A tooltip in PowerPoint is a small, pop-up box that appears when the cursor hovers over an object or element on the slide. It provides additional information about the object or element, helping to enhance understanding without cluttering the slide with too much text. This feature is often used in interactive presentations or to provide further context to certain points.
To effectively use tooltips in your PowerPoint presentations, follow these steps:
- Create a Text Box: Click on the ‘Text Box’ button in the ‘Insert’ tab, then click anywhere on the slide to place the box. Enter the text you want to appear in the tooltip.
- Format the Text Box: Use the ‘Format’ tab under ‘Drawing Tools’ to change the appearance of the text box if needed. You can adjust the fill, outline, text color, size, and more to make it visually appealing.
- Add an Action: With the text box selected, go to the ‘Insert’ tab and click on ‘Action’. In the ‘Action Settings’ dialog box, select ‘Mouse Over’ tab. Choose ‘Hyperlink to’ and from the dropdown menu select ‘Other PowerPoint Presentation’. Browse and select your current presentation file, choose the current slide as the slide to display. Save and close the dialog box.
- Hide the Text Box: Lastly, to make sure your tooltip only appears when hovered over, you need to hide the text box. To do this, go to the ‘Animations’ tab and select ‘Animation Pane’. Click on the drop-down arrow next to the text box and select ‘Start With Previous’. Then, click on the ‘Timing’ option, under ‘Triggers’ select ‘Start effect on Mouse Over’ and then click ‘OK’.
These steps will create a tooltip that appears when the mouse hovers over the specific area. Remember, tooltips should be concise and informative. Too much information can be overwhelming, and too little may not provide enough context. Adjust the content as necessary to best fit your presentation.
