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PowerPoint offers action buttons for going to the next slide, the previous slide, the first or last slide in a presentation, the last slide you viewed, or a specific slide. You can usually find this button in a corner of a slide, and they're especially useful in kiosk-style presentations. Figure 1 shows some action buttons and the dialog box where action buttons are born. Rather than click action buttons, you can tell PowerPoint to activate them when the mouse pointer moves over them.
Figure 1: Ready . . . set . . . action button!
Select the slide that needs action and follow these steps to adorn it with an action button:
1. Display the Action Buttons toolbar.
To do so, either choose Slide Show --> Action Buttons or click the AutoShapes button on the Drawing toolbar and choose Action Buttons.
2. Study the buttons carefully and click the one that best illustrates the action you want to take.
The pointer changes to a cross-hair cursor.
3. Draw the button on the slide.
To do so, drag the cross-hair cursor in a diagonal fashion. The Action Settings dialog box (see Figure 1) appears when you finish dragging.
4. Select the Mouse Over tab if you want to activate the button by moving the mouse pointer over it, not clicking it.
5. Select the Hyperlink To option button.
6. On the Hyperlink To drop-down menu, choose the action you want for the button.
7. Click OK.
Now, to make the button look right and adjust its size and position, consider the following:
- Choosing a different button: Sorry, the only way to choose a different button for an action is to start all over and redraw the button.
- Changing a button's action: Right-click the button and choose Edit Hyperlink. In the Action Settings dialog box, choose a new action.
- Changing an action button's appearance: Double-click the button or right-click it and choose Format AutoShape. You see the Format AutoShape dialog box. On the Colors and Lines tab, choose a color for the button and line for its border.
- Changing the button's size: Click the button to display its selection handles. Drag a corner handle — a white circle — to enlarge or shrink the button.
- Changing the button's position: Click the button to select it. Then drag the button elsewhere.
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