powerpoint presenter shortcuts

Use keyboard shortcuts to create PowerPoint presentations

Many users find that using an external keyboard with keyboard shortcuts for PowerPoint helps them work more efficiently. For users with mobility or vision disabilities, keyboard shortcuts can be easier than using the touchscreen and are an essential alternative to using a mouse.

For a separate list of shortcuts to use while delivering your presentation, go to Use keyboard shortcuts to deliver PowerPoint presentations .

The shortcuts in this topic refer to the US keyboard layout. Keys for other layouts might not correspond exactly to the keys on a US keyboard.

A plus sign (+) in a shortcut means that you need to press multiple keys at the same time.

A comma sign (,) in a shortcut means that you need to press multiple keys in order.

This article describes the keyboard shortcuts you can use in PowerPoint for Windows when creating or editing presentations.

To quickly find a shortcut in this article, you can use the Search. Press Ctrl+F and then type your search words.

If an action that you use often does not have a shortcut key, you can add it to the Quick Access Toolbar to create one. For instructions, refer to  Use a keyboard to customize the Quick Access Toolbar .

Get the PowerPoint 2016 keyboard shortcuts in a Word document at this link: PowerPoint 2016 for Windows keyboard shortcuts .

In this topic

Frequently used shortcuts, work with presentations and slides, work with objects and text, copy objects and text, work in objects and text, select text, delete text, move around in text, find and replace text, format text, work with tables, move a slide.

Work with views and panes

Work with the Selection pane

Work with the task pane, ribbon keyboard shortcuts, open the ribbon tabs, work in the ribbon with the keyboard, other useful ribbon keyboard shortcuts, custom keyboard shortcuts.

The following table itemizes the most frequently used shortcuts in PowerPoint.

Top of Page

Tip:  To select multiple objects with the keyboard, use the Selection Pane . For more information refer to  Manage objects with the Selection Pane .

Before using these keyboard shortcuts, select the text you want to format.

Create a bulleted list using different styles

Do one of the following:

To create a list that uses filled round bullets, press the Asterisk sign (*).

To create a list that uses hyphens, press the Minus sign (-).

To create a list that uses arrow bullets, press the Right angle bracket (>).

To create a list that uses diamonds, press Left angle bracket (<) + Right angle bracket (>).

To create a list that uses arrows, press two minus signs (-) + Right angle bracket (>).

To create a list that uses double arrows, press the Equal sign ( = ) + Right angle bracket (>).

Press Spacebar.

Type the list item, and then press Enter.

The ribbon groups related options on tabs. For example, on the Home tab, the Paragraph group includes the Bullets option. Press the Alt key to display the ribbon shortcuts, called Key Tips, as letters in small images next to the tabs and options.

You can combine the Key Tips letters with the Alt key to make shortcuts called Access Keys for the ribbon options. For example, press Alt+H to open the Home tab, and Alt+Q to move to the Tell me or Search field. Press Alt again to see KeyTips for the options on the selected tab.

In Office 2010, most of the old Alt key menu shortcuts still work, too. However, you need to know the full shortcut. For example, press Alt, and then press one of the old menu keys E (Edit), V (View), I (Insert), and so on. A notification pops up saying you're using an access key from an earlier version of Microsoft 365. If you know the entire key sequence, go ahead and use it. If you don't know the sequence, press Esc and use Key Tips instead.

To go directly to a tab on the ribbon, press one of the following access keys. Additional tabs might appear depending on your selection in the presentation.

Note:  Add-ins and other programs might add new tabs to the ribbon and might provide access keys for those tabs.

To assign custom keyboard shortcuts to menu items, recorded macros, and Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) code in PowerPoint, you must use a third-party add-in, such as Shortcut Manager for PowerPoint, which is available from OfficeOne .

PowerPoint help & learning

Screen reader support for PowerPoint

Use keyboard shortcuts to deliver PowerPoint presentations

Basic tasks to create a presentation in PowerPoint with a screen reader

Use a screen reader to explore and navigate PowerPoint

Use keyboard shortcuts to navigate modern comments in PowerPoint

Use the keyboard to work with the ribbon

This article describes the keyboard shortcuts you can use in PowerPoint for macOS when creating or editing presentations.

The settings in some versions of the Mac operating system (OS) and some utility applications can conflict with keyboard shortcuts and function key operations in Microsoft 365 for Mac. For information about changing the key assignment of a keyboard shortcut, refer to the Mac Help for your version of the macOS, your utility application, or refer to Change a conflicting keyboard shortcut on Mac .

If you don't find a keyboard shortcut here that meets your needs, you can create a custom keyboard shortcut. For instructions, go to Create a custom keyboard shortcut for Office for Mac .

Many of the shortcuts that use the Ctrl key on a Windows keyboard also work with the Control key in PowerPoint on Mac. However, not all do.

To quickly find a shortcut in this article, you can use the Search. Press Command+F, and then type your search words.

Work with tables

Other useful shortcut keys.

The following table itemizes the most frequently used shortcuts in PowerPoint for Mac.

Format text

Type the list item, and then press Return.

Work with views and panes

Screen reader support for PowerPoint

This article describes the keyboard shortcuts in PowerPoint for iOS when creating or editing presentations.

If you're familiar with keyboard shortcuts on your macOS computer, the same key combinations work with PowerPoint for iOS using an external keyboard, too.

