Using Invisible Buttons on a Slide Show

To make a show using invisible buttons, first find a good picture that has elements that you want to feature in your PowerPoint show. I selected a picture that has nine different vegetables. Over each vegetable picture I plan to place action buttons that will direct the viewer to a slide about that vegetable. Next I will make the buttons invisible. The picture I used is shown below:

• Insert the picture you plan to use and resize it so the picture covers most, or all, of the slide. At this time, you should have in mind how many other slides you want these invisible buttons to point to. Using the New Slide button, add enough slides for the show. In the picture above there are nine vegetables, so I added nine more slides.
• One at a time, put something in the title area of each slide to identify the content of the slide. You will need this to link your action buttons to the slides. When you have finished, go back to slide one and identify where you want the first invisible button to be located.
• Select the custom slide from the AutoShapes menu and then drag it out on top of the slide as shown below:

• Select Hyperlink to, then select slide from the drop-down menu:

• This will open the Hyperlink dialog box. Notice that the titles of each slide show in the drop down list. Select the slide that matches the part of your picture you started with. You should see a button completely covering the object you started with. It may not be light blue like the buttons in module, but they will not be invisible.

• Click the OK button.
• To make your button invisible, right click on the button. From the menu that pops up select Format Auto Shape.
• If the Colors and Lines tab is not selected, click on that tab. In the Color block you will see the color of your button. Click on that color block and select No Fill. In the Line section of this menu, if the Color box has anything other than No Fill selected, repeat the process. Both Fill color and Line color must be set at No Fill to make a button invisible.

• Repeat this process until all parts of the image you plan to use are covered by invisible buttons.
• On each of the other slides you should place a button to allow someone to return to the picture. If your picture is on slide one, the button with a picture of a house is set to return viewers to the first slide. Draw one. Move it to the place on the slide where you want it to be on all others. Select the button. Copy the button. Move to a slide that does not have the Home button and Paste. The button is placed exactly where the other Home button was placed.
• One problem with using Action Buttons in this manner is that they are basically square, or rectangular. No other shape is available. However, you can turn the button to a different orientation with the green circle at the top of the button.

• Click on the green circle, leave your mouse button depressed and drag the button around until the button shape more nearly covers the object on your picture.