Adding hyperlinks to your PowerPoint presentation can help enhance interactivity and provide additional value to your audience. With just a few clicks, you can link to external websites, files on your computer, or other slides within the same presentation.
Benefits of Using Hyperlinks in Presentations
Hyperlinks in PowerPoint provide the following benefits:
- Allow instant access to additional information without having to switch applications or search. This improves flow and keeps the audience focused.
- Enable non-linear navigation, allowing the audience to access content in any sequence.
- Provide a way to credit sources or allow further reading by linking out to reference material.
- Create an interactive and engaging experience for the audience.
Types of Hyperlinks in PowerPoint
PowerPoint supports several types of hyperlinks:
Web Page Hyperlinks
These links point to web pages or other online content. For example:
- Website URLs
- Online documents like PDFs
- YouTube videos
File Hyperlinks
You can link to files stored locally on your computer or network drives. Common examples include:
- Word, Excel, PowerPoint documents
- PDFs, images, videos and other media
- Executable files and applications
Email Hyperlinks
Create a clickable mailto link that opens the default email application to send a new message.
Place in This Document
This links to another slide within the same PowerPoint presentation file. Useful for:
- Table of contents
- Navigation to related slides
- Back to top type linking
How to Insert a Hyperlink in PowerPoint
Follow these simple steps to add a hyperlink:
- Select the text, image, or object you want to be clickable.
- Go to the Insert tab and click Hyperlink.
- In the Insert Hyperlink dialog box, choose the type of hyperlink:
- For web page or file hyperlinks, paste or enter the URL, file path or location.
- For email links, enter the email address.
- To link within the presentation, pick the destination slide under Place in This Document.
- Customize the appearance of the hyperlink text or object. For example, change font style, color or add an underline.
- Test the hyperlink by clicking on it. Fix any issues before finalizing.
Some tips:
- Meaningful hyperlink text improves usability and accessibility. Avoid generic phrases like “Click Here”.
- Set the ScreenTip to provide additional context on the link destination when hovered over.
- Use unique colors to differentiate links from normal text.
- Always test hyperlinks after inserting them to catch any errors.
Inserting a Hyperlink to a Website
To link to an external website or online resource:
- Highlight the text or object to contain the hyperlink.
- On the Insert tab select Hyperlink.
- Choose Existing File or Web Page.
- Enter the full URL of the destination webpage e.g. https://www.example.com
- Customize the appearance or ScreenTip as needed.
- Click OK to insert the link.
Linking to Another Slide
You can easily create links between slides as a form of navigation:
- Select the text, shape or image which will contain the hyperlink.
- Go to Insert > Hyperlink.
- Under Link to choose Place in This Document.
- Select the target slide from the list.
- Click OK to insert the hyperlink.
Removing Hyperlinks
To delete an existing hyperlink:
- Right-click on the link text or object.
- Select Remove Hyperlink.
This will remove the link but leave the underlying text, object or image intact.
Customizing Hyperlink Appearance
Match hyperlinks to your presentation design by modifying their look and feel:
- Font style and color – For text hyperlinks, change font family, size, color etc.
- Underline – Toggle underline on/off. Vary thickness and color.
- Object style – For shape/image links, alter line color, background fill etc.
Test different styles until you find one that blends with your slide design.
By taking a few minutes to add and customize hyperlinks, you can vastly improve the interactivity of your PowerPoint decks. Follow the step-by-step directions outlined above to add links to websites, other slides, files and more.