To quickly find a shortcut, you can use the Search. Press Command+F and then type your search words.

Frequently used shortcuts on iPad

Navigate in PowerPoint for iPad

Move the insertion point within placeholders and notes on iPad

Select content on ipad, edit and format presentations on iphone, navigate and select within a text box on iphone.

This table shows the most frequently used shortcuts for PowerPoint for iPad.

Navigate in PowerPoint for iPad

PowerPoint for iPad is a mobile application, so the keyboard shortcuts and navigation might be different from those in desktop versions of PowerPoint.

To move through the options, press Shift+Right arrow key until the focus is on the ribbon, and then press the Right or Left arrow key. To select an option, press ⌘+Option+Spacebar.

To move the focus to different areas in PowerPoint for iPad (from the ribbon to the thumbnail pane, for example), place the focus on a button, and then press Shift+Right arrow key to move forward or Shift+Left arrow key to move backward.

This article describes the keyboard shortcuts in PowerPoint for Android when creating or editing presentations.

Note:  To quickly find a shortcut, you can use the Search. Press Ctrl+F and then type your search words.

Edit and format the presentation

This article describes the keyboard shortcuts you can use in PowerPoint for the web on Windows when creating or editing presentations.

If you use Narrator with the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, you have to turn off scan mode in order to edit documents, spreadsheets, or presentations with Microsoft 365 for the web. For more information, refer to Turn off virtual or browse mode in screen readers in Windows 10 Fall Creators Update .

To quickly find a shortcut, you can use the Search. Press Ctrl+F and then type your search words.

When you use PowerPoint for the web, we recommend that you use Microsoft Edge as your web browser. Because PowerPoint for the web runs in your web browser, the keyboard shortcuts are different from those in the desktop program. For example, you’ll use Ctrl+F6 instead of F6 for jumping in and out of the commands. Also, common shortcuts like F1 (Help) and Ctrl+O (Open) apply to the web browser – not PowerPoint for the web.

Work with objects and text

Work with comments

Navigate with only the keyboard, navigate the ribbon and panes.

The following table provides the shortcuts that you'll likely use often in PowerPoint for the web.

Tip:  To quickly create a new presentation in PowerPoint for the web, open your browser, type PowerPoint.new or ppt.new in the address bar, and then press Enter.

Except for the shortcut for adding a new comment, the keyboard shortcuts listed below work only when the Comments pane is open and in focus.

To move the focus to different parts and areas of PowerPoint for the web (from the ribbon to the thumbnail pane, for example) and in and out of the content of a slide, press Ctrl+F6 (forward) or press Ctrl+Shift+F6 (backward). To navigate options and controls in PowerPoint for the web, press the Tab key to move forward, press Shift+Tab to move backward, and press Enter to select.

Tip:  To quickly perform an action while in the Editing mode, press Alt+Q. The focus moves to the Search or  Tell Me search field. Then type the action or option you want. Press the Up arrow key or Down arrow key until you find the option, and then press Enter to select it.

The ribbon is the strip at the top of the PowerPoint for the web window. The ribbon is organized by tabs. Each tab displays a different set of tools and functions, made up of groups, and each group includes one or more options. To move the focus to the ribbon, press Alt+Period (.) or Alt+Windows logo key. You can also press Ctrl+F6 repeatedly until the ribbon has the focus.

Other shortcuts for using the ribbon include the following:

To move between tabs, use the Right and Left arrow keys.

To access the ribbon for the currently selected tab, press the Tab key once.

To move between options on the ribbon, use the Right and Left arrow keys.

Options are activated in different ways, depending on the type of the option:

If the selected option is a button or split button, press Spacebar or Enter to activate it.

If the selected option is a list (such as the Font list), to open the list, press Alt+Down arrow key. Then, to move between items, press the Up or Down arrow key. When the focus is on the item you want, press Enter to select it.

If the selected option is a gallery, press the Tab key to go to the More option for the gallery and then, to open the gallery, press Enter. Press the Tab key to move through the items, and then press Enter to select one.

Make your PowerPoint presentations accessible to people with disabilities

Technical support for customers with disabilities

Microsoft wants to provide the best possible experience for all our customers. If you have a disability or questions related to accessibility, please contact the Microsoft Disability Answer Desk for technical assistance. The Disability Answer Desk support team is trained in using many popular assistive technologies and can offer assistance in English, Spanish, French, and American Sign Language. Please go to the Microsoft Disability Answer Desk site to find out the contact details for your region.

If you are a government, commercial, or enterprise user, please contact the enterprise Disability Answer Desk .

Need more help?

Want more options.

Explore subscription benefits, browse training courses, learn how to secure your device, and more.

Microsoft 365 subscription benefits

Microsoft 365 training

Microsoft security

Accessibility center

Communities help you ask and answer questions, give feedback, and hear from experts with rich knowledge.

Ask the Microsoft Community

Microsoft Tech Community

Windows Insiders

Microsoft 365 Insiders

Find solutions to common problems or get help from a support agent.

Online support

Was this information helpful?

Thank you for your feedback.

Top PowerPoint Keyboard Shortcuts to Present Like a Pro!

From business consultants to sales reps and entrepreneurs, anyone who works with presentations can benefit from knowing some PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts. Today, I’ll show you 20+ handy commands to help you shine before and during your presentations.

