Write an interaction, and a rectangle becomes a button.
On a single rectangle, write a sentence that goes to the second scene when clicked. Choose and apply one recipe to make the sentence, then try the button right away in the preview.
Make a button that moves on when clicked
All you need is one blank project. If you don’t have one, see Create your first project first.
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Add one more scene
Click the + button in the title row of the Scenes list (top left). A new blank scene appears at the end of the list and opens. The button you make later will bring you to this scene.
Clicking the + button adds a blank scene at the end of the list and opens it. Video: Clicking the + button in the Scenes list title row adds another blank scene, New Scene, at the end of the list and opens it on the canvas. -
Draw a circle
Choose Ellipse in the toolbar, or press C. Drag in the scene to make a circle. The circle is how you’ll recognize the second scene.
Pressing C and dragging with ⇧ held draws a perfect circle. Video: Pressing C, then dragging while holding Shift, draws a perfect circle. -
Open the first scene
Select the first scene in the Scenes list. The blank first scene, without the circle, opens.
Selecting the first scene in the Scenes list opens the blank first scene. Video: With the second scene and its circle open, clicking the first scene in the Scenes list opens the blank first scene on the canvas, and the circle is no longer visible. -
Draw the button
Choose Rectangle in the toolbar, or press R. Drag in the middle of the scene to draw it at button size. The finished rectangle stays selected.
Choosing the Rectangle tool in the toolbar and dragging draws a rectangle. Video: Choosing the Rectangle tool in the toolbar and dragging on the scene draws a rectangle. -
Switch to Interaction mode
Choose Interaction mode from the mode button at the top left, or press ⇧I. The Interactions panel docks at the bottom of the screen. On the right of the panel, “What should it do?” and the recipes appear.
Pressing ⇧I docks the Interactions panel at the bottom, with the recipes on the right. Video: With the rectangle selected, pressing Shift+I docks the Interactions panel at the bottom of the screen, with What should it do? and the recipes on the right. Pressing it again hides the panel. -
Apply the Go to a scene recipe
Choose Go to a scene from the recipes. Under “Which scene?”, the second scene is already picked. Click Apply. “On click → Go to New Scene” appears in the list on the left.
Choosing Go to a scene and clicking Apply adds a sentence to the list on the left. Video: Choosing Go to a scene on the right of the Interactions panel opens a form with the second scene picked, and clicking Apply adds On click → Go to New Scene to the list on the left. -
Try it in the preview
In the title row of the Interactions panel, click the triangle Preview button. Over the rectangle, the pointer turns into a hand. Click the rectangle, and the second scene with the circle opens. Press esc to end the preview and return to the first scene.
With Preview on, clicking the rectangle opens the scene with the circle, and pressing esc brings back the first scene with the rectangle selected. Video: Clicking the Preview button in the Interactions panel title row and then the rectangle opens the second scene with the circle. Pressing Esc brings back the first scene with the rectangle selected.
If you see only three recipes on the right, the rectangle isn’t selected
With nothing selected, the panel works on the scene’s sentences, so it shows only recipes for scenes, such as Auto advance. Click the rectangle on the canvas to select it, then do step 6 again.
What you can do now
- Select an object and choose a recipe to make an interaction sentence.
- Test a sentence with Preview, and end the preview with esc.
- Understand that an interaction is one “When → What” sentence. The idea behind it is in How interactions work.
Connect by dragging
In Interaction mode, when you select one object, a small diamond (◇) appears just to its right. Drag the ◇ onto another scene in the Scenes list, and the same “On click → Go to …” sentence as in step 6 is made right away.
The sentence is saved the moment you drop the ◇. Cancel in the form that opens on the right doesn’t delete the sentence. To delete it, click Delete. If you press esc while dragging the ◇, nothing is made.
Polish the button
Renaming scenes makes sentences easier to read. Right now, both scenes are named “New Scene”. In the Scenes list, double-click the second scene’s name and change it to “Detail”. The sentence changes to “On click → Go to Detail” too.
Make a button that goes back, too. Draw another rectangle in the second scene. In Go to a scene, choose Back, then click Apply. Start the preview from the first scene, and you can go back and forth between the two scenes.
On the presentation screen, clicking an empty spot also moves on. The rectangle works as a button even when you open the presentation screen with the triangle Present from this scene button. On the presentation screen and play links, though, a click that no sentence takes also goes to the next scene. For why, and how to stop it, see How interactions work.
Shortcuts on this page
| Ellipse tool | C |
|---|---|
| Rectangle tool | R |
| Turn Interaction mode on or off | ⇧I |
| End the preview | esc |
Updated 10/12/2026 · The videos on this page were recorded in the current editor.