To remove a bookmark in Word while keeping its text or object, open Insert > Bookmark, select the bookmark name, and click Delete. The bookmark marker disappears; the bookmarked content stays in the document. If you want to remove the content too, select it and press Delete instead.
Remove a bookmark but keep its content
- Open the Insert tab and choose Bookmark. If you use Word’s simplified ribbon and do not see the command, open the ellipsis (…) menu and choose Bookmark.
- In the Bookmark dialog, select the Name or Location heading to sort the list if that helps you find the right entry.
- Select the bookmark name and choose Delete.
Microsoft documents this route for Word for Microsoft 365, Word 2024, Word 2021, Word 2019, and Word 2016. The cited instructions do not establish identical steps in Word for the web or every operating system. Microsoft’s bookmark instructions also cover Outlook messages.
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Delete the bookmarked text or object as well
Deleting a name in the Bookmark dialog removes only the marker, not the bookmarked text, picture, or other item. To remove the item itself, select it in the document and press Delete. Check what you have selected before using that key: it can remove document content.
Show bookmarks if you cannot find them
In desktop Word, bookmark markers are hidden by default. To display them, open File > Options > Advanced. Under Show document content, enable Show bookmarks, then select OK. A bookmark around selected text or an object appears in brackets; a bookmark set at a location without selected content appears as an I-beam. See Microsoft’s bookmark troubleshooting guidance.
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Clean up links and references to the bookmark
Remove a hyperlink to the deleted bookmark
Deleting a bookmark does not automatically remove a hyperlink that points to it. Right-click the linked text and choose Remove Hyperlink if that link is no longer needed.
Fix a broken cross-reference or field
A field that refers to a deleted bookmark can show “Error! Bookmark Not Defined.” or “Error! Reference source not found.” Check that the destination bookmark still exists and that the field refers to the correct name. Word inserts cross-references as fields; if a cross-reference has not reflected a change to its bookmark, right-click the field and choose Update Field.
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To update fields throughout the document, select the document content with Ctrl+A and press F9. Tables may require you to select and update their fields separately. Microsoft’s field-update instructions explain the process.
What happens when you edit bookmarked content
- Deleting only part of a bookmarked item leaves the bookmark on the remaining text.
- Cutting an entire bookmarked item and pasting it elsewhere in the same document moves the item and its bookmark together.
- Deleting the bookmark through the Bookmark dialog removes the marker without deleting its content.
These editing behaviors differ from removing the bookmark name in the dialog; choose the action that matches whether you want to keep the marked content.
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