But First, What Are PowerPoint Shortcuts?

PowerPoint shortcuts are keys or keyboard combinations that quickly allow you to perform an action in the program . Otherwise, you’d have to use your mouse or navigate through multiple menus and toolbars until finding the right command. In other words, PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts help you reduce steps and optimize your experience when working in a presentation.

Now, let’s see which are the top shortcut keys you should know:

Useful PowerPoint Keyboard Shortcuts for Last-minute Changes

Even the most experienced speakers find themselves making last-minute changes in their slides' appearance or presentation structure. It’s just part of the presenter’s life. But there’s no reason to panic, the following keyboard shortcuts will give you a hand in those moments.

PowerPoint Shortcuts for a Quick Formatting

1) use “alt+w+m” to enter slide master view.

For last-minute changes in the layout of your presentation, your slide master is the place to go.

Let’s say you want to replace the logo in your footer, change the color palette, or replace the font of your headlines. When you have only a few minutes available before presenting, this seems like an impossible task but here’s the secret: Anything that you put in your slide master will apply to all your slides so that you don’t need to go fixing them one by one.

If you’re not familiar with this type of slides, we’ve got a complete guide for you on how to create and use your master slides in PowerPoint .

2) Use “Shift” to keep objects in proportion

Have you ever resized a circle in PowerPoint and it ended up looking like an oval? When you resize by sight it’s hard to obtain perfect symmetry but the “Shift” key can help with that.

Simply press and hold “Shift” while resizing your elements. This comes in handy to make your objects bigger or smaller without losing their proportions. It works for shapes, images, and any other object in your slides.

3) Align your text

Alignment is essential to provide a clean and professional aspect to your documents. However, as formatting is one of the last steps in the making of a presentation, people tend to forget it. If this happens to you often, these are the PowerPoint shortcuts you need for a quick text alignment before starting your slide show:

• Use “Ctrl + J” to justify your text
• Press “Ctrl+E” to center the text
• Use “Ctrl+L” for left alignment
• Press “Ctrl+R” to right-align your text.

4) Use F7 to check your spelling

Most people don’t know this but you can actually check your presentation’s spelling in PowerPoint. It’s pretty simple: Once you enter the last words in your slides, press F7 . A new section will appear at the right of your screen showing misspelled words and giving you some options you can replace them with.

In some cases, you might need to try with “Fn + F7” to activate the check spelling shortcut.

5) Fix Up your Slides

Not exactly a PowerPoint keyboard shortcut but definitely a hack that will save you time and effort in the making of your slides.

If you work with presentations constantly, you’ll be happy to learn that you don’t need to design them yourself. You can have your deck quickly polished (or completely redesigned!) by professional PowerPoint designers . Check out some examples from the 24Slides team:

Want to get results like these? Learn more about the 24Slides’ presentation design services .

PowerPoint Keys To Edit Your Presentation Structure

1) use “ctrl + m” to insert a new slide.

Sometimes new information appears right before the big moment and you need to quickly update your presentation. Whenever you find yourself in this situation, select a slide and press “Ctrl+M'' to insert a new one. You’ll have a fresh title slide to keep adding content.

2) Use “Ctrl + D” to duplicate

But if you want to have similar slides, use “Ctrl + D” to duplicate them. This way, instead of working from a blank slide, you’ll be able to use one as your base and replace as much information as you want. This PowerPoint shortcut works for slides and objects alike.

3) Move slides

Arrange your presentation structure by using “Ctrl + Up arrow” to move a slide up or “Ctrl + Down arrow” to move it down.

I find this PowerPoint shortcut very useful especially when working with long presentations. Here’s why: Dragging slides one by one makes the thumbnails pass quickly and if you have 30+ slides, you’ll need more than a few seconds to land your slide in the spot that you want. Save yourself some time with this simple trick.

PowerPoint Shortcut Keys to Use During a Presentation

There are other PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts that only work in the slide show mode. We’ll go from my favorite basic commands to some advanced keyboard shortcuts to help you manage your presentation like a pro.

Basic PowerPoint Commands

1) use f5 to start a slideshow.

Done editing and ready to present? Press F5 to start your Slideshow from the first slide.

2) Use “Shift + F5” to start from the current slide

If you want to start from a specific slide, press “Shift+F5” . Let’s say you made a pause in your presentation to review some slides and want to pick up where you left off. Just select the last slide you were at and use this shortcut. It will save you tons of time because you won’t have to go through all your slides again.

3) Zoom in and Zoom out

Whenever you want to show an area of your slide in detail, press “+” to zoom in. You’ll be able to get a closer view of any element in your slide just by dragging the pointer. And when you’re finished zoom out with “-”

Advanced PowerPoint Shortcuts to Wow your Audience

1) annotate in your slides.

Did you know that you can mark up your slides during a live presentation? Yes, PowerPoint has some secret tools that help you grab and hold your audience’s attention while on a slideshow. And here are the shortcuts you need to activate them:

• Use “Ctrl + P” for a Pen Tool

You’ll be able to draw free lines and scribble across your slide. The PowerPoint pen tool comes in handy when you want to explain a process or show how to get from one point to another.

