# Question about Microsoft PowerPoint and hyperlinks **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 20, 2012, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-microsoft-powerpoint-and-hyperlinks/641613 "2012-11-20T14:03:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-microsoft-powerpoint-and-hyperlinks/641613/1 "2012-11-20T14:03:20Z")
Calling all Microsoft experts! I am trying to create a hyperlink in a Microsoft PowerPoint 2007 file. The hyperlink address has the following in the URL: **.show&map=GSC%26S%2FGlobal** I put this into the Address field, click OK, and go to slide show. The link looks fine and works. Then I save the file, and PowerPoint decides to reformat the link. When I open the file again, it has reformatted this section to: **.show&map=GSC&S/Global** Now the link doesn’t work. Any ideas on how I can tell PowerPoint to stop formatting the link in this way? ---
**Author:** ![yoyodyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a9a28c/32.png) [@yoyodyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yoyodyne)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-microsoft-powerpoint-and-hyperlinks/641613/2 "2012-11-21T14:28:16Z")
Try unchecking everything under PowerPoint Options, Proofing, AutoCorrect Options, AutoFormat As You Type. ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-microsoft-powerpoint-and-hyperlinks/641613/3 "2012-11-21T15:18:44Z")
Oh, I want to cry now. I did as you suggested and turn all those options off. Re-did the link, previewed it in slide show and all was well. Clicked Save, previewed in slide show again and all was well. I checked the file back in to SharePoint, opened it from SharePoint, and the bloody link has reformatted itself! ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-microsoft-powerpoint-and-hyperlinks/641613/4 "2012-11-21T15:45:25Z")
> [@sandra\_nz](#): > > Oh, I want to cry now. Then SharePoint has done its job. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-microsoft-powerpoint-and-hyperlinks/641613/5 "2012-11-21T15:48:39Z")
Can you change the hyperlink so that it doesn’t use %26 and %2F? ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-microsoft-powerpoint-and-hyperlinks/641613/6 "2012-11-21T17:51:56Z")
No, it’s some web-based software owned by a different group and I am just trying to link to it from a guidance document for my team. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Roland\_Orzabal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@Roland\_Orzabal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roland_Orzabal)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-microsoft-powerpoint-and-hyperlinks/641613/7 "2012-11-21T18:53:34Z")
So it’s rendering the percent encodings? Blarf. You could try changing the link to: .show&map=GSC%2526S%252FGlobal %25 is the percent-encoding for the percent sign, so hopefully this will render back to the original link. ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-microsoft-powerpoint-and-hyperlinks/641613/8 "2012-11-21T19:46:36Z")
The correct link has the percent encodings. When I save the file and check it back in to SharePoint, it changes them to & and /. And then the link won’t work. ---
**Author:** ![Roland\_Orzabal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@Roland\_Orzabal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roland_Orzabal)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-microsoft-powerpoint-and-hyperlinks/641613/9 "2012-11-21T20:17:16Z")
Yeah, that’s what I mean by rendering the percent encodings. It’s changing “%26” to "&\* and “%2F” to “/”. I don’t know any way to get it to stop doing that. But, knowing it’s going to do that, you can hack in a workaround. If you change the link that you enter to this: .show&map=GSC\*\*%25 **26S** %25\*\*2FGlobal …it should change the “%25” in the link to “%”, without changing the “26” or “2F”, resulting in the final displayed link being correct. It’ll be wrong in (your copy of) the original file, of course, but it sounds like your main concern is making sure the link displays correctly to the end user. ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-microsoft-powerpoint-and-hyperlinks/641613/10 "2012-11-21T21:45:09Z")
Oooh…gotcha. I’ll give that a go at work tomorrow, cheers! ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2012, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-microsoft-powerpoint-and-hyperlinks/641613/11 "2012-11-22T11:50:38Z")
I’m very very close, Roland. Have pm’d you the full link to get a bit more help. Thanks!