If you see a message stating “Error Bookmark Not defined” or “Error Reference source not found” in Microsoft Word, then use the solutions mentioned in this post to fix the issue.
What causes error Bookmark not defined in Word?
The Word error “Error Bookmark not defined” or “Error Reference source not found” occurs when one or more bookmarks are missing, bookmarks are outdated, or bookmark entries are broken.
Fix Bookmark Not defined error in Word
To fix the Bookmark, Not defined or Error Reference source not found error in Microsoft Word, follow the solutions mentioned below:
- Use the Undo command
- Replace the missing commands
- Force update of Table of Contents
- Covert the automated Table of Contents to text
1] Use the Undo command
If you are using an automated Table of Contents and receiving the error “Bookmark not defined,” This means that one or more fields in the Table may have a broken link that leads to a bookmark.
If you do not save the document yet, you can restore the original text by pressing CTRL + Z.
You can also click the Undo button on the quick access toolbar.
2] Replacing the missing bookmarks
If you have made some changes or your document doesn’t use the built-in heading styles in Word, that might trigger the “Error! Bookmark Not Defined”. To resolve this issue, you can transform your Table of Contents into a semi-manual listing and replace the missing bookmarks. Follow the steps below.
Go to the Table of Contents section and right-click the entry that contains the error, then select Toggle Field Codes from the context menu.
You will see the field name behind the bookmark, but the bookmark no longer exists. The field currently points to HYPERLINK or PAGEREF the name of the bookmark.
To resolve the issue, select the Insert tab on the menu bar and click Bookmark in the Links group and create a new bookmark with the old name.
Once checked if every corrupted or missing bookmark has been repaired, convert the document to PDF.
3] Force update of Table of Contents
You can restore the automating updating function of the Table of Contents by pressing F9 while the Table of Contents is selected.
4] Covert the automated Table of Contents to text
If your Table of Contents has many broken links, you can convert your Table of Contents to text. This will eliminate the error and let you override the error (Error! Bookmark is not defined”) entries with your text.
To convert the Table of Contents to text, select the Table of Contents and press Ctrl + Shift + F9. The Table of Contents is converted to text, and you can edit it.
We hope this tutorial helps you understand how to fix Bookmark, Not defined error in Word.
Also read now: How to merge and split cells in Table in Microsoft Word.
