Remove all hyperlinks from document whilepreserving other formatting

[comhlth]

Version: 2008
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
Processor: Intel

Hi,

I have a document with many hyperlinks. I'd like to disable/remove all the hyperlinks (both the link itself as well as the blue & underlined text formatting). I've Googled around and seen recommendations that Command-Shift-F9 removes this from any selected block of text, but I can't seem to get this to work. I've also looked around and seen mention of a script that does this but only for 2004 and earlier. Any help? It would be immensely appreciated!!

Thanks.

 

[CyberTaz]

Are they actually hyperlinks, not just text formatted to look like
hyperlinks? If they are hyperlinks what you're doing should work, but it
won't remove the formatting if it's just text. Type Option+F9 to to toggle
codes & see if the apparent hyperlinks actually display as HYPERLINK fields.

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[comhlth]

Bob,
Thanks for the response. I see my confusion now.

Yes, they are actually hyperlinks - for example, "Click here to search on Google" where the word "Google" is linked to <http://www.google.com> - and checking the code display confirms they are HYPERLINK fields.

Using Command-Shift-F9 DOES indeed remove the HYPERLINK, but the text is still blue. Is there a way to automatically make all the blue-styled text look regular?

Sarah

 

[CyberTaz]

Hi Sarah;

Unlinking the fields removes the hyperlink style as well under normal
circumstances. Try this just as a "control group"

Create a new blank document, type a little text plus an email address or
URL, then try the keystroke in that document. Let me know what happens.

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[Clive Huggan]

Hello Sarah,

Bob is seeing you through with one line of approach. With Word, there is
almost always more than one, and you can choose which you follow depending
on the mood... ;-)

An alternative I use is to select the hyperlink (in practice I also select a
few characters on one side, or both sides, so as not to trigger the link)
then key Command-x to cut it. Then, without moving the insertion point, I
paste it back in as unformatted text (Edit menu => Paste Special =>
Unformatted in Word 2004; may be different in Word 2008, which I see you are
using).

When 'Word Next' comes out, you will be able to use a keyboard shortcut for
the latter command, as in Word 2004 -- then it's just a matter of Select;
first keyboard shortcut; second keyboard shortcut. But macros are
unavailable in Word 2008.

Cheers,

Clive Huggan
Canberra, Australia
(My time zone is 5-11 hours different from the Americas and Europe, so my
follow-on responses to those regions can be delayed)
====================================================

 

[CyberTaz]

Hey Clive;

That method does indeed work in 2008. I just hadn't gone there because the
original request was to remove all of what was described as "many". I don't
know exactly *how many*, but without a macro (or possibly Apple Script) the
cut & paste process could be rather time consuming

There's no doubt, however, that the method will certainly be useful if the
OP continues to have problems with the character formatting being retained
after unlinking. I'm waiting for Sarah's reply, but I'm wondering if the
links might have been manually constructed with direct formatting rather
than actually having the Hyperlink style applied. Any thoughts?

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[comhlth]

Hi Bob and Clive,

Thanks for the experiment - I typed "I like to use Google", used the Insert Hyperlink tool to make the word Google a hyperlink to <http://www.google.com>, then used command-A to select all and command-shift-F9 removed the link and the formatting.

And Bob is correct - this experiment is to see if I can remove all hyperlinks from a very long document with dozens of links, without removing all other formatting from the document - which is why cutting and pasting as plain text isn't a good solution, as it would remove other formatting (bold, italics, bullets, etc.).

So - I think this is resolved - thanks again!

Sarah

 

[John McGhie]

Well, if you type "I like to use Google" in ANY Microsoft application, the
phrase and any contained hyperlink will be automatically removed...

Conversely, if you type "I like to use Bing", a hyperlink will be
automatically inserted, and it will be impossible to remove either text or
hyperlink.

Microsoft has confirmed this to be an issue with the products listed above.
Efforts are underway to refine the mechanism so that it becomes impossible
to insert the word "Google" in any Microsoft application

Hi Bob and Clive,

Thanks for the experiment - I typed "I like to use Google", used the Insert
Hyperlink tool to make the word Google a hyperlink to <http://www.google.com>,
then used command-A to select all and command-shift-F9 removed the link and
the formatting.

And Bob is correct - this experiment is to see if I can remove all hyperlinks
from a very long document with dozens of links, without removing all other
formatting from the document - which is why cutting and pasting as plain text
isn't a good solution, as it would remove other formatting (bold, italics,
bullets, etc.).

So - I think this is resolved - thanks again!

Sarah

This email is my business email -- Please do not email me about forum
matters unless you intend to pay!

--

John McGhie, Microsoft MVP (Word, Mac Word), Consultant Technical Writer,
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
Sydney, Australia. | Ph: +61 (0)4 1209 1410
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]