Outlook Automatically Removing Anchor/Permalinks When Pasting Hyperlinks

Question

Outlook Automatically Removing Anchor/Permalinks When Pasting Hyperlinks

Kelsi McCabe 30

I use a SharePoint page with several "heading 2" items and then use those headings' permalinks in a company newsletter to link to volunteer opportunities and discounts. I put those links into a Word doc (which I use to create the newsletter). I then copy and paste the content from Word to Outlook to distribute the newsletter.

Today, I realized that when I paste the content from Word to Outlook, Outlook is automatically removing the anchor/permalink. E.g., "https://[company site URL]/sites/[site name]/SitePages/Volunteer.aspx#county-library-system" is automatically changed to "https://[company site URL]/sites/[site name]/SitePages/Volunteer.aspx". Furthermore, if I right-click on the link and edit it in the Outlook email draft, the permalink is still there.

As a related-but-separate issue, even right-clicking on the link to copy the permalink and pasting it into my browser doesn't work; the page stays at the top instead of going to where the permalink/"heading 2" is located on the page.

I don't know if this is a known bug or not, but any help/workarounds is greatly appreciated.

Sherry Taylor 0 Reputation points

2026-08-04T16:33:32.37+00:00

I have been experiencing this issue since July 27, 2026. Before that date, links to headings on SharePoint pages worked correctly. Now, when I select a heading link from an email, it takes me to the top of the SharePoint page—or to an unrelated location on the page—instead of the intended heading.

The issue also affects links that had worked properly for several months. These links no longer navigate to the correct headings, even though they have not been changed.

This is causing significant problems and requires Microsoft’s immediate attention.
Jade Ng 14,690 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-08-05T05:55:57.6533333+00:00

Dear @Sherry Taylor,

I’m sorry for the inconvenience this issue has caused. As a next step, please report the issue by following the guidance in my comment below.

1 answer

Your answer

Sherry Taylor 0 Reputation points

2026-08-04T16:33:32.37+00:00

I have been experiencing this issue since July 27, 2026. Before that date, links to headings on SharePoint pages worked correctly. Now, when I select a heading link from an email, it takes me to the top of the SharePoint page—or to an unrelated location on the page—instead of the intended heading.

The issue also affects links that had worked properly for several months. These links no longer navigate to the correct headings, even though they have not been changed.

This is causing significant problems and requires Microsoft’s immediate attention.
Jade Ng 14,690 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-08-05T05:55:57.6533333+00:00

Dear @Sherry Taylor,

I’m sorry for the inconvenience this issue has caused. As a next step, please report the issue by following the guidance in my comment below.

Answer 1

Jade Ng 14,690 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Dear @Kelsi McCabe,

Thank you for the detailed information and for describing the behavior you're seeing.

I tested a similar scenario in my test environment using SharePoint page permalinks and was unable to reproduce the issue. The anchor links continued to function as expected after being inserted into Outlook.

Based on your description, it appears there may be two separate issues occurring:

When content is copied from Word and pasted into Outlook, the hyperlink's anchor/permalink portion (the text after the "#" symbol) may be removed or altered during the paste process. This can prevent the link from directing users to the specific heading within the SharePoint page.
You also mentioned that when the permalink is copied directly into a browser, the page remains at the top rather than navigating to the specific Heading 2 section.

To help me better understand the issue, could you please let me know:

Is this the first time you've encountered this problem, or has it been occurring for some time?
Are other users in your organization experiencing the same issue?

In the meantime, please try the following:

1.To preserve hyperlink formatting when pasting into Outlook, try using the “Keep Source Formatting” paste option. You can do this by right-clicking in the email body and selecting “Keep Source Formatting” from the paste options. Alternatively, you can press Ctrl + Alt + V to open the Paste Special dialog and choose HTML Format.

For reference: Control the formatting when you paste text

2.Also, make sure your email is set to use HTML format. Outlook supports HTML, Plain Text, and Rich Text formats. To check this, go to File > Settings > Mail, and under the Compose messages section, ensure that HTML is selected.

Untitled

3.Please try creating the hyperlink directly in Outlook (Insert > Link) using the full permalink URL instead of copying the hyperlink.

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I appreciate your patience, and I am here to help. Looking forward to your update!

Thank you very much for your valuable time and your cooperation.

Jade Ng 14,690 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-07-30T04:56:36.57+00:00

Dear @Kelsi McCabe,

I hope this message finds you well!

I just wanted to check in and see if you have any updates or additional information you’d like to share regarding your situation. If there's anything new or if you need further assistance, please don’t hesitate to let me know.

Looking forward to your response!
Kelsi McCabe 30 Reputation points

2026-08-04T22:06:38.1766667+00:00

Hi Jade, thanks for your response. I think I've figured out this is more of a SharePoint issue rather than an Outlook issue. The URLs display the permalink in the browser as it should be (e.g., "https://[company site URL]/sites/[site name]/SitePages/Volunteer.aspx#county-library-system"), but the link only takes me to the top of the page instead of where that permalink is located on the page. But then sometimes it will work 🤷‍♀️ others in my company are experiencing this issue as well. Based on Sherry Taylor's comment, mine is not the only organization that is having this issue.
Jade Ng 14,690 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-08-05T05:52:43.7+00:00

Dear @Kelsi McCabe,

Thank you for getting back to me!

I have seen multiple users report similar behavior where SharePoint page links containing anchor bookmarks (for example, links ending with #section-name) intermittently fail to navigate to the specific location on the page and instead open at the top of the page. In some cases, the same link may work intermittently, which suggests the issue could be related to SharePoint page rendering or how the page loads the anchor target.

Since this appears to be occurring directly within SharePoint page navigation, I recommend reporting the issue through Feedback > Report a problem so the Product team can further investigate the behavior.

As a community moderator, my role is to provide guidance and simple fixes; I do not have the ability to directly influence or expedite the engineering team's troubleshooting process. I appreciate you're understanding on this matter.

Your patience and understanding are greatly appreciated as Microsoft works to fully resolve this.

Thank you again for your time and understanding. Hope you have a great day!!