• Use “Ctrl + i” for a Highlighter

The PowerPoint highlighter pen uses a yellow color to help you annotate and draw attention to your slide’s key points.

• Use “Ctrl + L” for a Laser

A laser pointer is always useful to highlight specific aspects of your presentation. But don’t worry if you didn’t bring yours, PowerPoint lets you turn your cursor into a cool laser pointer.

• Extra: The PowerPoint Eraser tool

Now that you know how to annotate in your presentation, it’s fair that I share with you how to erase the marks you made in your slides. Use “Ctrl + E” to activate the Eraser tool. And if you want all the marks to vanish at once, just press the E key .

2) Show a black or white screen

Sometimes you’re elaborating on a concept and want people to focus all their attention on you and not your slides. In those moments, use the key “B” to change the screen to black during a slideshow or “W” to turn it white. You can go back to your slides by pressing the same key again.

3) Use “G” to display all the slides

You’ll open a nice visualization of all your slides so you can easily go back and forth through your presentation in a matter of seconds. Try it and check your audience’s reaction!

How to See Your Keyboard Shortcuts in PowerPoint?

I know. There are so many PowerPoint shortcuts that it’s impossible to remember them all. But that shouldn’t be a problem for presenters like you because PowerPoint offers some help.

A) In Presentation Mode

Whenever you need to check how to use keyboard shortcuts during your presentation, press F1 . A slide show help dialog box will display a list of your PowerPoint shortcuts available.

B) In Normal View

There are other types of shortcuts in PowerPoint called Key Tips or Access Keys which allow you to navigate through the ribbons and main menu. To activate them, press Alt or F10 .

C) Help Box

If you want to get the full list of PowerPoint shortcuts and further information about them, use the Help box. Just press F1 and search for “shortcuts”.

Note that this option only works when you’re connected to a WiFi network.

INFOGRAPHIC: Top PowerPoint Keyboard Shortcuts Every Presenter Should Know

The 24Slides team created this incredible infographic that summarizes all the PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts we’ve seen.

Save it, share it, and don’t forget to practice before your live presentation!

Create professional presentations online

Other people also read

6 Presentation Styles of Famous Presenters

How to create and deliver a powerful presentation introducti...

The seven worst presentations of all time and why they went ...

How-To Geek

All the best microsoft powerpoint keyboard shortcuts.

Your changes have been saved

Email Is sent

Please verify your email address.

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

Microsoft Office Now Plays Better With LibreOffice

7 ways to speed up your workflow in microsoft word, what does the copilot key on my laptop do, quick links, general program shortcuts, selecting and navigating text, objects, and slides, formatting and editing, helpful slideshow shortcuts.

Even if you’re familiar with Microsoft PowerPoint, you might be surprised by the number and variety of keyboard shortcuts you can use to speed up your work and generally make things more convenient.

Now, does anyone expect you to memorize all these keyboard combos? Of course not! Everyone’s needs are different, so some will be more useful to you than others. And even if you pick up a few new tricks, it’s worth it. We’ve also tried to keep the list clean and simple, so go ahead and print it that helps!

Also, even though our list of shortcuts here is pretty long, it’s by no means a complete list of every keyboard combo available in PowerPoint. We’ve tried to keep it to the more generally useful shortcuts. And, you’ll be happy to know that almost all of these shortcuts have been around for a long time, so they should be helpful no matter what version of PowerPoint you’re using.

Note: We present keyboard combos using the following convention. A plus means you should press those keys together. A comma means you should press keys in sequence. So, for example, "Ctrl+N" means to hold down the Ctrl key while pressing the N key and then release both keys. On the other hand, "Alt+N,P" means you should hold the Alt key down, press the N key, release the N key, press the P key, and then release all keys.

First, let's review some general keyboard shortcuts for opening, closing, and switching between presentations, as well as navigating the Ribbon.

• Ctrl+N: Create a new presentation
• Ctrl+O: Open an existing presentation
• Ctrl+S: Save a presentation
• F12 or Alt+F2: Open the Save As dialog box
• Ctrl+W or Ctrl+F4: Close a presentation
• Ctrl+Q: Save and close a presentation
• Ctrl+Z: Undo an action
• Ctrl+Y: Redo an action
• Ctrl+F2: Print Preview View
• F1: Open the Help pane
• Alt+Q: Go to the “Tell me what you want to do” box
• F7: Check spelling
• Alt or F10: Turn key tips on or off
• Ctrl+F1: Show or hide the ribbon
• Ctrl+F: Search in a presentation or use Find and Replace
• Alt+F: Open the File tab menu
• Alt+H: Go to the Home tab
• Alt+N: Open the Insert tab
• Alt+G: Open the Design tab
• Alt+K: Go to the Transitions tab
• Alt+A: Go to the Animations tab
• Alt+S: Go to the Slide Show tab
• Alt+R: Go to the Review tab
• Alt+W: Go to View tab
• Alt+X: Go to the Add-ins tab
• Alt+Y: Go to the Help tab
• Ctrl+Tab: Switch between open presentations

You can use keyboard shortcuts to navigate throughout your presentation easily. Try these shortcuts for quick and easy ways to select text within text boxes, objects on your slides, or slides in your presentation.

