Formatting Issues

How to Restore Purple Visited Link Colors in Word

WPS Editor Sep 27, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user needs to fix an issue where hyperlinks in a Word document do not change to purple after being clicked, making it difficult to track visited links.

How to Restore Purple Visited Link Colors in Word

Product: Microsoft Word
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Clicking on hyperlinks inside a document does not trigger the default color change from blue to purple.
Observed behavior: Visited hyperlinks remain the same color as unvisited ones instead of turning purple.

Before you start

Before altering your styles, click a few different links to check whether the problem affects every hyperlink in your document or only links pointing to specific websites.

Solution 1Recommended

Modify the FollowedHyperlink Style

This method fixes the issue by manually forcing the document's visited link style back to the default purple color.

Microsoft Word uses built-in styling to control link appearance. Unvisited links are governed by the 'Hyperlink' style, while clicked links use the 'FollowedHyperlink' style.

If your visited links no longer turn purple, it usually means the 'FollowedHyperlink' style has been accidentally altered or overwritten by the document theme.

Open the Styles pane

With your document open in Word, press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Alt+Shift+S to display the Styles pane on your screen.

Locate FollowedHyperlink

Scroll through the list of styles until you find 'FollowedHyperlink'. If it is hidden, click 'Options' at the bottom of the pane and set 'Select styles to show' to 'All styles'.

Modify the style format

Right-click on 'FollowedHyperlink' and choose 'Modify' from the context menu. In the Modify Style dialog box, click the font color dropdown and select purple.

Apply to future documents

To ensure visited links turn purple in future files as well, select the 'New documents based on this template' option at the bottom before clicking OK.

Instant Update: Once you apply this change, all previously clicked links in your current document will instantly update to the new purple color.

WPS Writer Solution

Manage Link Styles Easily with WPS Writer

WPS Writer provides an intuitive Styles pane that makes customizing formatting, including your unvisited and visited hyperlink colors, fast and straightforward.

1. Open your document: Launch WPS Writer and open the document where you need to adjust hyperlink colors.
2. Access the Styles menu: Navigate to the Home tab and click on the Styles icon (or use Ctrl+Alt+Shift+S) to open the formatting panel.
3. Update the visited link color: Find 'FollowedHyperlink', right-click it, select Modify, and pick the purple color to instantly restore the default visited link appearance.

Fully compatible with Microsoft Word document formats (.docx, .doc)Intuitive formatting tools for quick text and hyperlink modificationsLightweight application that performs smoothly on most devicesFree Office alternative with a familiar and clean user interface

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why did my visited hyperlinks stop turning purple in Word?

This commonly occurs if you apply a new document theme that overwrites the default link colors, or if the 'FollowedHyperlink' style was accidentally modified to match the standard blue 'Hyperlink' style.

Does changing the visited link color apply to all my Word documents?

By default, modifying the style only affects the document you are currently working on. To apply it globally, you must select 'New documents based on this template' when editing the style.

Can I change unvisited link colors as well?

Yes. You can follow the exact same process in the Styles pane, but instead of right-clicking 'FollowedHyperlink', right-click the 'Hyperlink' style to change the color of links that have not been clicked.

Document & File Issues