Hyperlink to a specific object on a Pp slide

[HankW]

Powerpoint SR-1 2000

I have been going around and around with Visio, Word and Pp.

I create a Visio process flow diagram, then inserted it as an object into a
Pp slide. NOW have create three separate Word doc files so I could insert
them as individual slides (objects) into Pp.

I than set borderless, transparent objects over areas I want to link.

How do I link a process box to a specific slide's/object? I want to click
on a process on the flow diagram and link to its definition on a specific
slide that has multiple definitions and go back to that process when its
definition is clicked.

Thanks,
HankW

 

[Sonia]

One way to handle it, since you can't link to an object, is to use screen tips.
See #16 at http://www.soniacoleman.com/Tutorials/PowerPoint/quicktricks.htm

 

[HankW]

Sonia,

I used the Pp screen tip you recommended. Is there a way to control the
length of time a "tip" is displayed? I found any lengthy description may
take some people a little longer then the timer allows.

Thanks,
HankW

 

[David M. Marcovitz]

I'm not sure I'm entirely clear about what you are doing, but if the
Screen Tips idea doesn't work, some simple VBA might do the trick. The
easiest thing to do is a simple message box. You could have a procedure
such as:

Sub DefineWidget()
MsgBox "A widget is a doohickey that munges thingermajigs."
End Sub

Tie this procedure to the object that it defines (or the transparent box
over the object). When the user clicks on the object, the definition
will pop up in a box with an OK button. The box won't go away until OK
is clicked. Repeat the above changing the names of the procedures and
the text in quotes.

You mentioned going to a different slide for the definition. This would
be a little more complicated but still possible. You could hide and show
objects on another slide and jump to that slide with VBA. Is any of this
what you are after?

--David

--
David M. Marcovitz
Director of Graduate Programs in Educational Technology
Loyola College in Maryland
Author of _Powerful PowerPoint for Educators_
http://www.loyola.edu/education/PowerfulPowerPoint/

 

[Sonia]

There is no timer. As long as the cursor is hovering over the object, the
screen tip will show. So I don't know what you are referring to.

 

[Sonia]

There does seem to be a time limit of 10 seconds for screen tips. I don't know
whether this can be controlled at the system level, but work arounds would
include keeping the text brief enough to be read in 10 seconds, or move the
mouse off the object and back on it to re-display the tip.

 

[John Langhans [MSFT]]

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[HankW]

David,

Thanks for the input. Yes, this is another solution to my problem. I have
tried and enhanced your "MsgBox" suggestion by using the othr parameters of
the procedure/function.

I'm interested in your other method of "hiding and showing " objects on
another slide. I had a table in Word with multiple rows(definitions). My
solution would get me the Word table on a selected bookmark from Pp but I had
to close Word to insure that I would go to the correct bookmark the next time
I selected an object in Pp. Otherwise, if Word were not closed I would
return to the previously selected bookmark. Also, when I look at the
selected bookmark, since it is one row of many, I could view the whole Word
table. Not a problem, but not very impressive or purposeful since I intended
to select a Pp object and view only its definition.

I hope this clarifies what I am trying to do and that you can suggest
another alternative.

Thanks,
HankW

 

[David M. Marcovitz]

If I understand you correctly, you are confusing bookmarks in PowerPoint
with bookmarks in Word. In PowerPoint, you can link to a PowerPoint
show, or you can link to a slide within the show. You can't link to a
place within a slide within a show. The slide itself is the bookmark.

What you can do if you want to see a particular shape on another slide is
make that shape visible (and possibly others invisible) and link to that
slide. This requires VBA. For example:

Sub Initialize()
ActivePresentation.Slides(15).Shapes(1).Visible = False
ActivePresentation.Slides(15).Shapes(2).Visible = False
ActivePresentation.Slides(15).Shapes(3).Visible = False
End Sub

Sub ShowDef1()
ActivePresentation.Slides(15).Shapes(1).Visible = True
ActivePresentation.SlideShowWindow.View.GotoSlide 15
End Sub

Initialize would be a procedure tied to a button early in your
presentation to hide shapes 1, 2, and 3 on slide 15 (the shapes on the
slide with the definitions, assuming you put those shapes on that slide).
ShowDef1 would make Shape 1 (presumably the first definition) visible and
go to slide 15. You could have similar ShowDef2 and ShowDef3 procedures,
just by changing the 1s to 2s and 3s.