• Ctrl+A: Select all text in a text box, all objects on a slide, or all slides in a presentation (for the latter, click on a slide thumbnail first)
• Tab: Select or move to the next object on a slide
• Shift+Tab: Select or move to the previous object on a slide
• Home: Go to the first slide, or from within a text box, go to the beginning of the line
• End: Go to the last slide, or from within a text box, go to the end of the line
• PgDn: Go to the next slide
• PgUp: Go the previous slide
• Ctrl+Up/Down Arrow: Move a slide up or down in your presentation (click on a slide thumbnail first)
• Ctrl+Shift+Up/Down Arrow: Move a slide to the beginning or end of your presentation (click on a slide thumbnail first)

The following keyboard shortcuts will save you time so you can edit and format in a snap!

• Ctrl+X: Cut selected text, selected object(s), or selected slide(s)
• Ctrl+C or Ctrl+Insert: Copy selected text, selected object(s), or selected slide(s)
• Ctrl+V or Shift+Insert: Paste selected text, selected object(s), or selected slide(s)
• Ctrl+Alt+V: Open the Paste Special dialog box
• Delete: Remove selected text, selected object(s), or selected slide(s)
• Ctrl+B: Add or remove bold to selected text
• Ctrl+I: Add or remove italics to selected text
• Ctrl+U: Add or remove underline to selected text
• Ctrl+E: Center a paragraph
• Ctrl+J: Justify a paragraph
• Ctrl+L: Left align a paragraph
• Ctrl+R: Right align a paragraph
• Ctrl+T: Open the Font dialog box when text or object is selected
• Alt+W,Q: Open the Zoom dialog box to change the zoom for the slide
• Alt+N,P: Insert a picture
• Alt+H,S,H: Insert a shape
• Alt+H,L: Select a slide layout
• Ctrl+K: Insert a hyperlink
• Ctrl+M: Insert a new slide
• Ctrl+D: Duplicate the selected object or slide (for the latter, click on a slide thumbnail first)

When you're ready to start a presentation, the following keyboard combos should come in handy.

• F5: Start the presentation from the beginning
• Shift+F5: Start the presentation from the current slide (this one is great when you want to test out how the slide your currently working on will look in your presentation)
• Ctrl+P: Annotate with the Pen tool during a slideshow
• N or Page Down: Advance to the next slide during a slideshow
• P or Page Up:  Return to the previous slide during a slide show
• B: Change the screen to black during a slideshow; press B again to return to the slideshow
• Esc: End the slideshow

The more you use keyboard shortcuts, the easier they are to remember. And no one expects you to memorize all of them. Hopefully, you've found a few new ones you can use to make your life in Excel a little better.

Need more help with keyboard shortcuts? You can access Help anytime by pressing F1. This opens a Help pane and allows you to search for help on any topic. Search for "keyboard shortcuts" to learn more.

• Microsoft Office
• Microsoft PowerPoint

Home Blog PowerPoint Tutorials Essential Shortcuts for PowerPoint Presentations

Essential Shortcuts for PowerPoint Presentations

PowerPoint is an indispensable tool for business professionals, aiding in creating impactful presentations that can make or break a deal. However, creating and delivering presentations can be time-consuming. To help you speed up your presentation slide design and delivery performance, here are 30 essential PowerPoint shortcuts every user should master.

Table of Contents

Reasons to Learn PowerPoint Shortcuts

Frequently used shortcuts, apply character formatting, ribbon navigation, select and edit text and objects, control slides during a presentation.

Time Efficiency and Productivity: Mastering PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts can significantly reduce the time spent creating and editing presentations, allowing users to focus on content and delivery.

Enhanced Focus: By eliminating the need to search for functions in menus, presenters can maintain their focus on the task at hand, leading to better quality work.

Professionalism: Quick and seamless operation during a presentation can make a user appear more professional and in control.

Ease of Use: Once mastered, keyboard shortcuts become second nature, making the software easier and more enjoyable.

Accessibility: For users with disabilities, PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts can provide an easier and more accessible way to use software.

This selection of shortcuts represents the most commonly used tools by PowerPoint users. Applying these shortcuts to our workflow will significantly speed up our performance.

• Insert a new slide: CTRL + M / CMD + M
• Duplicate a selected object or slide: CTRL + D / CMD + D
• Change the zoom for the slide: ALT + W + Q / OPTION + W + Q
• Cut selected object, text, or slide: CTRL + X / CMD + X
• Copy selected object, text, or slide: CTRL + C / CMD + C
• Paste selected object, text, or slide: CTRL + V / CMD + V
• Undo the last action: CTRL + Z / CMD + Z
• Start Slide Show: ALT + S + B / OPTION + S + B
• End Slide Show: Esc / Esc
• Insert a Picture: ALT + N + P / OPTION + N + P

This set of shortcuts will help us to edit our copy text in PowerPoint slides.

• Open the Font dialogue box: CTRL + T / CMD + T
• Apply bold formatting: CTRL + B / CMD + B
• Apply an underline: CTRL + U / CMD + U
• Apply italic formatting: CTRL + I / CMD + I
• Apply subscript formatting: CTRL + = / CMD + =
• Apply superscript formatting: CTRL + SHIFT + ‘+’ / CMD + SHIFT + ‘+’
• Insert a hyperlink: CTRL + K / CMD + K

Instead of manually switching between tabs in the Ribbon, we can do it via PowerPoint shortcuts.

