Hyperlinks and Click Actions

Add interactive links and navigation actions to text runs. Podium supports URL hyperlinks, email links, tooltips, and slide navigation actions that work during a slideshow.

slide = Podium.add_text_box(slide, [
  [{"Visit our website", color: "0563C1", underline: true,
    hyperlink: "https://example.com"}]
], x: {1, :inches}, y: {1, :inches},
   width: {6, :inches}, height: {0.5, :inches})

URL Hyperlinks

Add a hyperlink to any text run with the :hyperlink option. Pass a URL string to create a standard web link:

slide = Podium.add_text_box(slide, [
  [
    {"Read the full report: ", font_size: 16},
    {"Q4 Analysis", font_size: 16, color: "0563C1", underline: true,
     hyperlink: "https://reports.example.com/q4-2025"}
  ]
], x: {1, :inches}, y: {1, :inches},
   width: {10, :inches}, height: {0.6, :inches})

The hyperlink activates when the viewer clicks the text during a slideshow. PowerPoint does not auto-style hyperlinks -- you control the color and underline through run formatting options.

Email Links

Pass a mailto: URL to create an email link:

slide = Podium.add_text_box(slide, [
  [
    {"Contact us: ", font_size: 16},
    {"support@acme.example.com", font_size: 16, color: "0563C1", underline: true,
     hyperlink: "mailto:support@acme.example.com"}
  ]
], x: {1, :inches}, y: {1, :inches},
   width: {8, :inches}, height: {0.6, :inches})

Hyperlinks with Tooltips

Pass a keyword list with :url and :tooltip to show a tooltip on hover:

slide = Podium.add_text_box(slide, [
  [{"example.com", color: "0563C1", underline: true,
    hyperlink: [url: "https://example.com", tooltip: "Visit Example.com"]}]
], x: {1, :inches}, y: {1, :inches},
   width: {4, :inches}, height: {0.5, :inches})

The tooltip appears when the viewer hovers over the link text in the slideshow.

Slide Navigation Actions

Navigate between slides during a slideshow using action atoms. These create internal PowerPoint actions that don't require external relationships.

# Navigate to the next slide
{"Next", hyperlink: :next_slide}

# Navigate to the previous slide
{"Back", hyperlink: :previous_slide}

# Jump to the first slide
{"Start", hyperlink: :first_slide}

# Jump to the last slide
{"End", hyperlink: :last_slide}

# End the slideshow
{"Exit", hyperlink: :end_show}

Navigation Example

prs = Podium.new()

slide1 =
  Podium.Slide.new()
  |> Podium.add_text_box(
    [[{"Next Slide -->", bold: true, hyperlink: :next_slide}]],
    x: {1, :inches}, y: {1, :inches},
    width: {3, :inches}, height: {0.5, :inches})
  |> Podium.add_text_box(
    [[{"End Show", bold: true, color: "CC0000", hyperlink: :end_show}]],
    x: {5, :inches}, y: {1, :inches},
    width: {3, :inches}, height: {0.5, :inches})

slide2 =
  Podium.Slide.new()
  |> Podium.add_text_box(
    [[{"<-- Previous", bold: true, hyperlink: :previous_slide}]],
    x: {1, :inches}, y: {1, :inches},
    width: {3, :inches}, height: {0.5, :inches})

prs =
  prs
  |> Podium.add_slide(slide1)
  |> Podium.add_slide(slide2)

Jumping to a Specific Slide

Link to a specific slide by passing a {:slide, slide_struct} tuple. Use the slide struct returned by Podium.Slide.new/0:

prs = Podium.new()
intro_slide = Podium.Slide.new()
data_slide = Podium.Slide.new()

nav_slide =
  Podium.Slide.new()
  |> Podium.add_text_box([
    [{"Go to Introduction", color: "0563C1", underline: true,
      hyperlink: {:slide, intro_slide}}],
    [{"Go to Data Analysis", color: "0563C1", underline: true,
      hyperlink: {:slide, data_slide}}]
  ], x: {1, :inches}, y: {1, :inches},
     width: {6, :inches}, height: {1, :inches})

prs =
  prs
  |> Podium.add_slide(intro_slide)
  |> Podium.add_slide(data_slide)
  |> Podium.add_slide(nav_slide)

Podium creates an internal slide-to-slide relationship in the PPTX package. The link activates during the slideshow and jumps directly to the target slide.

Hyperlinks in Auto Shapes

You can create interactive buttons by combining hyperlinks with auto shapes. Add the hyperlink on a text run inside the shape's :text option:

slide = Podium.add_auto_shape(slide, :rounded_rectangle,
  x: {1, :inches}, y: {2, :inches},
  width: {3, :inches}, height: {0.8, :inches},
  fill: "4472C4",
  text: [{[{"Next Section", bold: true, color: "FFFFFF",
            hyperlink: :next_slide}], alignment: :center}])

This creates a blue rounded rectangle that acts as a navigation button.

Hyperlinks in Placeholders

Hyperlinks also work inside placeholder text:

slide =
  Podium.Slide.new(:title_content)
  |> Podium.set_placeholder(:content, [
    [{"Click here for details", color: "0563C1", underline: true,
      hyperlink: "https://reports.example.com"}]
  ])

Where Hyperlinks Work

Hyperlinks are a run-level feature. They work anywhere you can provide a text run with formatting options.

Table of Contents Example

Combine slide jumps to build a clickable table of contents:

prs = Podium.new()
finance_slide = Podium.Slide.new()
ops_slide = Podium.Slide.new()
summary_slide = Podium.Slide.new()

toc_slide =
  Podium.Slide.new()
  |> Podium.add_text_box(
    [{[{"Table of Contents", bold: true, font_size: 28}], alignment: :center}],
    x: {2, :inches}, y: {0.5, :inches},
    width: {9, :inches}, height: {0.8, :inches})
  |> Podium.add_text_box([
    [{"1. Financial Results", font_size: 18, color: "0563C1",
      underline: true, hyperlink: {:slide, finance_slide}}],
    [{"2. Operations Update", font_size: 18, color: "0563C1",
      underline: true, hyperlink: {:slide, ops_slide}}],
    [{"3. Summary", font_size: 18, color: "0563C1",
      underline: true, hyperlink: {:slide, summary_slide}}]
  ], x: {2, :inches}, y: {1.8, :inches},
     width: {9, :inches}, height: {3, :inches})

prs =
  prs
  |> Podium.add_slide(toc_slide)
  |> Podium.add_slide(finance_slide)
  |> Podium.add_slide(ops_slide)
  |> Podium.add_slide(summary_slide)

Each line jumps directly to the corresponding slide during the slideshow.

With hyperlinks and navigation, your presentations become interactive. For reusable patterns that keep styling consistent across slides, see Styling Patterns.