How to Send a Link in an Email: Desktop & Mobile

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Add clickable hyperlinks in Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, & more
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This wikiHow teaches you how to insert a hyperlink into an email message. When you create a hyperlink, you're making it so the recipient of your email can click the text of your choice to open a particular website. It's easy to add hyperlinks to email messages in nearly all email apps. Just keep in mind that the recipient of your message can only click the hyperlink if they are using an email app that supports hyperlinks. Fortunately, most email apps do!

Quick Steps for Sending a Link in an Email

  1. Highlight the text in your email you want to hyperlink.
  2. Press Ctrl + K on Windows, ⌘ + K on Mac, or click your email platform’s Insert Link icon.
  3. Paste the link you want to share and click OK or Apply .
Method 1
Method 1 of 6:

Creating a Hyperlink on Gmail (Desktop Only)

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  1. Go to mail.google.com in your computer's web browser. If you're already logged into Gmail , doing so will open your inbox. If not, log in when prompted.
    • If you just want to add a clickable URL to your message and don't care about making it a hyperlink with specific text, simply copy the URL (press Ctrl + C on a PC or Command + C on a Mac), click the mouse where you want to insert the link, and then press Ctrl + V (PC) or Command + V (Mac) to paste. [1]
    • It's not possible to add a hyperlink to an email message in the mobile Gmail app. You can, however, just type or paste the URL into the body of the message. Any full URL (beginning with http:// or https://) is clickable by default.
  2. 2
    Click Compose . It's the blue button at the top-left corner of the page. This creates a new email message. [2]
    • If you want to insert a link into an email reply rather than in a new email, open the message you want to reply to, then click Reply at the bottom.
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  3. Create your email message . If you're composing a new email, you'll want to enter the email address of the person you're writing, a subject line, and the body of your message. If you're replying to an existing message, just type your message into the large typing area. [3]
  4. Click and drag your cursor across the text in the body that you wish to turn into a link. This highlights the text. [4]
  5. It's the chain link icon near the bottom of the new message, right between the paperclip and the smiley face. This opens the Edit Link window. [5]
    • You can also press Ctrl + K (Windows) or Command + K (Mac) to open the link window.
  6. 6
    Type or paste the URL you want to link to. This goes into the text field next to the chain link symbol in the link window. Here's how you can easily copy an address and paste it into the field: [6]
    • Press Ctrl + T (Windows) or Command + T (Mac) to open a new browser tab.
    • Go to the exact site you want to link to. For example, if you want to link to a YouTube video, you'd go to youtube.com, search for the video, and then click it.
    • Highlight the address in the bar at the top of your browser—you can usually do this by clicking once in the address bar.
    • Right-click the highlighted address (or Ctrl -click, if you’re on a Mac with no right mouse button) and select Copy . You can also use Ctrl + C (Windows) or Command + C (Mac).
    • Click the Gmail browser tab to return to your new message.
    • Right-click the field next to "Web address" and select Paste . You can also use Ctrl + V (Windows) or Command + V (Mac).
    • Do you want to create a live link to an email address instead? Follow the same steps, but type mailto:[email address] into the URL field instead of a website address (without the brackets around the email address).
  7. 7
    Click Apply . It's in the bottom-right corner of the window. This creates a link to the website you entered using the text you selected. When you send your email and the recipient opens it, they'll be able to click the linked text to open the website.
    • If you want to edit your link, click the linked text and select Change . You can use the window that pops up to change the URL, the linked text, or both.
    • Click the linked text and select Remove if you want to remove the link.
    • You can also add links to images in Gmail! Insert the image , then select it and click the Link button. This will generate a URL using the image’s name, but you can change the link once you create it. To do so, click the image again, then select Change in the window that pops up. Paste or type the URL you want the image to link to.
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Method 2
Method 2 of 6:

Creating a Hyperlink on Yahoo Mail (Desktop Only)

