These topics have been covered so far:

Part 1 – From the start of the presentation to standard help functions

• Using shortcuts before and during the presentation
• The help menu can be accessed with the F1 key.
• Notes on the "hidden" dialog menu and the context menu
• Switch programs during the presentation
• Working correctly with hyperlinks
• Use interactive buttons

In this article:

Part 2 – Creating your own navigation menu and a break slide

• Create your own navigation menus
• Effective use of the slide master in the navigation menu
• Displaying a "pause image" at any time

The next posts:

Part 3 – Orientation for the speaker and the audience

• Incorporation of section slides to orient the audience.
• Keep your agenda “always in sight”
• Do you work with two monitors?

Part 4 – Presenter View and other features of PowerPoint 2013/16

• Using the presenter view in PPT 2013/16
• What's new or different in the new versions?
• More tips & tricks

7) Create your own navigation menus

In the first part of this blog series on navigation, you learned how to use buttons and hyperlinks. With this knowledge, you can now design your own navigation menus from scratch.

Depending on the anticipated steps or transitions to other applications you plan to perform, you should create a concrete plan in PowerPoint before you begin the actual setup, outlining which buttons you will need. These considerations are crucial, as the number (and content) of the buttons determine the overall size. This also raises the question: Where and in what configuration should the buttons be placed?

Assume you need the following functions:

• Go back one slide (in arrow shape)
• One slide further (also in arrow shape)
• Link to the second slide of the presentation (e.g., the agenda)
• Link to a slide containing a specific graphic
• Link to a Word file
• Link to the PresentationLoad website

First, build all the forms with the corresponding links – and then the first strategic decisions are required: Should you use only graphics, only text, or a mix of formats? Should all the buttons be the same size? This question is difficult to answer generally, as it involves different types of content.

A) The shapes of two arrows serve as buttons for navigating forward and backward.
B) Here, the grey icons were designed from individual shapes and grouped with the frame as an image.
C) A hard copy of the original graphic (which one wants to access later) was reduced in size and then also grouped with the frame.
D) Similarly, a hard copy of the Word text was used here.
E) In this example, a graphic excerpt from the website to be linked was used.

Questions regarding colors, fillings, and design also need to be coordinated.

Text buttons are recommended if third parties (people not involved in creating the presentation) will be using the presentation. This way, the button's label directly points to the hyperlink.

Next, you need to consider where and in what form your navigation menu should appear on the slide. This may determine the final arrangement and size of the buttons themselves.

Once you've decided on the final shape, group all the elements. You can then move, copy, and edit this group much more easily.

In the following example, there is enough space at the bottom of the slide to place the buttons in a row. To illustrate the visual effect, both text and symbol buttons are included.

However, if you've already set up other placeholders at the bottom, such as file name, presenter's name, and page number, then space becomes limited. This is especially true if there are also corporate design elements, a company logo, or similar items there. Using a navigation menu ultimately reduces the available space for the actual slide content.

Technically, the side margins are also available, but firstly, there's usually no space on the sides, and secondly, navigation elements placed there can confuse the viewer, since the content is actually displayed in the center. Rectangles and other landscape formats are particularly unsuitable, as they could potentially collide with content elements.

To solve the problem, it is usually best to greatly reduce the size of the shapes, abbreviate texts, and simplify graphics.

A) Furthermore, you can place the buttons very close together and possibly add colored fills to make them more easily recognizable.
B) Sometimes it is useful to rearrange the buttons.
C) Another option is to place your navigation menu at the top. Since these areas are often quite colorful, clearly labeling the buttons is advisable.

To circumvent this space problem, there is a good solution using a trigger.

A) Place your navigation menu (e.g., on the right) outside the slide. Then add an animation path to the left for this group.
B) On the slide, place a rectangle in a corner. Then select the animation path by clicking directly on the dashed line.
C) Now open the Animations menu in the ribbon. Select > Trigger > On Click > Rectangle… This means that the animation will only run when you click on the rectangle in the corner – only when needed. Then select the rectangle and choose > No Border and > 100% Transparency. This way, the rectangle won't be visible. If you've created the rectangle large enough, you can easily click on the correct area, and the navigation menu will appear. You can then select one of the buttons with the hyperlinks.

This trick can be very useful in two ways: Firstly, there are situations where you want to display a graphic or photo, but don't want this element to appear in the printout. You can display it as described above and then make it disappear again with another hidden button.

On the other hand, as a presenter, you don't always know exactly which results will actually need to be presented to the audience. When presenting annual financial statements, you might be asked about figures from previous years. Prepare for this possibility by creating (only when needed) a group of buttons with links to the results (e.g., in various Excel spreadsheets) from previous years, instead of using the navigation menu.

8) Effective use of the slide master in the navigation menu

The navigation menus described under point 7) are primarily intended to be placed on individual slides.

It would be very time-consuming and ultimately also memory- and performance-intensive to insert your navigation menu on every slide. Instead, there's an interesting solution: Place your group containing the hyperlinks and the "invisible" rectangle for triggering the menu on the slide master, as the functions will then be consistently available throughout the slide!

To familiarize yourself with this option, you should first insert any shape into the slide master, then add a link and try it out several times in presentation mode.

However, there are also some complications to consider here that can affect the functioning of the hyperlinks:

A) The blue shape contains a link to the corresponding website. This shape is located ON the slide, so in presentation mode you can move the mouse pointer over the entire shape, whereupon the link address will be displayed and the connection will be established.
B) Here, the navigation menu group, with only the color changed, has been inserted on the slide master. However, it now partially obscures the placeholder for the content text (shown in gray). If you move the mouse pointer back and forth, you'll see that the pointer changes: In the left part of the shape, you only see the normal arrow, while in the right part, the mouse pointer changes to a hand. This means that if the shape on the slide master is covered by a placeholder (colored here for clarity) and/or another element on the slide, the action cannot be triggered!
C) The hidden rectangle on the slide master is located here, but it is not visible. Clicking in this area with the mouse will display the familiar navigation menu from the right.
D) The navigation menu with the animation path has now appeared, and you can use the links set up there. HOWEVER, only the freely accessible link shapes can be activated. You would need to adjust and shorten the length of the animation path so that all shapes are freely available.

Caution : A potential drawback of this approach is that your inserted navigation shapes will now appear on all slides linked to the corresponding master slide. Therefore, it is recommended to generate a new master slide and explicitly apply it to the slides where the navigation menu should be used.

9) Displaying a "pause image" at any time

This technique, described above, can be used in a variety of ways. A hidden button can, of course, also lead to a different application. As the presenter, you simply need to remember which "invisible" button on which slide triggers what.

For example, during longer lecture series or training sessions, a short break may be requested spontaneously. In this case, it is practical and visually appealing if you can easily and quickly display a break image (which could, for example, be animated in the form of a clock).

First, create your break slide. Then save it with a suitable name. If it consists of multiple slides or if animations are to repeat, save it as a PowerPoint slideshow (.ppsx file format).

Next, create an "invisible" shape on the slide master as shown in the previous instructions and link the shape to the file – that's it! This way, you can start the pause image at any time, no matter where you are in the presentation. Important : Always make sure you place the invisible shape on the correct slide in the slide master.

We hope you enjoy trying it out!