Section 12.1. Adding Links


12.1. Adding Links

Found on just about every Web page, hyperlinks (often simply called links ) are the buttons , images, and underlined bits of text you click to scoot off to a different Web page. Links work the same way in PowerPoint. A text or graphic link can whisk your audience (or you, if you're the one presenting the slideshow) from one slide to another slide in the same slideshow, to a slide in another slideshow, to a Web page, to a different document, or even to an email address. The following sections show you how to create each of these types of links in PowerPoint.

12.1.1. Linking to Another Slide in the Same Slideshow

Setting up a link from one slide to another in the same slideshow is useful for creating touchstone slides (see the box on page 373) as well as for organizing your presentation around a table of contents.

Here's how to do it:

  1. On your slide, select the text or image you want to turn into a clickable link. Right-click the selected text or image and then choose Hyperlink from the shortcut menu. (Or choose Insert Links Hyperlink.)

    The Insert Hyperlink dialog box appears.

  2. Click "Place in This Document."

    PowerPoint redisplays the middle section of the Insert Hyperlink dialog box, much like Figure 12-2.

    Figure 12-2. The "Select a place in this document" section of the Insert Hyperlink dialog box shows you your current slideshow in outline form, so you can quickly pick the slide you want to link to. If you've created any custom slideshows (named groups of slides) as described on page 234, you'll see them in this section.



    Tip: In the Insert Hyperlink dialog box, changing the text in the "Text to display" box changes the link text on your slide.
  3. In the "Select a place in this document" section, click the slide you want to link to.

    Your choices include First Slide, Last Slide, Next Slide, Previous Slide, the titles of all the slides in your slideshow, and the names of any custom slideshows (if any) you've created for this slideshow.


    Note: If want a link that ends the slideshow when someone clicks it, you must use the Action Settings dialog box's End Show option (see page 383).

    A thumbnail of the selected slide appears in the Slide preview section of the dialog box so you can double-check that the slide is the one you want to link to.

    If you chose a custom slideshow, PowerPoint activates the "Show and return" checkbox. Turning on this checkbox makes PowerPoint return to your original slide (the one you're linking from ) after it finishes displaying the custom slideshow (the slide you're linking to ).

  4. In the Insert Hyperlink dialog box, click OK.

    The dialog box disappears and PowerPoint returns you to your slide. If you created a text link, the text is both highlighted and underlined. (PowerPoint doesn't highlight or underline graphic links.)


    Note: Your presentation's design theme determines the color PowerPoint uses to display links, both before and after they're clicked. To change link color , go to Design Themes Colors Create New Theme Colors and click the down-arrows next to Hyperlink and Followed Hyperlink, respectively.

    Test your link: Run your sideshow, go to the slide, and mouse over the link you just created.

    Your pointer changes from an arrow to a little hand to let you know you can click the link, and PowerPoint displays the screen tip text you added (or, if you didn't add any, the screen tip text PowerPoint added for you; see page 381 for details).

    When you click the link, PowerPoint displays the slide (or begins displaying the custom slideshow) you specified in step 3.

12.1.2. Linking to a Slide in Another PowerPoint Slideshow

Linking a slide in one PowerPoint slideshow to a slide in another lets you reuse work (your own or someone else's) without copying or pasting any slides. By linking instead of copying, you keep your own slideshow file size to a minimum. And best of all, when someone updates the slideshow you're linking to, your slideshow automatically reflects the new information.


Warning: Moving presentations (by emailing them, copying them to CD/DVD, or posting them on the Web, for example) can break links. To avoid grief , make sure you store the presentation you link from and the presentation you link to in the same folder before following these steps.

To link to a slide in another slideshow:

  1. On your slide, select the text or image you want to turn into a link. Go to Insert Links Hyperlink, or right-click the selected text and choose Hyperlink from the shortcut menu.

    The Insert Hyperlink dialog box opens.

  2. On the left side of the Insert Hyperlink dialog box, make sure "Existing File or Web page" is selected.

    The middle of the dialog box displays the contents of the file folder in which you've created your current PowerPoint presentation, along with the Browsed Pages and Recent Files options (Figure 12-3).

    Figure 12-3. Clicking Bookmark pops up a dialog box that lets you choose which slide you want to link to. If you don't select one yourself, PowerPoint chooses for you (and it chooses slide number one).


  3. Browse to the PowerPoint presentation file you want to link to. When PowerPoint displays the path to the file, click it. (Or, you can just type the path in the Address box.)

