How to Use Hyperlinks and Action Buttons in PowerPoint

By Published On: April 2nd, 2024Categories: Blog Post
How to Use Hyperlinks and Action Buttons in PowerPoint

There are two options available in PowerPoint that you can use to create interactive and engaging presentations: hyperlinks and action buttons. These 2 features allow you to connect your slides, navigate to external resources, and trigger specific actions, essentially transforming your static presentations into a dynamic, engaging experience. In this article we’ll explore the adding hyperlinks and using action buttons in your PowerPoint presentations and learn how to put them both to good use. 

You can use hyperlinks in your PowerPoint presentations to link to different destinations within and outside your presentations. Also link to different slides, an external webpage, a new document, or even an email ID. You can also link certain elements in your slide to different destinations within your presentation to create interactive presentations, that your audience will definitely love.

Start by selecting the object or text box that you want to convert into a hyperlink. 

Right-click and choose Hyperlink: 

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This opens the Link to window and here you have various options:   

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Choose the option you want: 

Existing File or Web Page: You can link to an existing file or an external webpage. 

Place in This Document: You can link to a specific slide in your current presentation. 

Create New Document: Link to a new presentation. 

E-mail Address: Link to an email ID. 

Choose the option you need, and your hyperlink will be ready.   

How to Use Action Buttons in PowerPoint

Here’s how you can use action buttons in PowerPoint.  

Go to the Insert tab in the ribbon. 

Click on Shapes and scroll all the way down till you see Action Buttons. 

Choose any one, and click and drag on your slide to create the button. You can hold Shift while clicking and dragging to create an evenly sized shape.  

As soon as you let go of the mouse, a pop up will appear: 

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There are two different types of actions that you can select with Action Buttons.   

Mouse Click: The action will be triggered when the user clicks the button. 

Mouse Over: The action will be triggered when the user hovers over the button with their mouse. 

Next, you can select what the action button does.  

Under Hyperlink to, you get the following options: 

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Run program lets you launch an external program outside of PowerPoint. 

Run macro lets you run custom macros in PowerPoint, if you do not know what this is, we’ll add an article about this soon. 

You can even make the action button play sounds, this can create some unique and fun slides. 

Feel free to customize the appearance of your action buttons.  

Right-click on the button, select Format Shape, and check out the various options to customize the action button. 

Remember to always test your presentations, and check if your hyperlinks and action buttons are working BEFORE your presentation. If your hyperlinks fail to work, you could end up with some messy slides. But if you get them right, your presentations can be extremely memorable. 

These features allow viewers to explore additional information or navigate between slides seamlessly, which makes your slides more interactive and engaging. 

You can transform your presentation from a simple viewing experience into an interactive journey. Creative uses of hyperlinks can really elevate your slides!   

You can also use hyperlinks and action buttons to provide additional material for your audience. 

So, there you have it, a quick guide on using hyperlinks and action buttons in PowerPoint. Try these steps out and get practicing today!