When designing a presentation, you might need to hyperlink text, images, shapes, or charts. These might include hyperlinks to web pages, slides, and other files. Inserting hyperlinks in PPT can help you reference a source and open it by clicking in Slide Show mode.
How to Add a Hyperlink to a PowerPoint
To insert a hyperlink to text, shape, chart, or picture, select it and go to Insert -> Link -> Insert Link. If you have a recently copied hyperlink in your clipboard, it might also appear and can be directly selected. See the instructions below to select the relevant option to hyperlink different types of sources.
Hyperlink a Webpage or File
To hyperlink a webpage or file for the selected slide element, go to Insert -> Link -> Insert Link, enter the address, and click OK. If it’s a file, you can browse for the file on your system or give the path to the file. In the case of a website, simply copy and paste the URL.
For example, if you want to link to a website that produces Google Slides templates to give credit to the developer of the slide deck you’re using, simply add the hyperlink to the website.
Hyperlink a Slide
You can also link slides within a PowerPoint presentation. Many interactive PowerPoint templates use this method to make it easier to navigate back to the title slide and between different slides according to subtopics. To hyperlink a slide, select the slide to go to Insert -> Link -> Insert Link -> Place in This Document, and select the slide to link to the selected slide element.
Hyperlink a New Document
You can also create a new file to hyperlink via Insert -> Link -> Insert Link -> Create New Document. You can also choose to edit the document immediately or later on. The newly created document will be hyperlinked to the selected slide element and saved to the path shown in the dialog box.
Hyperlink an Email Address
To hyperlink an email address, go to Insert -> Link -> Insert Link -> Email Address. There is also an option to mention the subject along with the email address.
The below example shows a clickable hyperlink in Slide Show mode. Like the text shown below, you can also hyperlink images, charts, and shapes within PowerPoint presentations.
Final Words
The next time you find someone wondering how to insert a hyperlink into PowerPoint, heading over to Links via the Insert tab is all there is to do to find all the necessary hyperlinking options. PowerPoint provides a range of options to hyperlink to a source. However, it’s best to test your links before a presentation to avoid broken links and changes in the path of the linked source. This is because files that might have been moved or website URLs that might be changed can result in a broken link when trying to access a hyperlink during a presentation.
