PowerPoint 2013
Hyperlinks and Action Buttons
Introduction
Whenever you use the Internet, you use hyperlinks to navigate from one webpage to another. If you want to include a web address or email address in your PowerPoint presentation, you can choose to format it as a hyperlink so a person can easily click on it. It's also possible to link to files and other slides within a presentation. It's easy to do all of this using two tools: hyperlinks and action buttons.
Optional: Download our practice presentation for this lesson.
About hyperlinks
Hyperlinks have two basic parts: the address of the webpage, email address, or other location they are linking to, and the display text (which can also be a picture or shape). For example, the address could be http://blog.gcflearnfree.org, and "our blog" could be the display text. In some cases, the display text might be the same as the address. When you're creating a hyperlink in PowerPoint, you'll be able to choose both the address and the display text or image.
To insert a hyperlink:
- Select the image or text you would like to make a hyperlink.
- Right-click the selected text or image, then click Hyperlink.
Creating a hyperlink - The Insert Hyperlink dialog box will open. You can also get to this dialog box from the Insert tab by clicking Hyperlink.
The Insert Hyperlink dialog box - If you selected text, the words will appear in the Text to display field at the top. You can change this text if you want.
- Type the address you would like to link to in the Address field.
- Click OK. The text or image you selected will now be a hyperlink to the web address.
The completed hyperlink
To insert a hyperlink to an email address:
- Right-click the selected text or image, then click Hyperlink.
- The Insert Hyperlink dialog box will open.
- On the left side of the dialog box, click Email Address.
Creating an email hyperlink - Type the email address you want to connect to in the Email Address box, then click OK.
Typing the email address and display text
PowerPoint often recognizes email and web addresses as you type and will format them as hyperlinks automatically after you press the Enter key or Space Bar.
To open and test a hyperlink
- After you create a hyperlink, you should test it. Right-click the hyperlink, then click Open Hyperlink.
Opening a hyperlink - Your web browser should open and then navigate to the linked page. If it does not work, check the hyperlink address for any misspellings.
To open a hyperlink while viewing your slide show, simply click the hyperlink.
To remove a hyperlink:
- Right-click the hyperlink.
- Click Remove Hyperlink.
Removing a hyperlink