    Figure 12-3 shows an example of searching the Current Folder to find a file. Two other places you can hunt for a file: Browsed Pages, which displays the last few dozen Web pages you've browsed in Internet Explorer; and Recent Files, which shows you the last few dozen files you've opened in Microsoft programs.

  4. If you like, add screen tip text.

    See page 381 for a description.

  5. If you want to link to a slide other than the first slide, click Bookmark and then, in the Select Place in Document dialog box that appears, double-click the slide you want to link to. Then, in the Insert Hyperlink dialog box, click OK.

    The Select Place in Document dialog box disappears and PowerPoint returns you to your slide. If you've created a text link, you'll notice that your link text is a different color from the surrounding text and underlined.

  6. Test your link: Run your sideshow, go to the slide, and mouse over the link you just created.

    Your pointer changes from an arrow to a little hand to let you know you can click the link, and right next to the little hand, PowerPoint displays screen tip text.


    Tip: To preview your link quickly, without having to run your entire slideshow, right-click the link and then choose Open Hyperlink from the shortcut menu.
  7. Click the link.

    If a security warning pops up, asking you if you're sure you want to open the new file, click Yes. After you do, the slide you specified in step 5 (or slide number one, if you didn't specify one) replaces the current slide.

12.1.3. Linking to a Web Page

Linking a slide to Web page lets you include detailed backup or real-time information in your slideshow. For example, you can link to your competitor's Web site, a multimedia Web page you've created yourself, or a Web-based order form on your company's Web site.

Of course, if you plan to deliver your presentation on a computer other than the one you're creating it on, make sure that computer has a working Internet connectionpreferably before you begin your presentation.

UP TO SPEED
Why Link to Non-PowerPoint Files?

If you're like most folks, you'll usually link to other PowerPoint slides, Web pages, and email addresses. But PowerPoint also lets you link to virtually any document, file, or program on your computer.

Suppose you're a prosecuting attorney using PowerPoint to communicate the state's case against a defendant. As evidence, you include a link from your PowerPoint slideshow to a parole officer's memo created in Notepad, to a scanned-in transaction receipt stored as an image file, and to a QuickTime video clip taken at the crime scene. You can even add a link that launches the accounting program the defendant was charged with cracking

Linking to any non-PowerPoint document, file, or program is just like linking to a Web page (as described above), except in the Insert Link dialog box, instead of surfing the Web you surf your computer to find the file or program you want to link to. If you already have a link set up, you can change the file it links to in the Action Settings dialog box (page 382).


To link to a Web page:

  1. On your slide, select the text or image you want to turn into a link. Go to Insert Links Hyperlink.

    The Insert Hyperlink dialog box appears.

  2. On the left side of the Insert Hyperlink dialog box, make sure "Existing File or Web Page" is selected.

    The middle of the dialog box displays the contents of the file folder in which you've created your PowerPoint presentation, along with the Browsed Pages and Recent Files options.

  3. Click the Browse the Web icon (it looks like a magnifying glass held up to a globe, as Figure 12-3 shows).

    PowerPoint launches a Web browser window. After you've located the Web page you want to link to, minimize the Web browser window so you can see the Insert Hyperlink dialog box again.


    Note: When the Web page is located not on a Web server but on your computer, just browse your computer for the page. You can also type the URL of the Web page you want to link to directly into the Address box and then click OK.
  4. If you like, add screen tip text (page 381). When you're done, click OK.

    The dialog box disappears and PowerPoint returns you to your slide. If you've created a text link, its text is underlined and a different color from the surrounding text.

  5. Test your link by running your slideshow and clicking the link, or by right-clicking the link and then choosing Open Link from the shortcut menu.

    Your Web browser launches, preloaded with the Web page you specified in step 4.

DESIGN TIME
Screenshots: An Alternative to Links

Links to live Web pages can take a long time to open, and a couple of seconds behind a podium waiting for something to appear can seem like an eternity. Murphy's Law clearly states that if you're going to have a slow Internet connection anytime during the next year, it'll be during an important presentation.

So unless a link is an absolutely necessityfor example, unless you need to add a link from your presentation to your competitor's most up-to-the-second Web page or an animation file that won't be finished until minutes before you give your talkconsider inserting a graphic screenshot of the linked Web page instead. A screenshot is a picture (of a Web page, a document, a program interface, or anything else from your computer screen) that you've captured using a program like SnagIt (www.techsmith.com).


