Microsoft's Office suite gives you numerous software applications aimed at productivity in your small business, and PowerPoint works well for creating all kinds of presentations, even if you're using the older 2003 version. Sometimes you may need to link to something outside of the presentation itself, and PowerPoint can link to nearly anything. You can create a hyperlink that will direct you to a website or to a file on your computer, so when you click the link, you'll view that website in your default Web browser or the file will open automatically. Other less-common options are links to places within your PowerPoint presentation and links to an email address.
1. Open the PowerPoint presentation in which you need to place the hyperlink.
2. Navigate to the place in the presentation where you want the hyperlink.
3. Select or insert the object you want to act as the link. If you use an object, you just need to click on it. If you use text, you need to highlight the text with your mouse cursor.
4. Click the "Insert" menu near the top of the PowerPoint window.
5. Click "Hyperlink" to open the "Insert Hyperlink" window.
6. Specify where the hyperlink should direct when clicked. On the left, inside the window, you can select one of four categories. The first option, "Existing File or Web Page," is the most common, and using it you can type or paste a URL in the "Address" text box, or you can navigate in the window to a file on your computer. "Place in This Document" allows you to select a slide in your presentation to link to using your presentation's outline. "Create a New Document" allows you to make a new file and then link to it, somewhat similar to the "Existing File" option. The last choice is "E-mail Address," which allows you to type or paste in an address that will open a message to that address in your default email program when clicked.
7. Click the "OK" button to add the hyperlink.
- You can change the hyperlink if you need to by right-clicking it and selecting "Edit Hyperlink." You can delete the hyperlink while keeping the object or text in place by right-clicking it and selecting "Remove Hyperlink."
- If you'll be adding hyperlinks frequently to PowerPoint documents, you may find the process faster by using the keyboard shortcut for inserting hyperlinks, which is "Ctrl-K."
- If you link to a document that is later moved, deleted or renamed, the hyperlink won't work when you click on it. You should ensure that all hyperlinks work properly before beginning any presentation. You'll also receive an error if a website's URL changes and your hyperlink is still using the old address.
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