• Open the File page: ALT + F / OPTION + F
• Open the Home tab: ALT + H / OPTION + H
• Open the Insert tab: ALT + N / OPTION + N
• Open the Design tab: ALT + G / OPTION + G
• Open the Transitions tab: ALT + T / OPTION + T
• Open the Animations tab: ALT + A / OPTION + A
• Open the Slide Show tab: ALT + S / OPTION + S
• Open the Review tab: ALT + R / OPTION + R
• Open the View tab: ALT + W / OPTION + W

Most of these shortcuts are handled with the arrow keys of your keyboard in combination with CTRL/CMD and SHIFT/OPTION. We will list a few other shortcuts, but you can find the full list in the infographic shown at the end of this guide.

• Send object back one position: CTRL + [ / CMD + [
• Send object forward one position: CTRL + ] / CMD + ]
• Select another object (when one is selected): TAB or SHIFT + TAB / OPTION + TAB
• Send an object to the back: CTRL + SHIFT + [ / CMD + OPTION + [
• Bring an object to the front: CTRL + SHIFT + ] / CMD + OPTION + ]

Ideally, these shortcuts are handled by the person in charge of the slides during the presentation rather than the speaker. Still, since both roles sometimes are done by the same presenter, it’s best to familiarize ourselves with these shortcuts.

• Stop or restart an automatic presentation: S
• End a presentation: ESC
• Erase on-screen annotations: E
• Display a blank slide or return to the presentation: W
• Hide the pointer and navigation button immediately: CTRL + H

Mastering PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts is not just about saving time; it’s about transforming your work process to be more efficient, professional, and focused. The benefits are clear, from increased productivity and ease of use to enhanced professionalism during presentations.

We invite you to take the time to learn and practice these shortcuts. Incorporate them into your daily work routine and watch as they become second nature, significantly improving your presentation design and delivery. Remember, the small investment of time and effort you put into mastering these shortcuts will pay off in the long run, giving you a valuable skill that will serve you well throughout your professional journey. So, start today and unlock the full potential of your presentations with the power of keyboard shortcuts!

Like this article? Please share

Microsoft PowerPoint, PowerPoint Tips, PowerPoint Tools Filed under PowerPoint Tutorials

Related Articles

Filed under PowerPoint Tutorials • June 28th, 2024

How to Represent Branching Scenarios in PowerPoint

Do you have a situation to expose with multiple possible outcomes? If so, check our guide on branching scenarios in PowerPoint.

Filed under PowerPoint Tutorials • June 21st, 2024

How to Make PowerPoint Full Screen

Experience your presentation design as in the day of the event. Learn how to make a PowerPoint go Full Screen with this tutorial.

Filed under PowerPoint Tutorials • June 18th, 2024

How to Create a Funnel in PowerPoint

Learn how to create a funnel in PowerPoint from SmartArt graphics and PowerPoint Shapes. Recommendations for Funnel PPT Templates included.

Leave a Reply

The 48 best PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts for making great presentations quickly and easily

• There are many PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts that you can use to work faster and more efficiently on the platform.
• You can use a long list of keyboard shortcuts for common tasks, along with PowerPoint's Access Key shortcuts.
• Visit Business Insider's Tech Reference library for more stories .

Microsoft PowerPoint is a complex program with a vast number of features, so it's worth your time to learn all its secrets. Some of these secrets include keyboard shortcuts, which can seriously speed up your workflow.

Not only can keyboard shortcuts save you a lot of time, but knowing important shortcuts when delivering a presentation can help everything run more smoothly. 

Here's a guide to the most useful keyboard shortcuts in the Windows 10 version of Microsoft PowerPoint .

Check out the products mentioned in this article:

Windows 10 (from $139.99 at best buy), acer chromebook 15 (from $179.99 at walmart), microsoft office (from $149.99 at best buy), how to use powerpoint's access key shortcuts.

The ribbon at the top of PowerPoint gives you access to virtually all the program's countless features, and you don't need to use your mouse to use it – every ribbon command has its own keyboard shortcut. 

To use the ribbon entirely using your keyboard, do this:

1. Press and release Alt. You should see an overlay called Access Keys appear. 

2. Press the Access Key indicated to switch to the Ribbon tab you want to use.  

3. Press the Access Key for the command you want to use. Some Access Keys are more than one key press – just press the keys in sequence. If there is yet another layer of choices, continue to press the appropriate keys. For example, if you wanted to rehearse the timing of a presentation, you would press Alt and release it, then press S, and then press T. 

Every PowerPoint keyboard shortcut you need to know

You can use the ribbon shortcuts to perform virtually any task in PowerPoint, but you might often find the more traditional keyboard shortcuts more convenient to use. 

Here are the most important keyboard shortcuts in PowerPoint.

Delivering a presentation

Start a presentation from the beginning: Press F5 to start playing a presentation from the first slide. 

Start a presentation from the current slide: Press Shift + F5 to start playing a presentation from whatever slide is currently on screen.

Start a presentation in Presenter View: Press Alt + F5 to start a presentation in Presenter View, which lets you see your notes on the main computer screen while the audience sees only the slides on a separate screen. 

Go to the next slide or start the next animation: To advance to the next slide, you have several options. You can press any of these keys: N, Enter, Spacebar, Right Arrow, or Down Arrow.