12.1.4. Creating (and Linking to) a New Document

Imagine you're creating a slide and halfway through, you realize that you'd better create a long, detailed document complete with schematic drawings and link to it instead of cramming all that information onto one slide. In that, you can tell PowerPoint to link to a document that doesn't exist yetand then either create the document immediately, or go back and fill it in with text and drawings later, when you have time.

To link to a new, blank document:

  1. On your slide, select the text or image you want to turn into a hyperlink. Right-click the selected text or image and then choose Hyperlink from the shortcut menu.

    The Insert Hyperlink dialog box appears.

  2. Click Create New Document.

    PowerPoint redisplays the middle section of the Insert Hyperlink dialog box, much like Figure 12-4.

    Figure 12-4. You don't have to stop working on your PowerPoint presentation and create the linked document right away. If you like, you can tell PowerPoint to link to a new, blank document that you can go back and edit later, when you have time.


  3. Type the name of the file you want to create, complete with the appropriate file suffix (like .docx for a Word document, .xlsx for an Excel spreadsheet, or .fla for a Flash animation file) and folder path (for example, C:\Documents and Settings\[Your Name]\My Documents ).

    Instead of typing in the folder path, you can click Change to browse your computer and specify the path by pointing and clicking. (PowerPoint lets you create a document or file using any program on your computer, not just Microsoft Office programs.)

  4. Tell PowerPoint whether you want to create the new document now (turn on the radio button next to "Edit the new document now"), or return to your PowerPoint presentation and create it later (choose "Edit the new document later"). After you've made your choice, click OK.

    If you chose "Edit the new document now," PowerPoint opens the appropriate program. For example, if you specified a .docx document in step 3, PowerPoint launches Microsoft Word.

  5. If you chose "Edit the new document now," create and save your document; then close the program.

    PowerPoint kicks you back to your original slide with link in place.

  6. Test your link as described on page 378.

12.1.5. Linking to an Email Address

Including a link to an email address is ideal when you're delivering your presentation over the Web and want to give your audience a quick and easy way to contact you with questions and feedback. When someone running your presentation clicks the email link, his email program springs to life, pre-filled with your email address and a subject line you've specified.

To link to an email address:

  1. Select the text or image you want to turn into an email link. Right-click your selection and then choose Hyperlink from the shortcut menu.

    The Insert Hyperlink dialog box appears.

  2. Click E-mail Address.

    PowerPoint redisplays the middle section of the Insert Hyperlink dialog box so that it's similar to Figure 12-5.

    Figure 12-5. The email address and subject line you type are just suggestions. Your audience can change them before sending the email message. If you've specified any email links since you last launched PowerPoint, the addresses you linked to appear in the "Recently used e-mail addresses" section so you can easily reuse them.


  3. In the "E-mail address" box, type your email address.

    The instant you begin to type, PowerPoint automatically adds mailto: to the beginning of the email address for you. The program also activates the OK button.

  4. If you like, in the Subject box you can type a suggested subject line for the email. When you're done, click OK.

    The Insert Hyperlink dialog box disappears, and PowerPoint returns you to your slide.

  5. Test your newly created link as described on page 378.

12.1.6. Adding Screen Tips (Hover Text) to Links

Screen tip text , sometimes referred to as tool tip or hover text, is the text that appears when youor whoever's presenting your slideshowmouses over a link. Figure 12-1 shows an example of screen tip text. Because screen tip text makes it easier for the presenter to anticipate what's going to pop up onscreen when she clicks the link, adding these hints is worth the time and effort.


Note: You can't add screen tip text to action buttons, just to text and graphic links.

To add screen tip text:

  1. In the Insert Hyperlink (page 380, Figure 12-5) or Edit Hyperlink (page 387, Figure 12-11) dialog box, click ScreenTip.

    The Set Hyperlink ScreenTip dialog box opens (Figure 12-6).

  2. Type the text you want to appear when someone mouses over your link. When you finish, click OK.

    The Set Hyperlink ScreenTip dialog box disappears. When you run your slideshow, you see that PowerPoint has added your screen tip text to the link.

Figure 12-6. If you don't add screen tip text, PowerPoint assumes you want to display the name of the file you're linking towhich probably won't mean much to whoever's running your slideshow. It pays to spend a few seconds to type a helpful, descriptive phrase.





PowerPoint 2007
PowerPoint 2007
ISBN: 1555583148
EAN: N/A
Year: 2006
Pages: 129

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