How to link exhibits in Word
A citation that opens its exhibit saves the reader a search. Word offers three ways to build one — each with its own way of breaking.
Three kinds of link
- A hyperlink to the exhibit’s file
- The citation “Exhibit C-4” opens C-0004.pdf. Works while brief and exhibits travel together in one folder.
- A bookmark and a cross-reference
- Inside one document: the citation jumps to the exhibit’s heading or to its line in the list of exhibits.
- Links in the PDF
- What is left after “Save as PDF” — the basis of a hyperlinked e-brief.
A hyperlink to the exhibit’s file
- Save the brief into the matter folder first, next to a folder such as
Exhibits. - Select the citation text, for example Exhibit C-4.
- Insert ▸ Link (Ctrl+K on Windows, ⌘K on a Mac) and choose the exhibit’s file.
- Move the whole folder to another place and click one link to test it before you rely on the rest.
A link that points to a fixed path such as C:\Users\… or /Users/… breaks on the next computer. Keeping brief and exhibits in one folder, and the brief saved before linking, keeps the links relative to the brief.
A file link opens the exhibit at its first page. A page number appended to the link (#page=12) is honoured by browsers showing a PDF, but not reliably by desktop PDF readers opening a local file. For links that open the right page, see the guide to hyperlinked e-briefs.
Bookmarks and cross-references inside one document
When the exhibits are annexed to the same document, or the target is the list of exhibits, Word’s own bookmarks do the job:
- Select the exhibit’s heading or its line in the list and choose Insert ▸ Bookmark. Bookmark names start with a letter and use only letters, numbers and underscores — no spaces:
C_4, notC-4. - Where the citation goes, choose Insert ▸ Cross-reference (on Windows also References ▸ Cross-reference). Reference type: Bookmark; insert reference to: Bookmark text; tick Insert as hyperlink.
- Before filing, update all fields: select all and press F9 (fn+F9 on many Mac keyboards).
A cross-reference shows the bookmark’s current text, so if the heading changes from “Exhibit C-4” to “Exhibit C-5”, the citation follows after the next field update.
What survives the PDF
Hyperlinks and cross-references inside the document survive “Save as PDF” as links. On Windows, File ▸ Save As ▸ PDF keeps them. On a Mac, choose “Best for electronic distribution and accessibility”: with “Best for printing” the links may not come through. In many versions the first option says that it uses a Microsoft online service to create the PDF — check that your firm’s rules on client documents allow it.
Links to other files become links to file paths in the PDF. Whether they open, and at which page, depends on the reader and on the files arriving in the same folder structure. Courts and tribunals that expect hyperlinked submissions usually prescribe the structure — the e-brief guide shows the common one.
Where links break
- Renamed files. “C-0004.pdf” renamed to “C-0004 Concession Agreement.pdf” leaves every link to it dead.
- Renumbering. When C-4 becomes C-5, the visible text changes only if you change it — a file link still points to the old file.
- Fixed paths. Links into a personal folder, a mapped drive letter or a sync folder work on one computer only.
- Copies of the brief. A brief saved under a new name in another folder keeps links relative to its old place.
A last check before filing: open the PDF on a computer that has never seen the matter folder, and click the first, a middle and the last citation.