Go back to the previous slide or animation: To go back to the previous slide, you also have several options. You can press any of these keys: P, Page Up, Left Arrow, or Up Arrow.

Go to the first slide: Press Home to restart the presentation at the first slide.

Go to the last slide: Press End to go directly to the final slide. 

Stop or start an automatic presentation: Press S to toggle an automatic, timed presentation between start and stop. 

Go to a specific slide: To go to a specific slide within the presentation, enter the slide number followed by Enter, such as 15 + Enter to go to slide number 15. 

Open the All Slides dialog box: To see a list of all the slides in your presentation, press Ctrl + S.

End a presentation: Press Esc to exit a presentation. 

Toggle between presentation and a blank screen: To temporarily display a blank screen in the middle of a presentation, press B to see a black screen or W to see a white screen. 

Start the laser pointer: Press Ctrl + L to change the pointer into a virtual laser dot. 

Draw on the presentation with a pen: Press Ctrl + P to change the pointer into a pen that you can use to annotate the screen. 

Hide the pointer and navigation controls: Press Ctrl + H to hide the pointer (or laser dot or pen) and the navigation controls. 

Erase annotations: Press E to erase any annotations you've made with the pen.

Creating a presentation

Open a presentation: Press Ctrl + O to open an existing PowerPoint presentation. 

Create a new presentation: Press Ctrl + N to create a new presentation. 

Add a new slide: Press Ctrl + M to add a new slide to a presentation in progress. 

Save the presentation: Press Ctrl + S to immediately save a presentation with its current file name. 

Save a presentation with a new filename: Press F12 to open the Save As dialog box and save your presentation. 

Close a presentation: Press Ctrl + W to close the current presentation. If it hasn't been saved, PowerPoint will give you the opportunity to save it first. 

Editing slides

Copy a slide, text, or other object: Press Ctrl + C to copy the selected item, which can be text, a graphic, or even an entire slide. 

Cut a slide, text, or other object: Press Ctrl + X to cut the selected item, which can be text, a graphic, or even an entire slide. 

Paste a slide, text, or other object: Press Ctrl + V to paste the content of the clipboard at the cursor location. 

Delete a selected slide, text, or other object: Select the item you want to remove and then press Delete.

Insert a hyperlink: Select text or object in a slide and then press Ctrl + K to open the Insert Hyperlink dialog box to turn it into a link. If you press Ctrl + K without selecting anything first, then you will need to specify the link text as well. 

Go to the next or previous slide: Press Page Down to advance to the next slide; press Page Up to go back to the previous slide. 

Change the order of a slide: Press Ctrl + Up Arrow to move the selected slide one position earlier in the presentation; press Ctrl + Down Arrow to move it one later in the presentation. 

Move a slide to the start of the presentation: Press Ctrl + Shift + Up Arrow to move the selected slide to the start of the presentation. 

Move a slide to the end of the presentation: Press Ctrl + Shift + Down Arrow to move the selected slide to the end of the presentation.

Editing text

Bold: Press Ctrl + B to bold the selected text.

Italics: Press Ctrl + I to italics the selected text.

Underline: Press Ctrl + U to underline the selected text.

Make the font bigger: Press Ctrl + Shift + Right Arrow to increase the size of the selected text a little at a time. 

Make the font smaller: Press Ctrl  + Shift + Left Arrow to decrease the size of the selected text a little at a time.

Center text: Press Ctrl + E to center the selected paragraph.

Left align text: Press Ctrl + L to left-align the selected paragraph.

Right align text: Press Ctrl + R to right-align the selected paragraph.

Justify text: Press Ctrl + J to justify the selected paragraph. This causes the text to auto-fit to the left and right margins of the slide. 

Superscript: Press Ctrl and the Plus sign to turn the selected text into superscript.

Subscript: Press Ctrl + = to turn the selected text into subscript. 

Check spelling: Press F7 to run PowerPoint's built-in spell checker.

General tasks

Search within a presentation: Press Ctrl + F to open the Find dialog box, where you can search for specific text within the presentation. You can also search and replace text using this dialog box. 

Undo: Press Ctrl + Z to undo your last action. 

Redo: Press Ctrl + Y to redo the last action, if possible. If it's not possible for PowerPoint to redo the action, nothing will happen. 

Help: Press F1 to open the Help and Support pane. 

Cancel: Press Esc to abort any task you don't want to complete. In some cases, you may also need to click "Cancel."

Related coverage from  Tech Reference :

How to do a voiceover on a powerpoint presentation and add pre-recorded audio to your slides, how to add a border to slides in powerpoint, and give your slideshow a sleek design, how to change and format the background of your powerpoint slides to custom designs, how to change your language settings in microsoft powerpoint in 3 different ways, how to copy or duplicate a powerpoint slide and put it anywhere in your slideshow.

Insider Inc. receives a commission when you buy through our links.

Watch: Here's how to use Apple's time-saving app that will make your life easier

• Main content

Every Microsoft PowerPoint Keyboard Shortcut for Windows Worth Knowing

Your changes have been saved

Email Is sent

Please verify your email address.

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

How to Turn Off Location Services on Your iPhone

How to use the apple pencil with an ipad or ipad pro, this novel malware uses discord emojis to steal data.

There's a reason that PowerPoint is a household name: it's the best software for creating presentations for work and home.