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  1. 1
    Click the Compose button at the top of Yahoo Mail. If you're already signed in to your Yahoo Mail account, you will see this button at the top of your inbox. It looks like a circle with a pencil inside.
    • If you just want to add a clickable URL to your message and don't care about making it a hyperlink with specific text, simply copy the URL (press Ctrl + C on a PC or Command + C on a Mac), click the mouse where you want to insert the link, and then press Ctrl + V (PC) or Command + V (Mac) to paste.
    • You can't add a hyperlink to an email message in the mobile Yahoo Mail app, but you can paste or type the URL into the body of the message. Any URL (beginning with http:// or https://) is clickable by default.
  2. If you're composing a new email, you'll want to enter the email address of the person you're writing, a subject line, and the body of your message. If you're replying to an existing message, just type your message into the large typing area.
  3. Click and drag your cursor across the text in the body that you wish to turn into a link.
  4. 4
    Click the chain link icon. It’s in the toolbar at the bottom of the message. You might need to click ••• in the toolbar to see it. A tiny pop-up window will appear.
    • You can also press Ctrl + K (Windows) or Command + K (Mac) to open the link window.
  5. In the small pop-up, you'll see the text you highlighted in the first field. To create the hyperlink, you'll need to type or paste the URL you're linking to in the field just beneath it. It's the one that says https://www.yahoo.com inside. Here's how you can easily copy and paste the link into the field:
    • Press Ctrl + T (Windows) or Command + T (Mac) to open a new browser tab.
    • Go to the exact site you want to link to. For example, if you want to link to a YouTube video, you'd go to youtube.com, search for the video, and then click it.
    • Highlight the address in the bar at the top of your browser—you can usually do this by clicking once in the address bar.
    • Right-click the highlighted address (or Ctrl-click on a Mac with no right mouse button) and select Copy .
    • Click the Yahoo Mail browser tab to return to your new message.
    • Right-click the second field and select Paste .
    • You can also copy with Ctrl + C (Windows) or Command + C (Mac), and paste with Ctrl + V (Windows) or Command + V (Mac).
    • Want to create a live link to an email address instead? Just insert the text mailto:[email address] into the link field (without the brackets around the email address).
  6. It's at the bottom of the small window. This adds the hyperlink to your email message. When you send your email and the recipient opens it, they'll be able to click the linked text to open the website.
    • If you need to edit or remove the link, click the linked text and select Edit or Remove . You can edit the link, the linked text, or both.
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Method 3
Method 3 of 6:

Creating a Hyperlink on Outlook.com

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  1. 1
    Click New mail at the top of your Outlook inbox. This rectangular button is in the upper-left corner of the page when you're logged in to www.outlook.com .
    • If you just want to add a clickable URL to your message and don't care about making it a hyperlink with specific text, simply copy the URL (press Ctrl + C on a PC or Command + C on a Mac), click the mouse where you want to insert the link, and then press Ctrl + V (PC) or Command + V (Mac) to paste.
    • If you'd rather reply to an existing message, just open that message and click Reply at the bottom instead.
    • If you're not signed in , you'll be prompted to do so now.
  2. If you're composing a new email, you'll want to enter the email address of the person you're writing, a subject line, and the body of your message.
    • If you're just replying to a message, simply type your response into the largest typing area.
  3. Click and drag your mouse cursor across the text in the body that you want to turn into a link. A small formatting toolbar will appear over the highlighted text.
  4. 4
    Click the chain link icon in the toolbar that pops up. It looks like two brackets with a horizontal line between them. If you hover over it, you’ll see the text “Insert a hyperlink.”
    • You can also press Ctrl + K (Windows) or Command + K (Mac) to open the link window.
  5. In the "Insert link" window, you'll see the text you highlighted in the "Display as" field. To create the hyperlink, you'll need to type or paste the URL you're linking to in the field beneath it labeled "Web address (URL)." Here's how you can easily copy and paste the link into the field:
    • Press Ctrl + T (Windows) or Command + T (Mac) to open a new browser tab.
    • Go to the exact site you want to link to. For example, if you want to link to a YouTube video, you'd go to youtube.com, search for the video, and then click it.
    • Highlight the address in the bar at the top of your browser—you can usually do this by clicking once in the address bar.
    • Right-click the highlighted address and select Copy .
    • Click the Outlook.com browser tab to return to your new message.
    • Right-click the Web address (URL) field and select Paste .
    • You can also copy with Ctrl + C (Windows) or Command + C (Mac), and paste with Ctrl + V (Windows) or Command + V (Mac).
    • Want to link to an email address instead of a website? Type the text mailto:[email address] into the web address field (without the brackets around the email address).
  6. It's at the bottom of the URL window. Your hyperlink now appears in the email message.
    • When you send the email and your recipient opens it, they'll be able to click the link to open the website.
    • If you click on the linked text, Outlook may add a card with a preview of the website you linked. You can click the x in the corner of the card to delete it.
    • To edit or remove the link, right-click the linked text (or Ctrl -click, if you’re on a Mac with no right mouse button). Select Edit Link or Remove Link from the pop-up menu.
    • You can also add hyperlinks to images in Outlook! Go to Insert > Pictures in the menu bar at the top of the window to add an image to your message, then click the image to select it. Go to Insert > Link and type or paste your link into the URL field.
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Method 4
Method 4 of 6:

