A complete guide to preventing followed hyperlinks changing color in Microsoft Suite

Having utilized several hyperlinks within an Office document, you’re likely to have realized they change color after being used. This behavior is typical; albeit, detrimental where formatting is essential. However, as you might expect, there’s a means to resolve this issue — present in Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.

How to prevent followed hyperlinks changing color in Microsoft Suite:

  1. Open a document in which you utilise hyperlinks.
  2. Access the style settings window.
  3. Right-click followed hyperlinks.
  4. Select modify.
  5. Set the font color to one of preference.

This post aims to instruct users on the methods involved with preventing Office applications from altering the color of followed hyperlinks.

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Contents:


How to prevent the followed hyperlink color changing in Microsoft Word

Step 1 – Open a document

Before we begin, you must first open a document. While you are not required to open a document containing a used hyperlink, we recommend doing so; it will allow you to see your changes take effect visibly.

Step 2 – Enter the styles settings window

The home tab contains the “Styles” category; you may access the styles settings window by selecting the dropdown icon within its bottom right. Alternatively, you may instead use the shortcut provided below to save time.

CTRL + ALT + SHIFT + S

Step 3 – Access the followed hyperlinks modify window

After scrolling, you can locate the “FollowedHyperlink” option within the “Styles” dropdown. Right-click the option and left-click the “Modify” option in its dropdown. Now: you may proceed.

Step 4 – Set the default color to your preferred color

You may now find the color bar within the “Formatting” category; its dropdown will reveal an assortment of colors. Choose one of your preferences. Once finished, click “OK.”

Step 5 – Observe the changes

Look upon your document once more. Locate your hyperlinks — you’ll notice a pleasant difference.

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How to prevent the followed hyperlink color changing in Microsoft PowerPoint

When hyperlinks are changed

As you know already, newly made hyperlinks are initially blue and purple when used; this is consistent across Microsoft 365; however, some applications handle the issue differently. If you’re a PowerPoint user, that’s a good thing.

Preventing the change

You need only create a hyperlink, highlight it, and open the font color dropdown via the “Home” tab. From there, you may select your intended link color. Following the link will not alter this color. This solution differs significantly from Word’s bothersome process.

How to prevent the followed hyperlink color changing in Microsoft Excel

When hyperlinks are changed

Much like with Word, Excel changes the color of your hyperlinks after you click them. However, this will only occur if you do not manually assign a color to the hyperlink like with PowerPoint.

Preventing the change

You need only create a hyperlink, select its cell, and open the font color dropdown via the “Home” tab. From there, you may select your intended link color. Following the link will not alter this color. This solution differs significantly from Word’s bothersome process and directly mirrors PowerPoint’s.


Recap & Farewell

Recap

Office changes hyperlinks to avoid confusion where several hyperlinks are present; however, this can sometimes disrupt formatting choices- prompting your frustration. This predicament’s solution varies between applications. For example, while you must alter advanced font options in Word, you need only manually set a color for your hyperlink to prevent any automated changes in Excel and PowerPoint.

Farewell

As usual, offering thanks to our readers for their support is the intention of our closing section. We’d be pleased to know you found this post helpful and informative. If you have any more Microsoft 365 related queries, please consult our related articles (listed below). However, if you have other questions, consider looking at the rest of the site. We frequently post new stuff each week and may have the guide or troubleshooting tips you need. Regardless, we wish you a good day/night- farewell, readers. 

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Jack Mitchell

Jack Mitchell has been the Operations manager at telecoms and MSP Optionbox for more than 4 years. He has played a crucial role in the company, from marketing to helpdesk, and ensures that the IT requirements of over 300 clients are continuously met. With his innate passion for technology and troubleshooting and a particular interest in Apple products, Jack now delivers the most comprehensive tech guides to make your life easier. You can connect with Jack on LinkedIn.

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