This is the idea of how it would work. Is this useful?

--David

David M. Marcovitz
Director of Graduate Programs in Educational Technology
Loyola College in Maryland
Author of _Powerful PowerPoint for Educators_
http://www.loyola.edu/education/PowerfulPowerPoint/

 

[HankW]

David,

What I am learning may be helpful for future project work. I feel I've
turned a "Mole hill" into a Mountain". The original request of me was to
create a Visio flow diagram, which I did. I was then asked could I put this
into Pp, since most of our viewer would not have Visio or the Visio viewer.
I did that. Then I was asked is a connection could be made to a Word doc
definition when an object was click in Pp. It all went down hill from there.
It may have been better to start the whole project in Pp along with the
definitions, which is what I am converting all the info I have so far.

In your last reply, I understand the numbering of each slide BUT how is the
property of the individual objects on a slide determined or set, i.e.
Slides(2).SHAPES(?)?

Thanks,
HankW

 

[David M. Marcovitz]

Excellent question. I hate to simply tell you that pages 71-74 of my
book cover this, so I'll try to give you the brief version. Objects are
basically numbered in the order they are added to the slide, taking into
account the existing objects. So on a bulleted list slide, the title
area is object 1 and the text area is object 2. The next shape you add
is object 3, etc. This is problematic because if you delete a shape, all
the higher-numbered objects get shifted down.

It is probably better to name the objects because object names do not
change. If you go to my Web site, you can take the scripts in Example 8-
7 to find out the names of objects and set the names of objects. Use the
names in quotes in place of the number.

http://www.loyola.edu/education/PowerfulPowerPoint/

Good luck. Let me know if you have any more questions. While VBA does
open up a large can of worms, you will find that you can do almost
anything you want with it.

--David

--
David M. Marcovitz
Director of Graduate Programs in Educational Technology
Loyola College in Maryland
Author of _Powerful PowerPoint for Educators_
http://www.loyola.edu/education/PowerfulPowerPoint/

 

[HankW]

David,

I deciphered your reply after I downloaded the example and was puzzled until
I re-read "...take the script" of the procedures, of the slide.

I tested the procedures interactively and found and renamed some objects.
The final step, I hope, is the line:

ActivePresentation.SlideShowWindow.View.GotoSlide 15

in the "Sub ShowDef1()" procedure. I haven't got it to work. What exactly
is it trying to do? I tried rebuilding the line using the VBA editor and the
dropdown list variables, with out success. I even used ( ) around the
"index". With the edited line to fit my application, I get the following
error msg:

"Run-time error '-2147188160 (80048240)':"

"Presentation (unknown member): Invalid request. There is currently no
slide show view for this prsentation."

I have two slides, the first is the process flow boxes, the second will only
store four definitions, ( I will need to add additional slides). I intend to
click on a process box and make visible the correctly named definition box on
slide 2. I presume, the line in question, is to then make slide 2 appear
with the only visible definition. ".View" of "SlideShowWindow" seems to be
the problem??!!

Regards,
HankW

 

[HankW]

David,

I may have answered my prior question. I was running the "Sub ShowDef1()"
procedure interactively not in the "Slide Show". do you think this could be
the problem? Things seem to be working.

What I would like to do it have the "initializing" procedure, which makes
all the definitions "invisible", run when I start the slide show
automatically. I have place an "action button" on the first slide to run
this procedure.

I searched the forum for "auto" and "startup" without any success. Any
thoughts?

Thanks,
HankW

 

[David M. Marcovitz]

I'm glad you figured it out. Yes, the only procedures that I generally
use that work properly in Edit view are the ones for naming slides and
shapes. Everything else I do is for Slide Show view.

As far as having a procedure run when you start a slide show, this can be
done with an add-in (which would have to be installed on every machine
running the show), but what I do is to put a button on the first slide.
This button will do a number of things (I like it to ask for a name,
initialize all the stuff I want to initialize, and go to the next slide).
If the slide show is in Kiosk mode, users will have to press this button
to proceed so you are guaranteed that they will initialize everything.

--David

--
David M. Marcovitz
Director of Graduate Programs in Educational Technology
Loyola College in Maryland
Author of _Powerful PowerPoint for Educators_
http://www.loyola.edu/education/PowerfulPowerPoint/