Creating a Hyperlink in the Outlook Mobile App

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  1. 1
    Open the Outlook app on your phone or tablet and tap the New Mail icon. It's at the bottom right side of the screen. This creates a new email message.
    • If you'd rather respond to an existing message, just open that message and tap Reply at the bottom.
  2. If you're composing a new message, enter the email address of the recipient, as well as a subject line and the message body. If you're replying to an existing email, just type your message into the largest typing area.
  3. To do this, double-tap any of the words in the text, which will bring up selection bars on either side. Then, drag both selection bars until all of the words you want to select are highlighted. Once highlighted, a horizontal bar with options like "Cut" and "Copy" will appear.
  4. If you don't see it, tap the arrow on the right side to move to the next set of options. You should see it then.
  5. You'll see the text you selected in the "Text" field at the top of the "Add Link" window. You'll want to type or paste the URL of the site you're linking to in the field beneath that, which is labeled "Link." The easiest way to do this is to copy and paste the URL. Here's how:
    • Open your web browser and navigate to the site you want to link to.
    • Tap the address in the address bar to highlight it.
    • If you don't see a horizontal menu bar with the option to Copy, tap the highlighted text to bring it up.
    • Tap Copy .
    • Return to Outlook and tap the "Link" field.
    • Select Paste .
    • You can also link to an email address by typing mailto:[email address] into the Link field (without the brackets around the email address).
  6. It's at the top-right corner. This adds the hyperlink to your message. When you send the message, the recipient will be able to click or tap the text you selected to visit the linked website.
    • To edit the link, double-tap the linked text and select Edit Link from the menu.
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Method 5
Method 5 of 6:

Creating a Hyperlink in Apple Mail (Desktop Only)

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  1. It's the envelope icon on your Dock and/or Launchpad.
    • It's not possible to use your iPhone or iPad's Mail app to insert a hyperlink, but you can use Mail on your Mac.
    • While you can't add hyperlinks to an email in the Mail app on iPhone, you can add them to an email written from the desktop iCloud Mail site.
  2. It's the square with a pencil in the Mail toolbar. [7]
  3. This includes the recipient's email address in the "To" field, a subject in the "Subject" field (optional), and the email's body text in the area below the "Subject" field.
  4. Click and drag your cursor across the text in the body that you wish to turn into a link. Doing this will highlight the text. [8]
  5. 5
    Right-click the highlighted text and select Link > Add Link . If your Mac’s mouse doesn’t have a right button, or you’re using a trackpad, Ctrl -click the text instead. A link window will open.
    • Alternatively, go to Edit > Add Link or press Command + K .
  6. 6
    Type the URL into the text field. In the window that opens, you’ll see an empty text field with instructions to enter a web address. You can type it manually, or use these steps to paste it: [9]
    • Open Safari or your favorite web browser.
    • Go to the website you want to link to.
    • Highlight the address in the address bar.
    • Right-click (or Ctrl -click) the highlighted address and select Copy . You can also use Command + C .
    • Return to the new mail message.
    • Right-click (or Ctrl -click) the text field and select Paste . You can also use Command + V .
    • If you want to create a live link to an email address, enter it in the format mailto:[email address] (without the brackets).
  7. This saves the hyperlink to your message. When you send the message, the recipient will be able to click or tap the text you entered to visit the web address.
    • To edit or remove the link, right-click or Ctrl -click the linked text, then select Link > Edit Link or Link > Remove Link .
    • To add a link preview to your email, hover over your linked text and click the down arrow that appears next to it. Select Show Link Preview . This will add a small graphic to your email with the website’s favicon.
    • You can also add a link to an image in Mail. Insert the image, then click to select it. Press Command + K or go to Edit > Add Link to insert the link.
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Method 6
Method 6 of 6:

