Adding and displaying links in Whimsical files

There are a whole lot of ways to add links in Whimsical. Here's a quick guide to all the available options - in boards and docs.

To add a new link, click the link icon from the toolbar, or use the keyboard shortcut K to open the link dialogue:

You can also add hyperlinks to any text-supporting object. Highlight the text you wish to link, and then click the link icon in the context toolbar or use the shortcut Command + K ( Mac) or Control + K (PC):

Once the link dialogue box appears, you have the option to add either external or internal links.

External links are any links that direct you to a different website or online resource outside of Whimsical. Just enter the URL you want to link to and click Add link to web page or hit Enter.

We'll automatically add an icon from the site to the link URL. You can always modify the link text from the context toolbar.

You can also add different snapshots from the website to pick how you want the link to display:

Internal links are links to other Whimsical files, folders, or cards.

To add an internal link, you have two options - you can either paste the direct link of the file, folder, or card or use the search function by typing its name.

When adding internal hyperlinks, you can also use the search option which will suggest relevant files, folders, and cards based on the text you've highlighted.

Note: Linked Whimsical files will automatically appear as thumbnails. If you do not want the internal links to show as thumbnails, you can change them to a bare link. Use Command + Z (Mac) or Control + Z (PC), or the Undo option in the bottom right of the screen, and the thumbnail will revert to a plain link. You'll need to do this immediately after adding the link.


You can add links to text in docs by highlighting the text and using the toolbar or the Command + K (Mac) or Control + K (PC) shortcut to paste the link.

There are three display options to choose from when pasting links in a doc:

  • URL
  • Title
  • Card

Tip: File mentions are another great way to add links and reference internal Whimsical files.


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Written by:

  • Jack Jenkins

    Jack Jenkins