How To Insert Actions in a PowerPoint Presentation?

Posted on December 2, 2019

In PowerPoint we can add to our Presentations built-in button shapes and set them to link to Another Slide, play a Sound or perform something else. These built-in buttons are known as Actions. We can define these Action buttons to be executed when someone clicks or moves the mouse over them. To find out more about adding Actions in a PowerPoint Presentation just keep on reading the post below.

We must select the Insert tab and then locate the area of the ribbon named Links as shown below. Once we have located the Links area, we select the command Action. Here we are notified that we can Give The Selected Object An Action To Carry Out When You Click It Or Mouse Over It. For Example We Can Hover Over An Object To Jump To The Next Slide, Or Open Up A New Program When We Click It.

Once we select the Actions command, the Action Settings dialog box appears. The Actions Settings dialog box is separated by two tabs: The Mouse Click tab and the Mouse Over tab.

In the next image I have activated the Mouse Click tab and I have activated the check box at the left of the command Hyperlink To: Once selected the drop down menu appears where we can select from the following options.

• Next Slide: We will just move to the Next Slide
• Previous Slide: We will just move to the Previous Slide
• First Slide: No matter which Slide we are, we will move to the First Slide
• Last Slide: No matter which Slide we are, we will move to the Last Slide
• Last Slide Viewed: No matter which Slide we are, we will move to the Last Viewed Slide
• End Show: We will End the Presentation Show
• Custom Show…: If we have created a Custom Show, we can select it in order for it to be displayed. To find out how to create a Custom Show follow the link here.
• Slide…: We can define to which Slide we want to appear
• URL…: We can define an URL address to open, once the Action is selected.
• Other PowerPoint Presentation: We can define for another PowerPoint Presentation to open.
• Other File: We can define for another File to be opened once the Action is selected.

In the next image, from the Actions Settings dialog box I have activated the check box next to the command Hyperlink To and then selected from the drop-down menu URL. Once the URL command is selected the Hyperlink To URL dialog box appears, where in the text area we type in the Address of the URL, we want the Action to follow once clicked.

Once we have finished typing the URL Address, we press the OK button to return to the Actions Settings dialog box. In the next image, I have activated the Play Sound command, and then I have selected the drop-down menu, where we can see all the available Sounds that we can choose from. We just select the Sound that we want, and when we set the Action in motion the Sound that we selected will play also.

In the next image, we can see all the settings that we have made for our Action in our PowerPoint Presentation. At the bottom of the Action Settings dialog box, I have also activated the command Highlight Click. Meaning that when we click on our Action to take place, the click that we will do will be Highlighted also so it will become notable.

In the Actions Settings dialog box, we can also use for our Actions one of the following commands:

• Run Program: Once selected, we will have to navigate so we can select the Program that we want to be run, once the Action is selected.
• Run Macro: Once selected, we will have to navigate so we can select the Macro that we want to run, once the Action is selected.
• Object Action: Once selected, we will have to navigate so we can select the Action that we want to run, once the Action is selected.

In the next image, from the Action Settings dialog box, I have activated the Mouse Over tab where we can see the same commands there as with the Mouse Click tab. The difference is that with the Mouse Click tab, we actually have to click on our Action to take effect, and with the Mouse Over, we just have to move over the Action with our Mouse for our Action to take effect.

Below you can check out the video describing How To Insert An Action in a PowerPoint Presentation?

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