create a drop

8/4/2019 Create a Drop

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Create a drop-down menu

Youre familiar with drop-down menus in software applications

and on websites. You can create a drop-down menu in PowerPoint,

too. The main menu button is used as a trigger, so that when you

click it, the animation starts. If you want the dropped-down menu

to disappear for the next use, the method is a little more complex.

Look at a drop-down menu in PowerPoint 2003 or other program.

Youll notice that the drop-down menu just appears under the

menu name. If theres some animation involved, its too fast to see.

However, I liked the effect of a wipe down animation, so thatswhat I used. You can use the Appear animation instead.

1. Insert an AutoShape/Shape. Add some appropriate text,

such as Main Menu.

2. Then create your submenu items on AutoShapes/Shapes,

just below the Main Menu button . Add text for the topics that

you want to cover.

3. Select all of the submenu buttons and group them, by

choosing Draw on the Drawing toolbar>Group. (In 2007, press

Ctrl+G to group the selected buttons.) You do this so that all of

the buttons drop down at the same time.

all of the buttons drop down at the same time

4. Choose Slide Show> Custom Animation. (In 2007, choose

Animations tab> Animations group> Custom Animation.)

5. Select the grouped submenu buttons, and choose Add

Effect> Entrance> Wipe. Set the Direction to From Top. Set the

Speed to Very Fast.

6. You want the menu to wipe down when you click the Main

Menu. In the Custom Animation task pane, click the submenus

drop-down arrow and choose Timing.

7. ClickTriggers, then choose Start Effect on Click Of. From

the drop-down list, choose the Main Menu object. Click OK.

8. Its nice if the submenu buttons disappear so that the next

time you display the menu slide, you again have to click the Main

Menu button to drop them down. Select the grouped submenu

buttons, and choose Add Effect> Exit> Disappear in the

Custom Animation task pane. The new exit animation (shown

with a red star) should appear above the trigger; if not, drag it up.

the new exit animation

If you now create links on the other slides to go back to this slide,

youll find that the submenu doesnt disappear. It may disappearonce, but try again, and the Disappear animation wont work any

more! thats because PowerPoint disables certain features when aslide is displayed more than once. The next two steps fix this

problem.


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9. To make sure that the submenu disappears each time, click

the Main Menu Slide in the left Slides pane and press Ctrl+D to

duplicate that slide. Then select the first of the two identical slides.

On that first slide, delete the submenu so that only the Main Menu

button remains.

10. With that first slide still selected, choose Slide Show>

Slide Transition. (In 2007, choose the Animations tab.)Uncheck the On Mouse Click check box and check the

Automatically After check box, which should say 00:00.

11. Select the topmost of the submenu AutoShapes. Because

the submenus are grouped, this selects all of them. Now click the

edge of the top submenu shape. Choose Insert> Hyperlink. (In

2007, choose Insert tab> Links group> Hyperlink.) In the

Hyperlink dialog box, choose Place in this Document, and choose

the slide that the topmost submenu should link to. Do the same for

the other submenu AutoShapes.

12. Display the first slide that your first submenu button links

to. Add an AutoShape and choose Insert> Hyperlink. (In 2007,

choose Insert tab> Links group> Hyperlink.) In the Hyperlink

dialog box, choose Place in this Document, and choose the first of

the two duplicate slides. This will ensure that the Disappear

animation always works. No one will notice that youre going to a

dummy first slide because the slide timing moves youimmediately to the next slide which is your real menu slide. (If

you dont want the submenu to disappear, just link to the menuslide.)

13. Copy your hyperlinked button onto the other slides that

youre linking to. These buttons get you back to the Main Menu.

Heres how the presentation looks:


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