Outlook app automatically turns some text into links (“Accept Insertion” / “Reject Insertion”)

Question

Outlook app automatically turns some text into links (“Accept Insertion” / “Reject Insertion”)

Vikramaditya J 25

While composing an email in Outlook, I accidentally pressed a keyboard shortcut, and some random text in my message turned into blue, underlined links. When I right-click that text, it shows the options “Accept Insertion” and “Reject Insertion.”. How to fix that and how can I prevent this from happening again if the issue recurs?

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Answer 1

Nghia-P 7,105 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi Vikramaditya J,

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A Forum!

Have a good day and I hope you're doing well!

Thank you for sharing these details. I completely understand how frustrating it can be when text suddenly shows options like “Accept Insertion” or “Reject Insertion” while composing an email.

To help you better, could you please:

Share a screenshot showing when these options appear, especially right after using the shortcut that triggers this behavior.
Include a full screenshot of the Review tab on the Ribbon (if available), as this is where options related to tracked changes usually appear.

If the screenshots contain any sensitive information, feel free to send them via Private messages that I’ve already opened for you to ensure confidentiality.

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These details will give me more insights to provide the most suitable troubleshooting steps for your case. Thank you for your cooperation and patience, and I look forward to hearing back from you soon.

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.

Vikramaditya J 25 Reputation points

2025-12-03T15:00:08.6433333+00:00

Thanks, Nghia. I tried to reproduce the blue, underlined link text, but I couldn’t generate it again as it happened accidentally and I’m not sure how it was triggered.

However, after checking some help articles online, it seems the issue is related to text editing features or tracking changes in the email. I’ve attached a screenshot of the Review tab for reference.
Nghia-P 7,105 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-12-04T05:13:45.53+00:00
Hi Vikramaditya J,

Thanks for the update. I totally understand how frustrating it is when you’re composing an email and things suddenly turn blue/underlined. It’s okay that we can’t reproduce it right now; here are a few preventive steps and how we’ll follow up so I can support you best:

If it happens again: Ctrl + Shift + E > Press it once to toggle Track Changes on or off, and the blue underlined text should disappear right away.

If you see the issue again in the future:

Text turns blue and underlined, and

Right-clicking shows “Accept Insertion / Reject Insertion”,

Fix it in seconds by doing either: Press Ctrl + Shift + E once, or Go to the Review tab > turn Track Changes off > click Accept > Accept All Changes.

A third-party add-in can also force Track Changes to stay on. If that ever happens, you can quickly test by temporarily disabling add-ins: File > Options > Add-ins > at the bottom choose COM Add-ins > Go… > uncheck everything > OK >restart Outlook. If the problem disappears, we can then turn them back on one by one to find the culprit.

Since we can’t reproduce the issue right now, I can’t guarantee that the steps above are completely accurate. They’re based on common behaviors and research information as a reference. So, the best approach is: If the issue happens again (especially after using a shortcut), please capture:

The right‑click menu on the affected text showing “Accept Insertion” / “Reject Insertion”.

A full screenshot of the Review tab on the ribbon in the compose window.

If the screenshots contain sensitive information, feel free to send them via private messages.

In the meantime, if you’ve already removed the hyperlink and everything looks normal, please continue using Outlook as usual. If the problem returns, let me know with your screenshots. I’ll be able to suggest much more precise troubleshooting steps. I’m here to help whenever you need.
Vikramaditya J 25 Reputation points

2025-12-04T07:35:32.2033333+00:00

Thanks again. I tried Ctrl+Shift+E but it doesn’t seem to work; pressing this combination doesn’t do anything. Initially I remember accidentally pressing a key combination and blue underlined links appeared throughout the email. So, while Ctrl+Shift+E is a workaround I’d like to understand the root cause. Which Microsoft Office feature is responsible and how can I prevent it from happening again?
Nghia-P 7,105 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-12-05T04:42:56.62+00:00
Hi Vikramaditya J,

Thanks for getting back.

Here’s a clear summary that what’s behind this behavior:

Classic Outlook uses a Word‑based editor, so the feature that makes newly typed text appear blue/underlined and shows the “Accept Insertion / Reject Insertion” menu is Word’s Track Changes.

There’s no way to “turn off the Word editor” in Outlook; the practical fix is to turn off Track Changes and clean up the marks. If unwanted colors/styles remain, you can use Clear Formatting to reset the text.

How to handle it if it happens again:

In the compose window, open the Review tab on the ribbon.

Make sure Track Changes is OFF (button not highlighted).

Click Accept > choose “Accept All Changes” (or “Accept All Changes and Stop Tracking” if available).

If any odd colors/styles remain: go to the Format Text tab > Clear Formatting to revert to basic formatting.

The guidance above is based on Word’s Track Changes behavior; I can’t confirm it matches every Outlook build/environment. So if it appears again, please open the Review tab right then to see exactly which buttons/options are shown (a quick screenshot would help me compare).

From my research, similar symptoms can sometimes be related to add‑ins/third‑party tools. You can test by temporarily disabling any suspicious add‑ins: File > Options > Add-ins > COM Add-ins > Go… > uncheck the suspected add‑in > OK > restart Outlook, then try composing again to see if it recurs.

If everything looks normal now, feel free to keep using Outlook as usual. If it happens again, just let me know what you see on the Review tab at that moment, and I’ll guide you through the exact steps.

I really appreciate your effort and our teamwork in figuring out what’s driving this behavior. Thanks for sticking with it. We’ll get this resolved together.
Vikramaditya J 25 Reputation points

2025-12-05T08:00:54.6333333+00:00

Thanks. If you’ve noticed there’s no “Track changes” option on the Review ribbon. Could you advise on it? Currently, the only option is to right-click on each tracked word, phrase or sentence and choose “Accept insertion”. This is cumbersome for long emails and frustrating. I don’t understand why Microsoft is making users do this and causing unwanted problems.

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Outlook app automatically turns some text into links (“Accept Insertion” / “Reject Insertion”)

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