Action buttons in PowerPoint are versatile tools that bring interactivity and control to your presentations. By following a few simple steps, you can insert and customize these buttons to perform tasks such as navigating slides or opening external applications. Incorporating action buttons can greatly enhance audience engagement, making your presentation more dynamic and interactive.
Whether you want to link to another slide, open a program, or play a video, action buttons offer an intuitive way to navigate your presentation or activate specific actions. see Adding Action Buttons to PowerPoint
Mouse Click/ Mouse Over
You can select the Mouse Click or Mouse Over tab. Selecting the Mouse Click tab means the action button will trigger its action only when clicked. On the other hand, selecting the Mouse Over tab will activate the action when the mouse pointer hovers over it.
In the “Action Settings” dialog box, you can choose what happens when the action button is clicked or when the mouse hovers over it.
Most Action Button ‘click’ options are the same as for ‘hover’ except that with the Mouse Click tab, you need to click for an action to take effect, whereas with the Mouse Over tab, simply hovering the mouse over an action triggers it.
Use mouse click options for actions that require confirmation or deliberate intent, such as submitting forms or starting critical processes.
Conversely, hover is ideal for displaying previews, tooltips, or quick, non-committal actions.
Link to …
Select Hyperlink to:, then click the drop-down arrow and choose an option from the menu. There are many choices available under “Hyperlink to …”
Next Slide
You can use this option, to jump to the next slide of the presentation.
Previous Slide
Navigate to the slide immediately before the current one in the sequence.
First Slide
Go to the first slide of the presentation. You can use this option in interactive presentations to return to the title slide or an introductory overview.
Last Slide
Jump to the last slide in the deck.
Last Slide Viewed
Jump to the previously viewed slide, useful if you’re jumping around a deck instead of viewing them in order.
End Show
The End Slide option typically refers to the last slide of your presentation. You can use this option to direct viewers to the final slide, which may include a summary, call to action, or a closing statement.
Custom Show
Jump to a separate Custom Show version of the presentation.
(Specific) Slide
Choose any slide in the presentation.
Link to a Webpage / url
You have already seen how to link an action button to a specific slide within your presentation. Let’s see how to link it to a webpage.
Just enter a web link in the box. When clicked, the web page will open in the default browser on that computer.
Link to another PowerPoint presentation
Opens a File Open dialog to choose another PowerPoint file.
Run Program
You can select this function from the action button settings and navigate and select the program you want to run when the action is triggered. Let’s see how to configure the action button to run a program. Right-click on the action button and select Action Settings from the context menu. In the Action Settings dialog, select the Run program option.
You will be prompted to navigate and select the program you want to execute when the action button is triggered to run. This could be any application on your system—like a web browser, text editor, custom software or something simple like the calculator.
Run Macro
Select the macro you wish to execute and click OK. This action links the macro to the desired function.
Switch to Slide Show mode and click on the action button to test if the macro executes as expected. A security notification may appear, asking for confirmation to run the macro.
Click Yes to proceed. The macro will execute and perform its intended function directly on the slide.
Object Action
“Object Action” settings are usually greyed out because the must include an OLE object.
In the Action Settings dialog box, select Object Action. If the object supports actions, you’ll see options like:
Open: Opens the embedded/linked file.
Edit: Opens the file for editing.
Click OK to apply the action.
Test the Action Button
Switch to Slide Show View to test the action by clicking or hovering over the object.
