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PowerPoint Action Button Exercise
Part One: Creating the Slides
1. Double click on the PowerPoint icon on the desktop to open the program.
2. A new blank presentation will open and you should also see the Title Slide
template in the center work area.
3. Click once in the text box that says Click to add title, a cursor will appear
and you will be able to type. 4. Type Action Button Presentation
5. Click once on the text box that says Click to add subtitle, a cursor will
appear and you will be able to type. 6. Type By Your Name
7. Click on New Slide on the Ribbon.
8. This will automatically bring up a slide layout for a title and a single
content area. It contains a title at the top and then blank space underneath
where the action buttons will be inserted.
9. Repeat step 7 above twice more to insert two more slides of the same type
into the presentation. You should now have a total of 4 slides in your
presentation. Remember: You can not link to another slide using an action
button unless the slides already exist in the presentation. This is why you
need to put all the slides in before beginning to work on them individually.
Part Two: Inserting the Action Buttons
1. Click on the icon along the left side of the work view representing
Slide 2 in the presentation to move to editing that slide.
2. Click once on the text box that says Click to add title, a cursor will
appear and you will be able to type. 3. Type Where would you like to go?
4. Click on the Insert tab on the Ribbon, and in the Illustrations group, click on
the Shapes command. At the bottom of the Shapes menu you will see a line
Follow the directions below to create a presentation. Read through each
individual direction before performing it like you are following recipe
instructions.
Remember, there is usually more than one way to do something. If a different
way to do it occurs to you, go ahead and try it! If it doesn’t work, you can
always click on the Undo button. If you can’t remember what a command does,
move the mouse pointer over it and pause. A ToolTip appears describing the
button’s function. Also, if you are in doubt, at the end of this exercise are
examples of what the finished product should look like.
In the instructions, the following terms will be used: Click – a single left mouse click. (A right mouse click will be noted as such.)
Command – a button displayed on a tab on the Ribbon. Key - on the keyboard.
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of Action Buttons. Click on the one that looks
like the letter “i” surrounded by a circle.
5. When you move the mouse pointer onto your
slide, it will become the plus sign drawing
tool (+). With this mouse pointer, click and
hold down the left mouse button while
dragging diagonally down and to the right to
open or draw the action button on your slide.
6. The Action Settings dialog box will
automatically appear after the button has
been drawn. Stay on the Mouse Click tab and
click in the radio button next to Hyperlink to:.
Click on the down arrow at the end of the
Next Slide text entry box, scroll, and click on
Slide… from the drop down menu.
7. On the Hyperlink to Slide dialog box, click on
Slide 3 from the list and click on the OK
button.
8. Click on the OK button on the Action Settings
dialog box. This will return you to the slide.
9. Now is the time to type a title on the action
button. With the action button selected, type Information Slide.
10. Remember that the action button can be resized by clicking and dragging
on the handles on the outline of the button. Also, the text inside the action
button can be edited and formatted using the options in the Font group on
the Home tab on the Ribbon.
11. To add the next action button, first deselect the current action button, then
click on the Insert tab on the Ribbon, and then on the Shapes command in
the Illustrations group again. In the Action Button section at the bottom of
the Shapes drop down menu, click on the symbol for last slide (�||||). 12. When you move the mouse pointer onto your slide, it will become the plus
sign drawing tool (+). With this mouse pointer, click and hold down the
left mouse button while dragging diagonally down and to the right to open
or draw the action button on your slide.
13. The Action Settings dialog box will automatically appear after the button
has been drawn. Stay on the Mouse Click tab, notice that the Hyperlink to:
text entry box already contains Last Slide. This is the correct slide for this
button to link to, so just click on the OK button.
14. Now is the time to type a title on the action button. With the action button selected, type End Show.
Part Three: More Action Buttons
1. Click on the icon along the left side of the work view representing
Slide 3 in the presentation to move to editing that slide.
2. Click once on the text box that says Click to add title, a cursor will
appear and you will be able to type. 3. Type Information Slide
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4. On the Ribbon, click on the Insert tab, then on the Shapes command again,
and from the drop down menu under the Action Buttons section, click on
the action button with a house.
5. When you move the mouse pointer onto your slide, it will become the plus
sign drawing tool (+). With this mouse pointer, click and hold down the
left mouse button while dragging diagonally down and to the right to open
or draw the action button on your slide.
