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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