Links in body of email displaying as {HYPERLINK "XXX"}

Holly Wilson 20 Reputation points
2025-07-22T15:53:27.5066667+00:00

When composing an email, if I add a link to the body of the email, instead of displaying how it would to the recipient, the link is displayed in this format: {HYPERLINK "URL"}

Is it possible to switch this setting off? I've tried going through the mail settings but can't seem to find the right option.

Outlook | Windows | Classic Outlook for Windows | For business
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Answer accepted by question author
Jay Tr 14,310 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
2025-07-22T16:47:42.75+00:00

Hi Holly Wilson, 

Good day to you! Welcome to Microsoft Q&A. 

If you're seeing field codes like {HYPERLINK "..."} instead of the usual display text or icons for hyperlinks in your Outlook email, you can easily switch the view mode by following these steps: 

  1. Open the email in Outlook where the issue is occurring — either by composing a new message, replying, or forwarding. 
  2. Press Alt + F9 on your keyboard. This shortcut toggles the display of field codes. 
  3. Once pressed, the {HYPERLINK "..."} codes should disappear, and you’ll see the standard hyperlink text or icon. 
  4. If you press Alt + F9 again, it will switch back to the code view. Make sure it’s toggled off so the curly brace code is no longer visible. 

Let me know if you need further assistance! 

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment". 

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.     

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