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How to Stop Automatic Linking in Google Docs

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Google Docs has a feature where it will automatically turn Web addresses or URLs into links. Use these steps to stop automatic linking in Google Docs.

  1. Open a Google Docs file.
  2. Select the Tools option.
  3. Click Preferences.
  4. Click the box to the left of Automatically detect links to remove the check mark.
  5. Click OK.

Our article continues below with additional information and pictures for these steps.

When you type a Web page address, or URL, into a Google Docs document, then it will automatically be converted to a link. This means that document readers will be able to click that link and open a Web page.

But it’s very possible that you don’t want or need this linking, and removing these automatic hyperlinks may be a bit of a hassle.

Fortunately this is controlled by a setting in Google Docs that you can turn off.

Our guide below will show you how to stop automatic linking in Google Docs.

How to Disable Automatic Hyperlinks in Google Docs

The steps in this article were performed in the desktop version of the Google Chrome Web browser, but will also work in other desktop browsers like Firefox or Edge.

Step 1: Sign into Google Drive and open one of your Google Docs files.

Step 2: Select the Tools tab from the menu at the top of the window.

click Tools

Step 3: Choose the Preferences option near the bottom of this menu.

select Preferences

Step 4: Click the box to the left of Automatically detect links to clear the check mark.

how to turn off automatic links in Google Docs

Step 5: Click OK to save your changes.

Now you will be able to type a Web page address into your document without Google Docs turning it into a link automatically.

You can still create hyperlinks, you will just need to do it manually now. New hyperlinks can be created by selecting the text to link, then clicking Insert > Link.

Find out about the automatic capitalization setting in Google Docs that is also found on this menu to see if it’s another setting that you may wish to disable.

Matt Smith has been writing tech content online for more than 10 years. He has been published on dozens of popular websites and his works have accumulated millions of pageviews.
While focused primarily on tutorials and guides for popular electronics like the iPhone and iPad, as well as common applications like Microsoft Word, Powerpoint, and Excel, he covers topics across the entire technology spectrum.