6. The Action Settings dialog box will automatically appear after the button
has been drawn. Stay on the Mouse Click tab and click in the radio button
next to Hyperlink to:. Click on the down arrow at the end of the First Slide
text entry box and click on URL… from the drop down menu.
7. In the text entry box on the Hyperlink to URL dialog box, type www.carnegielibrary.org
and click on the OK button.
8. Click on the OK button on the Action Settings
dialog box. This will return you to the slide.
9. Now is the time to type a title on the action button. With the action button selected, type Click here to visit our web site.
10. Remember that the action button can be resized by clicking and dragging
on the handles on the outline of the button.
11. To insert the last action button, click on the Insert tab on the Ribbon again,
then on the Shapes command again, and from the drop down menu click on
the action button representing the last slide (�||||). 12. When you move the mouse pointer onto your slide, it will become the plus
sign drawing tool (+). With this mouse pointer, click and hold down the
left mouse button while dragging diagonally down and to the right to open
or draw the action button on your slide.
13. The Action Settings dialog box will automatically appear after the button
has been drawn. Stay on the Mouse Click tab, notice that the Hyperlink to:
text entry box already contains Last Slide. This is the correct slide for this
button to link to, so just click on the OK button.
14. Now is the time to type a title on the action button. With the action button selected, type End Show.
Part Four: Creating Word Hyperlinks & Saving the Show
1. Click on the icon along the left side of the work view
representing Slide 4 in the presentation to move to editing
that slide.
2. Click once on the text box that says Click to add title, a cursor will appear
and you will be able to type. 3. Type Do you want to start over or end this show?
4. While still on the last slide click on Insert on the Ribbon.
5. Click on Text Box in the Text group
6. When you move the mouse pointer onto your slide, it will become the text
box drawing tool (+). With this mouse pointer, click and hold down the left
mouse button while dragging diagonally down and to the right to open or
draw the text box on your slide.
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7. When the text box has been drawn, the blinking cursor will be inside the box waiting for you to type. Type Start Over.
8. To enlarge the text in the text box, first select the text Start Over inside the
text box. Then click on the Font Size command down arrow (�) to the right of the number 18 in the Font group on the Home tab on the Ribbon and
select 54 from the drop down menu.
9. With the entire phrase Start Over still selected, click on the Insert tab on the
Ribbon.
10. In the Links group, click on the Action command.
11. When the Action Settings dialog box opens, click on the radio
button next to Hyperlink To .
12. Click on the down arrow at the end of Next Slide and from the list, click on
First Slide, and then click on the OK button at the bottom of the dialog box.
13. Following steps 4-8 above draw another text box on this slide, enter text, and resize it. This time type End Show into the text box. Remember that
any click on this last slide will end the show, so this text does not need to
actually link anywhere.
Part Five: Saving the Show
1. To save the presentation as a PowerPoint Show only, click on the Office
Button and then click on Save As from the menu.
2. When the Save As dialog box opens, make sure that the Save in: area is
pointing to the correct location where you would like to save the file. If it is
not click on the down arrow (�) at the end and select the correct location from the drop down menu.
3. At the bottom of the dialog box, in the File name: text entry box, the title Action Button Presentation should already be filled in as the name for
this file.
4. Below that area, click on the down arrow (�) at the end of the Save as type: text entry area and select PowerPoint Show from the drop down menu. You
may have to use the accompanying scroll bar to find it on the menu.
5. Click on the Save button. Saving a file as this type will cause the show to
begin when you open the file rather than the file opening into the work
area. This is useful for sending presentations to others for them to view,
but they aren’t expected to work on the presentation.
Part Five: Viewing the Show
1. Click on the Slide Sorter View button in the lower right corner.
2. Review your slides and make sure you are satisfied with them.
3. Now view your show by clicking on the first slide and then clicking on the
slide show shortcut command at the bottom right hand side of the screen.
4. Sit back and enjoy the show. Remember to click once with the left mouse
button on the action buttons to activate them. Click once with the right
mouse button to bring up the menu to select the previous slide, if needed.
Your slides should look something like the pictures attached.
5. Click on the X button in the upper right corner to close the file and the
PowerPoint program when finished.
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PC Center at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh www.carnegielibrary.org/locations/pccenter
412-578-2561 – Main Library 412-363-6105 – East Liberty
6/24/2008