Inserting URL Links on a Phone or Tablet

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  1. Most email apps don't have the option to add a real hyperlink—that is, you can't make it so someone clicks the words of your choice to visit a link. However, virtually all email apps do allow you to add regular links to email messages with a simple copy-and-paste .
  2. You can paste a URL into new messages or replies.
  3. If creating a new message, type the email address of the person you're writing into the "To" field, and a subject into the "Subject" field. And whether creating a new message or replying, type the body of your message into the larger typing area.
  4. You can use Safari, Chrome, Samsung Internet, or any other browser.
  5. For example, if you want to link to a YouTube video, go to youtube.com and tap the video to open it.
  6. Here's how:
    • Tap the URL in the address bar, which is at the top of the screen in most browsers. Some browsers may have an address bar at the bottom.
    • If you don't see a horizontal menu with options like "Copy" and "Paste," tap the highlighted URL to bring it up.
    • Tap Copy on the menu.
  7. You can do this anywhere in the body of your email, but not the subject. Just tap your finger to place the cursor anywhere in the text.
  8. This pastes the selected URL into the message. It should turn a different color and/or become underlined once pasted, as that indicates it's a link. Now the recipient can click or tap that link to visit the website.
    • If you don't see the link change color or it isn't underlined, just press the Enter key to move to the next line. This should activate the link.
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Community Q&A

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  • Question
    How can I access a link from my email?
    Community Answer
    Highlight the link, press Ctrl+C, then open up a new tab. Go to the address bar and press Ctrl+Z. Hit enter and then the website comes up!
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    Not Helpful 2 Helpful 5
  • Question
    How do I attach a link from an iPhone?
    Community Answer
    Select the link (or hold your finger down on an existing hyperlink) and tap "Copy" from the menu/options that appear. Then, hold your finger down where you want to paste the link and tap "Paste."
    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
    Thank you for your feedback.
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  • Question
    How can I put a link in an email using a Samsung phone?
    Community Answer
    Hold the link and hit copy, then go to the email. Press down on empty space, then paste.
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      References

      1. ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/102553
      2. ↑ https://support.google.com/a/users/answer/9259846?hl=en#new-window
      3. ↑ https://edu.gcfglobal.org/en/gmail/responding-to-email/1/
      4. ↑ https://support.apu.edu/hc/en-us/articles/221896168-How-to-create-hyperlinks-in-GMail
      5. ↑ https://support.apu.edu/hc/en-us/articles/221896168-How-to-create-hyperlinks-in-GMail
      6. ↑ https://support.apu.edu/hc/en-us/articles/221896168-How-to-create-hyperlinks-in-GMail
      7. ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/mail/write-and-send-emails-mlhlp1121/mac
      8. ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/mail/format-text-in-emails-mlhlp1219/mac
      9. ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/mail/format-text-in-emails-mlhlp1219/mac

      About This Article

      Article Summary X

      1. Copy the link you want to send.
      2. Compose a new email.
      3. Enter the recipient and subject.
      4. Right-click or tap-and-hold the message body.
      5. Select Paste .
      6. Send the message.

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