When your presentations have a hyperlink, you’re able to connect your information to a separate resource such as a web page, or a separate document. In this article, we’ll show you various ways to add a hyperlink to your PowerPoint presentation.

If you’re looking for a time-saving hack for Microsoft PowerPoint, this is it. Hyperlinking in PowerPoint allows you to quickly refer to a separate resource as part of your presentation. You’re spoiled for choice when hyperlinking in PowerPoint because there’s more than one method. To hyperlink text, follow these instructions:

Open your presentation in PowerPoint Select the text you want to hyperlink. Right-click on the text and select Link. Insert the website link in the address box and click on OK. If you’re linking the text to a file on your PC, use the Look in box to locate your file.

How to Remove the Underline from Hyperlink Text

The intention behind inserting a hyperlink on a platform like Microsoft PowerPoint is a bit different from inserting a hyperlink in Google Docs, where you’d want your readers to know the text leads to a link. When you’re having a presentation, being unpredictable can work to your advantage, and having an underlined hyperlink in your presentation kills the fun in spontaneity.

PowerPoint doesn’t have a designated setting for removing the underline from a hyperlink text. Luckily, there’s a way around it. You can do this by adding a hyperlinked shape on top of your text instead. To do this, follow these steps:

Go to the hyperlink text. Right-click the hyperlink text and select Remove hyperlink. Head to Insert, then click on Shapes, and choose a shape that would easily cover the text, such as a rectangle. Drag the shape, so it covers the text. Right-click the shape, and select Link. Insert your link into the address bar and click on OK. Right-click the shape again and select Format shape. Under Fill, select No fill, and under Line, select No line.

How to Change the Color of Hyperlink Text Throughout Your Presentation

If you’re not a fan of the default color added to hyperlink text, you can change the color of all hyperlink text to fit the mood of your presentation. Here’s how:

Open your presentation and head to Design in the top menu bar. In the Variants section, click on the down arrow. Select Colors, then head to Customize Colors. In the Create New Theme Colors box that opens, click on Hyperlink to create a new theme color. Select Save.

How to Use Action Buttons

An action button is something you can create in PowerPoint to link an object or text to a website, another slide within your presentation, a separate presentation, and other resources. To hyperlink an action button, here’s what you need to do:

Select or highlight the text or object you’d like to hyperlink. In the top menu bar, click on Insert. In the Links section, select Action. Click on Hyperlink to, from the drop-down menu, and select where you’d like the action button to lead to. Select OK once you’ve entered the details of the hyperlink.

How to Create a Hyperlinked Custom Show

If you’d like to present a mini slide show as part of your bigger presentation, you are able to hyperlink a custom slide show, but first, you must create one. Here’s how:

Open your presentation and go to Slideshow. Click on Custom Slide Show, then select Custom Shows. Select New in the corner of the pop-up window. Type in a name for your custom show in the Slide show name box. Check the boxes of the slides you’d like to appear in your custom show, then click on Add. Use the buttons on the right to rearrange the order of your slides, then click OK. You’ll see the pop-up Custom Shows window again; click on Show to see what your custom slide show looks like.

Now that you’ve created a custom show, you can hyperlink it to a text or object in your presentation.

Select the text you’d like to hyperlink. Right-click the text and select Link. Under Link to, head to Place in This Document. Scroll down and click on Custom Shows. Select the custom show you want to present, then check the Show and return box on the right.

Elevate Your PowerPoint Presentation Skills

If you want to add value to your PowerPoint presentation, adding hyperlinks is an easy way to connect your slides to other resources. It’s also a great way to show off your presentation skills and engage your audience.

Whether you want to link text to a web page, or give your audience a subset of slides by linking a custom show, all of that is possible in Microsoft PowerPoint.