How to Stop Skype From Identifying Phone Numbers in Microsoft Word

Change your Skype Office toolbar settings to prevent number underlining in Word.

The voice and video conferencing program Skype offers an optional toolbar that integrates its features into Microsoft Word. The toolbar highlights telephone numbers throughout your document and lets you click a phone number to dial it in Skype. The toolbar also lets you send files to your contacts from Word or add new Skype contacts from numbers found in your open document. If the number identification feature causes you problems, you can disable the feature for a specific document or turn it off for all files.

Instructions

1. Open Microsoft Word. If you just want to turn off phone number identification for a specific document, click "File" and "Open" to select your document.

2. Click the "Skype" tab on Word's menu ribbon and click "Highlight Numbers" if the button appears pressed. Click "Remove Skype Links" in the "Skype Links" group to remove any underlining from phone numbers in your open document.

3. Click "Options" in the "Skype Toolbar Configuration" group and click "Smart Tags" in the left pane. Clear the box beside "Enable Skype SmartTags in Microsoft Word" and click "OK." This prevents Skype from automatically identifying phone numbers in the future.

References

• Skype: Skype Office Toolbar
• Skype: What Is the Skype Office Toolbar and How Does It Work?