Hyperlinks Part 2...Linking from a document to a Web page

Let me set a scene. You've written a book. In that book, you've referenced the work of Mrs. Frank S. Torrens. As it so happens, Google has Mrs. Torrens' book loaded in Google Books...a web page location.

When you publish your book, you're going to produce it in PDF format, which your readers will be able to download after they've paid for it. Since your book will be a PDF, you want to insert an executable link to Mrs. Torrens' book so that your readers can see the reference first hand. To accomplish this task, you need to insert a hyperlink to a the Google web page in your Word document, which you will eventually PDF for publication.

Insert a Hyperlink to a Web Page

1. On the Internet:
   --Locate the Web page you want to have appear when your reader clicks the hyperlink.
   --Write down the address (the http://webpage.com bit) or highlight the address and copy it to your pasteboard (Ctrl + C). 
2. In Word, open the document you want to add the hyperlink to and locate the text you want to use as the hyperlink.
3. Highlight the text you want to have formatted as a hyperlink. For example, I would highlight Mrs. Frank S. Torrens in running text. 
4. Open the Insert Hyperlink dialog.
   In Word 2007/2010, click the Insert tab, and in the Links group, click Hyperlink.
   In Word 2003, on the main menu, click the  Insert tab, and then click Hyperlink.
   Or, right-click to display a pop-up menu, and then click Hyperlink.
   
   
   Click the dialog sample to see a larger version of it. 
5. Notice that the text you highlighted appears in the Text to display field at the top of the dialog. When you finish adding the hyperlink, this text will be formatted as the hyperlink. 
6. Look at the options appearing down the left side of the dialog. The option Existing File or Web Page is selected by default and it happens to be the option we need. 
7. Locate the Address field at the bottom of the dialog. 
8. Type or paste (Ctrl + V) the Web page address you found in step 1. 
9. Click OK. Your document is updated with the hyperlink. 
10. Save your document, and then test the link (hold down the Ctrl key and click the blue underlined text (a.k.a. the hyperlink). The Web page should appear.

Here's what a hyperlink looks like in a typed page.

Click the page sample and look for the text that is blue and underlined. 

There's lots more to do with this dialog. So stay tuned for the next installment of hyperlinks.