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Hyperlinks within file not working

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shcarver

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Nov 12, 2009, 10:21:01 AM11/12/09
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In Powerpoint 2007, I've set up a "Jeopardy Game like board". There's 36
areas on the first screen each having an individual hyperlink to a different
slide (question) in the presentation. On each question slide I have an
Action button set up to hyperlink back to the first screen (the main game
board). The hyperlinks do not contain commas or anything strange. The
hyperlinks randomly break always defaulting to Slide 2.

John Wilson

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Nov 12, 2009, 10:55:03 AM11/12/09
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Does slide 1 have "Transition On Click" ticked?
Do you see a hand cursor when you hover over the failing link?
--
john ATSIGN PPTAlchemy.co.uk

Free PPT Hints, Tips and Tutorials
http://www.pptalchemy.co.uk/powerpoint_hints_and_tips_tutorials.html

Steve Rindsberg

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Nov 12, 2009, 11:46:26 AM11/12/09
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In article <ABD1530B-D024-4FFC...@microsoft.com>, Shcarver
wrote:

There's a limit to the amount of storage PPT allocates to links.

Lots of links can eat up the available storage.

Links to other slides include the slide title; if your slides have very long
titles, you'll use up the available storage more quickly than if your slides
have short titles.

You can get around that one by doing this:

Select and Ctrl+Drag the slide title to create a COPY of the title.

Drag the actual title off the slide and change its text to something
short'n'sweet: Slide 1 for example.

Move the copy of the title back to where the original title was.

Save your presentation once, fix any broken links, then save again.

Better?

Also: Document Properties and links share the same storage area. Check your
custom document properties; if lots of them are in use, that might be the
problem. Some add-ins use properties to store information, which can interfere
with your links.

==============================
PPT Frequently Asked Questions
http://www.pptfaq.com/

PPTools add-ins for PowerPoint
http://www.pptools.com/


Kevin Dufendach

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Nov 12, 2009, 3:52:00 PM11/12/09
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You might also be able to include your links back to the "board" slide
on the "Master" slide ([View] --> [Master] --> [Slide Master]). That
way, the link would show up on each slide and you wouldn't have to
rewrite it all the time.

Hope that helps,
Kevin

--
PowerPoint Jeopardy - http://sites.google.com/site/dufmedical/jeopardy/
Computer Tips - http://dufscomputertips.wordpress.com/

John Wilson

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Nov 13, 2009, 3:53:02 AM11/13/09
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I doubt if you are really hitting the link limit. If you are saving in 2007
format you won't be, if you are downsaving you still seem well below the
limit though as Steve says it's not a straightforward calculation.

How did you make the text on the "buttons"? If you added a text box over the
shape this is maybe your problem!
--
john ATSIGN PPTAlchemy.co.uk

Roberts@discussions.microsoft.com Terry Roberts

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Nov 28, 2009, 12:29:01 PM11/28/09
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So what's the solution?

I have a very similar problem as shcarver. I'm using empty textboxes as the
links. Mostly one per slide going to the next slide, but some slides have 2
links so there's some branching. Slide names are typically 2 short words,
around 10 characters. Everything worked fine until I got to about 50 slides.
Then suddenly all the links quit working. The cursor no longer turns into a
hand when over the textboxes, and clicking does nothing.

I've tried splitting the file into 2 decks, one with 40 slides and one with
20. (I added additional slides after the links broke to complete my app.)
No go. Not even if I reboot in order to make sure that PowerPoint is
starting out fresh.

The truly puzzling thing is that if I open an old, early saved copy that
only has 20 slides and that used to work, even it no longer works. Not even
right after a reboot.

The only thing that does work is running the deck on PowerPoint 2003.
Unfortunately, the machines I need to run this on all have 2007. None of
them work with this deck -- I've tried 3 machines.

Any hints for getting this deck working again in PowerPoint 2007?

Many thanks!
-Terry

Steve Rindsberg

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Nov 28, 2009, 4:49:25 PM11/28/09
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In article <00407863-DE81-4579...@microsoft.com>, Terry Roberts
wrote:

> So what's the solution?
>
> I have a very similar problem as shcarver. I'm using empty textboxes as the
> links.

Not a very good plan, I suspect.

Add a text box to a PPT 2007 slide but type no text into it (ie, make an empty
textbox). Select off the text box, then try to reselect it. Here, I can't. PPT
has deleted it.

That might be the root of the problem, since you say it works in 2003 but not 2007.

Try adding just a space to the text box, or better yet, use a rectangle instead (no
outline, fill set to 99% transparent). That should be more reliable.


> Mostly one per slide going to the next slide, but some slides have 2
> links so there's some branching. Slide names are typically 2 short words,
> around 10 characters.

Slide names aren't relevant; it's the length of the text in the slide title on the
slide you've linked to that matters.

Terry Roberts

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Nov 28, 2009, 11:28:01 PM11/28/09
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"Steve Rindsberg" wrote:
> better yet, use a rectangle instead (no
> outline, fill set to 99% transparent). That should be more reliable.

Huge thanks to Steve!

I was skeptical at first because my empty textboxes had worked for the first
50 slides. (I stretch them manually so they have nonzero size; they don't
disappear even without text in them.) But the 99% transparent rectangles
worked in my file when the textboxes were no longer working.

It took a couple hours to replace all the dang things, but it's done and the
whole deck now works in Ppt 2007.

Many, many thanks!
-Terry

Steve Rindsberg

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Nov 29, 2009, 12:27:53 PM11/29/09
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In article <AB365ADD-5774-4EC5...@microsoft.com>, Terry Roberts
wrote:

Cool ! And thanks for letting us know it worked.

FWIW, I noticed something interesting:

If you add a blank text box in PPT 2003 (ie, click, drag with the textbox tool
but don't add any text) PPT deletes it automatically.

If you click, drag, add some text then delete the text, the text box doesn't
get deleted.

Interesting, yes. Useful? Naaahhhh.....

Eva_S

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Jan 12, 2010, 8:26:01 AM1/12/10
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I have a similar problem - except that I have 117 slides (all organizational
charts) with one or two hyperlinks/slide + approx 25 links on the template
page.

I have boxes with text hyperlinked. It did not help to remove a bunch on the
slides in general. It did not help to remove the link from the textbox and
then place a rectangle (99% invisible) and try linking it. I can already tell
if it will work or not since when I am in the hyperlink dialogue box the
slide I try to link to gets no thumbnail preview - if I however try to link
to a slide with a preview it works!
That would sort of indicate that the links memory is not full.

However I have removed those slides and recreated the slides but I still
can't link to them. Irritating since this is the last links I have to fix and
the customer is urgently waiting for this presentation.

David Marcovitz

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Jan 12, 2010, 8:58:51 AM1/12/10
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On 1/12/10 8:26 AM, in article
57C9B5D6-DC13-4FAF...@microsoft.com, "Eva_S"
<Ev...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

You have the comma problem. The slide titles you are trying to link to have
commas in them. PowerPoint can't handle that (I won't make a derisive
comment about why this problem hasn't been resolved since being introduced
in PowerPoint 97). Remove the commas from the slide titles and then link
again. If you really want the commas there, there are ways to bring them
back (some users have reported that simply putting the commas back after
linking will work; alternatively, you can move the real slide title without
the commas off the viewable portion of the slide and put a "fake" title in
its place).
--David

--
David M. Marcovitz
Author of _Powerful PowerPoint for Educators_
http://www.PowerfulPowerPoint.com/
Microsoft PowerPoint MVP
Associate Professor, Loyola University Maryland


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