How to Link Slides in Google Slides

This article explains how to link to another slide from within a Google Slides presentation. Instructions for both the desktop website and the mobile app are included.

How to Link to a Slide in Google Slides

It's as easy as choosing the source object and the destination slide, but the directions are a little different between the website and app.

Link Slides From the Website

Use the Insert menu to find the hyperlink option.

1. Highlight the text or select the object/image for which you want to create a hyperlink.

   Be careful what you're choosing here. If you have text on top of a large object, you might accidentally choose the object when you really want to add a link to the text.

2. Go to Insert > Link, or press Ctrl+K (Windows) or Command+K (Mac).

3. Select the slide you want to link to. If you have trouble finding it, choose Slides in this presentation to view only those slides.

Link Slides From the App

Tap-and-hold the item to see the hyperlink option.

1. Select the object or press-and-hold the text to highlight it (double-tap the text to enter edit mode).

2. Tap Insert link. If you don't see this option, you either can't add a hyperlink to that specific object, or it's in the overflow menu (the three dots).

3. Search for and then select the slide you want to link to. All the slides in your presentation are listed in the Slides menu.

4. Tap the checkmark at the top right to save the link, and then be sure to also select the checkmark at the top left of the next screen to save the changes you made to the slide.

Editing Hyperlinks in Google Slides

At any time, you can change or remove the hyperlinks you've made.

Select the hyperlink once for a small menu to pop up. Use the second link (called Edit link in the app) to change which slide should appear when it's clicked, or use the third link (Remove link in the app) to completely delete that hyperlink.

You can also change the formatting of the link to adjust the color or remove the hyperlink's underline. You might do this to make the text flow better with the slide's overall theme, so it blends in and looks like other items in the slideshow, instead of an obvious link.

To do that, highlight the text, and then use the formatting menu to make any changes you want. In the example below with the letter C, we've removed the underline and restored the black text color so it looks more like the text from the other slides. The link still works despite the formatting changes.

How to Use the Hyperlink During a Presentation

When you want to proceed to the next slide in a presentation, it's typical to click somewhere on the slide. However, if you have a specific slide you want to advance to—one you've already made a hyperlink for—you have to make sure to select that link when it comes time to access the slide you want to present.

Why Internal Hyperlinks Are Useful

A presentation naturally flows from the first slide to the second one, and then the third, and so on. If there are things you want to address earlier than they'd be presented during the natural flow of the slideshow, you can jump to them ahead of time through hyperlinks. It's essentially a shortcut to wherever you want to go next.

For example, maybe you have a citations slide at the very end of the presentation that provides sources for the data you're discussing. Creating a hyperlink provides an easy way to link to that slide from all your slides so you don't have to click through potentially dozens of slides just to reach the one you want to present right now, nor do you need to squeeze all the citations in each slide that needs them. If you care to show those sources during the presentation, they're now just a click away.

Another handy use for a hyperlink is to link back to the first slide from every other slide, maybe because you're using a table of contents to outline the slideshow. Linked slides are also convenient if you're building a walkthrough, such as a software tutorial, because specific objects you've hyperlinked can then go directly to whatever slide provides details about that item.