MS Word Hyperlink to Restricted Page error

A link to a restricted page works perfectly when pasted in an email, or another website, or on the clipboard….. BUT interestingly it does not work when it is used in Microsoft Word as hyperlinked text.

My test link: http://www.peak-pregnancy.com/members-area/upper-body/

What it SHOULD do: For a logged in user it should open the restricted page

The Problem: My MS Word hyperlink to above url does not work – it prevents access to the restricted content (redirects to membership purchase page) DESPITE user being logged in with correct privileges.

I’d like to know if anyone else has experienced this problem or whether it’s something isolated to this specific site or document. I can’t see any reason why the same link works perfectly when clicked via email but will not work when it’s in the format of an MS Word Hyperlink.

Any suggestions?

Thanks for your inquiry. ~ We appreciate your patience :-)

This has been an ongoing issue for MS Word users, and it remains a Microsoft bug, even though they won’t admit it (typical of MS). Most sites online use some form of cookie-based authentication, and MS wants to change that apparently. lol

See: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1421608/how-does-ms-word-open-a-hyperlink
See: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/899927

The only known work around that I’m aware of, when it comes to WordPress, is to use a redirection link in your MS Word doc instead of a direct link. Something that will redirect a user from the original URL that was listed in your doc file, back to your site where (if they were already logged in) they should remain authenticated.