Microsoft PowerPoint 2008

Adding Links

While giving your PowerPoint presentation, you have more options than simply advancing through your slides. You can create links within your presentation that will allow you to jump to another slide or presentation, or open a website or file.

PowerPoint provides two ways to create links, each of which serves a different function. You can add linked objects to your presentation, which allows you to display an object that was created in another program (such as an Excel graph). When the object is updated in its original program, those changes will be reflected in the object in your presentation. You can also link objects such as text or graphics to other pages or slides, allowing you to bring up new information by clicking the link.

Linking to a File or Website
Linking to Slides in the Same or Other Presentations
Linking to Another Presentation

Linking to a File or Website

In your PowerPoint 2008 presentation, you can easily create links to a file or website.

Display the slide on which you want to create a link
In the Normal view, select the text or object which will form the link
From the Insert menu, select Hyperlink...
The Insert Hyperlink dialog box appears.
In the Link to text box, type the path and filename or the complete URL
OR
To locate the file,
1. From the Document tab, click SELECT...
2. Navigate to and select the desired file
3. Click OPEN
Click OK

Linking to Slides in the Same or Other Presentations

You can create links to different slides within your presentation, even if the slides are hidden or would not normally be displayed next in the presentation. For example, if you have some hidden slides that contain extra material, you can link to those slides and then come back to your original slide. You can use an action button, text, image, clip art, or other Autoshape as the source of your branch.

Creating a Link: Using an Action Button

From the Slide Show menu, select Action Buttons » select the desired action
Your cursor becomes a cross-hair.
Click and drag the mouse to draw the action button
Release the mouse button
The Action Settings dialog box appears.
From the Action on click section, select Hyperlink to
From the Hyperlink to pull-down list, select Slide...
HINT: To guarantee that you link to the specific slide you want, you should use the Slide option. Next Slide, Previous, First, Last, or Last Slide Viewed are relative links and will not always link as you intended.
The Hyperlink To Slide dialog box appears.
Select the desired slide
Click OK
In the Action Settings dialog box, click OK
An action button appears on the slide.

Creating a Link: Using Text

Select the text you want to link
From the Slide Show menu, select Action Settings...
The Action Settings dialog box appears.
From the Action on click section, select Hyperlink to
From the Hyperlink to pull-down list, select Slide...
HINT: To guarantee that you link to the specific slide you want, you should use the Slide option. Next Slide, Previous, First, Last, or Last Slide Viewed are relative links and will not always link as you intended.
The Hyperlink To Slide dialog box appears.
Select the desired slide
Click OK
In the Action Settings dialog box, click OK
The linked text appears underlined.

Creating a Link: Using an Image

Select the image or shape you want to link
From the Slide Show menu, select Action Settings...
The Action Settings dialog box appears.
From the Action on click section, select Hyperlink to
From the Hyperlink to pull-down list, select Slide...
HINT: To guarantee that you link to the specific slide you want, you should use the Slide option. Next Slide, Previous, First, Last, or Last Slide Viewed are relative links and will not always link as you intended.
The Hyperlink To Slide dialog box appears.
Select the desired slide
Click OK
In the Action Settings dialog box, click OK
The selected image is linked.

Changing Your Action Settings

After you have linked to a specific slide, you may decide that you want to change the destination. To edit a text or object's linking options, you must modify the action settings.

Press [ctrl] and click on the linked object » select Action Settings...
The Action Settings dialog box appears.
From the Hyperlink to pull-down list, select Slide...
HINT: To guarantee that you link to the specific slide you want, you should use the Slide option. Next Slide, Previous, First, Last, or Last Slide Viewed are relative links and will not always link as you intended.
The Hyperlink To Slide dialog box appears.
Select the desired slide
Click OK
The new settings will apply to the link.

Linking to Another Presentation

It is often convenient to reference another PowerPoint presentation that provides pertinent information to your current presentation.

Select the text, image, or shape you want to link
From the Slide Show menu, select Action Settings...
The Action Settings dialog box appears.
From the Action on click section, select Hyperlink to
From the Hyperlink to pull-down list, select Other PowerPoint Presentation...
The Choose a File dialog box appears.
Navigate to and select the desired file
Click OK
The Hyperlink To Slide dialog box appears.
Select the desired slide
Click OK
In the Action Settings dialog box, click OK

To return to the parent presentation during the presentation:

Press [control] and click the mouse » select End Show