Stopping Smart Tags from Being Saved

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated April 23, 2016)
This tip applies to Word 2002 and 2003

Smart Tags were developed by Microsoft as a way for companies or individuals to mark certain words so they lead to additional information. For instance, a person's name or a company name or some other proper noun could become a Smart Tag. If so, it appears on-screen with a wavy purple underline that indicates the word (or phrase) can be clicked for more information. In some ways, a Smart Tag is similar to a hyperlink.

You can turn off Smart Tags, so they are not saved with a document, by following these steps:

Choose Options from the Tools menu. Word displays the Options dialog box.
Display the Save tab. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Save tab of the Options dialog box.

Clear the Embed Smart Tags check box.
Click OK.

Now you can save your document as you normally would. The setting is stored with the document, and Smart Tags won't be saved with this particular document unless you go back and explicitly change the setting.

If you want the saving of Smart Tags turned off for all your documents, you need to open the templates you use to create documents, and then perform the steps just listed. For instance, load the Normal.dot template and perform the four steps. Save the template, and then the setting will be turned off for any future documents you create that are based on Normal.dot. Existing documents, even though they may be based on Normal.dot, will need to be individually changed. If you prefer, you can create a small macro that will turn the option off for you:

Sub OptSmartTagsOff()
    ActiveDocument.EmbedSmartTags = False
End Sub

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the WordTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (7832) applies to Microsoft Word 2002 and 2003.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Picking a Number Format For an Axis

Microsoft Graph is a handy way to add charts to your document if you don't have access to Excel. Here's how to adjust the ...

Discover More

Numbering with Sequence Fields

One of the most powerful and versatile fields you can use in Word is the SEQ field. This tip shows how you can use the ...

Discover More

Going to the Corners of a Selected Range

When you select a range of cells (particularly if it is a large range of cells), you may not be quite sure if you've ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 365 applications with VBA programming. Written in clear terms and understandable language, the book includes systematic tutorials and contains both intermediate and advanced content for experienced VB developers. Designed to be comprehensive, the book addresses not just one Office application, but the entire Office suite. Check out Mastering VBA for Microsoft Office 365 today!

More WordTips (menu)

Automatically Saving Versions

The versioning feature in Word can be very handy as you develop your documents. Here's how to set it up so that a new ...

Discover More

Deleting an Old Document Version

Word allows you to maintain different versions of the same document all within a single document file. Here's how to ...

Discover More

Changing the Office Assistant

How to change the Office Assistant character in Word.

Discover More

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is 2 + 2?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.