A bookmark identifies a location or a selection of text that you name and identify for future reference. For example, you might use a bookmark to identify text that you want to revise at a later time. Instead of scrolling through the document to locate the text, you can go to it by using the Bookmark dialog box.

You can also add cross-references to bookmarks. For example, after you insert a bookmark in a document, you can refer to that bookmark from other places in the text by creating cross-references to the bookmark.What do you want to do?

Add a bookmark

  1. Select the text or item to which you want to assign a bookmark, or click where you want to insert a bookmark.
  2. On the Insert tab, in the Links group, click Bookmark. word ribbon image
  3. Under Bookmark name, type or select a name.

    Bookmark names must begin with a letter and can contain numbers. You can't include spaces in a bookmark name. However, you can use the underscore character to separate words - for example, "First_heading."

  4. Click Add.

Change a bookmark

When you add a bookmark to a block of text, Microsoft Office Word surrounds the text with square brackets. When you change a bookmarked item, make sure that you change the text or graphics inside the brackets.

Display bookmark brackets

  1. Click the Microsoft Office Button button image, and then click Word Options.
  2. Click Advanced, and then select the Show bookmarks check box under Show document content.
  3. Click OK.

If you assign a bookmark to an item, the bookmark appears in brackets ([…]) on the screen. If you assign a bookmark to a location, the bookmark appears as an I-beam. The brackets are not printed.

Bookmark changes that you can make

You can cut, copy, and paste items that are marked with a bookmark. You can also add text to, and delete text from, marked items.

If you This happens
Copy all or part of a marked item to another location in the same document The bookmark remains with the original item; the copy is not marked.
Copy an entire marked item to another document Both documents contain identical items and identical bookmarks.
Cut an entire marked item and then paste it in the same document The item and the bookmark move to the new location.
Delete part of a marked item The bookmark stays with the remaining text.
Add text between any two characters enclosed in a bookmark The addition is included in the bookmark.
Click directly after the opening bracket of a bookmark, and then add text or graphics to the item The addition is included in the bookmark.
Click directly after the ending bracket of a bookmark, and then add to the item The addition is not included in the bookmark.

Go to a specific bookmark

  1. On the Insert tab, in the Links group, click Bookmark. word ribbon image
  2. Click either Name or Location to sort the list of bookmarks in the document.
  3. Click the name of the bookmark that you want to go to.
  4. Click Go To.

Delete a bookmark

  1. On the Insert tab, in the Links group, click Bookmark. word ribbon image
  2. Click the name of the bookmark you want to delete, and then click Delete.

Note To delete both the bookmark and the bookmarked item (such as a block of text or other element), select the item, and then press DELETE.