Do hyperlinks work in a Keynote HTML export?
Mostly, yes. Keynote lets you link an object or text to a webpage, an email address, a phone number, another slide or the end of the show (Control-click → Add Link). The HTML export stores each slide's links with their clickable areas, and Apple's web player follows them. Some links still go dead after export; the usual causes and the fix are below.
Why some links stop working
An Apple Community thread on exactly this problem collected these causes. They are community advice, not Apple documentation, but they match what tends to break:
- The linked object sits on the master slide (layout) rather than on the slide itself.
- The object is very close to the edge of the slide.
- The object is part of a group, or uses transparency.
- The shape was built with Unite, Intersect, Subtract or Exclude.
The fix
Put the link on a plain text box or a simple shape placed on the slide itself, not on the layout, and export again. If the link has to sit on a grouped graphic, ungroup it or link a caption beside it instead.
On phones
Apple's player was built for a mouse, and links can be hard to hit with a finger. Linkdeck adds a small script to the export that reads each slide's links and opens web links on a tap, in a new tab, so the deck stays where the viewer left it.
Test before you send
- Open index.html from the export folder in Safari and click every link.
- Upload the folder, open the link on your phone and tap every link again.
- Slide-to-slide links: check them on a phone too, especially in clickable prototypes.
Questions
Do web links open in a new tab?
On phones, Linkdeck opens them in a new tab so the deck stays open behind. On a desktop browser, Apple's player handles the click.
Do links work in the PDF export instead?
Web links generally survive in a PDF and are clickable. The PDF loses builds, transitions, video and sound, so it fixes the links by flattening everything else.
Can I link to a specific slide of a Linkdeck deck?
Not today. A Linkdeck link always opens at the first slide. Links between slides inside the deck are handled by Apple's player.
Upload the export and tap every link on your phone
Drop the folder, open the link, test. The first deck is free.
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