I want to use hyperlinks in a presentation, but whenever I return to a previous slide via hyperlink, it shows the slide as I left it. I want to return to the slide via the hyperlink and start the slide over from the beginning not return to where I left off. Is there a way to do that?

Try adding a blank slide just before the slide you are starting at. Give it a zero second auto transition and make the return hyperlink to THIS slide.

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Microsoft PowerPoint MVP 2007-2023
Free Advanced PowerPoint Tips and Tutorials

That seemed like a great idea, but somehow if I do that, the hyperlink goes back to a completely different slide, even though I checked and double checked that I had hyperlinked to the right slide (also I'm using different hyperlinks from that slide and when I click a different one and then click back, I get yet to another different slide, seemingly random).

I have no idea why that is or how I could fix the problem?

Sound like you are doing something wrong. Are you able to post a simple example somewhere?

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Microsoft PowerPoint MVP 2007-2023
Free Advanced PowerPoint Tips and Tutorials

Here is an example. You can click on different objects on the image of the first slide and it brings you to different slides, but if you click the hyperlink to go back, you don't get to the first slide, but just to pretty much any other slide.

http://www.mediafire.com/view/vbzgxp...erlinks_2.pptx

That's because

A. The added first slide is not blank
B. The click to go back hyperlinks are set to go everywhere except slide 1!

Have a look at this corrected version (give it a while to be uploaded)

http://www.pptalchemy.co.uk/Downloads/hyperlinks.pptx

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Microsoft PowerPoint MVP 2007-2023
Free Advanced PowerPoint Tips and Tutorials

Didn't know it had to be a blank slide (I know, you said "blank slide", but I wanted to avoid the brief flicker in between slides that occurs if I add a blank one).
No idea why the hyperlinks would have been set to go everywhere but slide 1, though, because I set them the same way I always do and it usually works. But once you told me about it, I just completely deleted the hyperlinks and set them again.
And now your trick with the blank slide works like a charm. Thank you so much for helping me out!

Doesn't need to be a blank slide but you do need to remove all animations (including music)

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Microsoft PowerPoint MVP 2007-2023
Free Advanced PowerPoint Tips and Tutorials

Thanks for the info! That means I can avoid the flicker after all.