If you find yourself creating lots of presentations, you might be wondering if there's something you can do to speed up the process. The answer is yes, you just need to make use of all the handy shortcuts that PowerPoint offers.

We've put together a list of all the best PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts so that you can navigate, create, and present your presentations with ease.

FREE DOWNLOAD: This cheat sheet is available as a downloadable PDF from our distribution partner, TradePub. You will have to complete a short form to access it for the first time only. Download the Microsoft PowerPoint Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows Cheat Sheet .

Microsoft PowerPoint Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows

Present PowerPoint Like a Professional

Now you know all the shortcuts for creating and navigating in PowerPoint, it's time to make your presentation as professional as possible. That's why we've collated all the tips you need for keeping your audience engaged when using PowerPoint.

• Productivity
• Microsoft PowerPoint

The Best Microsoft PowerPoint Keyboard Shortcuts

Microsoft Office PowerPoint is still commonly used for creating graphic presentations in corporate and education all over the world. Millions of people use it on a daily basis. Although it’s fairly software, creating a presentation takes time. So why not speed up the process and use Powerpoint keyboard shortcuts to improve your workflow?

The list of shortcuts presented here is only a small portion of all the shortcuts available. In this article, we try to keep only to the most frequently used keyboard PowerPoint shortcuts. Other shortcuts might be more task-specific and useful in only a handful of situations, so we won’t bother with them.

Keep in mind that these shortcuts will work in all PowerPoint versions. You don’t have to install the latest version in order to use them.

That said, make sure to also check out our articles on the best Microsoft Word keyboard shortcuts and the best Microsoft Excel keyboard shortcuts to become a Microsoft Office power user.

1. General PowerPoint Keyboard Shortcuts

These PowerPoint shortcut keys will help you navigate the ribbon, open and close presentations, or switch between multiple presentations. You might already be familiar with some of them as they are the same as the shortcuts used in other apps or web browsers.

2. Selecting and Navigating through PowerPoint Presentation

This group of shortcut keys will help you quickly move through the whole presentation and select the text, boxes, slides, or only certain objects within the slides. Instead of using your mouse, opt for keyboard shortcuts, it will save you a lot of time.

3. Formatting and Editing the PowerPoint Presentation

After you are done creating a presentation, you can concentrate on making it look good. Format your PowerPoint presentation or edit it quickly with these keyboard shortcuts. Also, remember you can always get started with a professional PowerPoint template to save even more time.

4. Delivering Your Presentation

Once you’re satisfied with how your PowerPoint presentation turned out, it’s time to deliver it to your coworkers, boss, or teacher. These keyboard shortcuts will help you look professional.

Use Keyboard Shortcuts

Keep in mind the PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts above are primarily for Windows machines. However, most of them are similar on the Mac as well. While on Windows you need to press Ctrl for most shortcuts, on Mac you will press the Cmd (Command) key instead.

PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts are essential for improving the efficiency of your workflow and you should learn at least the basic ones. However, you will, in time, remember the ones you use the most.

If you find it helpful, you can even print out this list of Powerpoint keyboard shortcuts, and keep it handy next to your workstation. That way you can cast a glance and use the appropriate shortcut at any time.

Nicolae is a Jack of all trades technology writer with a focus on hardware, programming languages, and AI image-processing software. Over the last five years, he has ghostwritten numerous tech how-to guides and books on a variety of topics ranging from Linux to C# programming and game development. Nicolae loves everything that has to do with technology and his goal is to share his knowledge and experience with others. Read Nicolae's Full Bio

Read More Posts:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

• Generative AI
• Office Suites
• Collaboration Software
• Productivity Software
• Augmented Reality
• Emerging Technology
• Remote Work
• Artificial Intelligence
• Operating Systems
• IT Leadership
• IT Management
• IT Operations
• Cloud Computing
• Computers and Peripherals
• Data Center
• Enterprise Applications
• Vendors and Providers
• Enterprise Buyer’s Guides
• United States
• Netherlands
• United Kingdom
• New Zealand
• Newsletters
• Foundry Careers
• Terms of Service
• Privacy Policy
• Cookie Policy
• Copyright Notice
• Member Preferences
• About AdChoices
• E-commerce Affiliate Relationships
• Your California Privacy Rights

Our Network

• Network World

Handy PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts for Windows and Mac

Whether you’re creating a presentation or giving one, you can do it more efficiently with the help of keyboard shortcuts in the microsoft powerpoint desktop app for windows or macos..

PowerPoint’s Ribbon interface is great for finding everything you might ever want to do in the presentation package — particularly things you don’t do frequently, like using the rehearse timing feature.

But if you’re looking to do common tasks fast, you’ll find keyboard shortcuts far more useful. Why bother to lift your hands from the keyboard if you want to open or close a presentation, apply formatting, or start a presentation?

There are keyboard shortcuts to accomplish a vast array of tasks in the PowerPoint desktop client, in both the Windows and Mac versions. (Fewer shortcuts are available for the Mac, but you can create your own custom keyboard shortcuts if you like.)

We’ve listed the shortcuts we’ve found the most useful below. Most work whether you’re using a subscription (Microsoft 365/Office 365) or non-subscription version of PowerPoint. For even more shortcuts, see Microsoft’s Office site, which lists shortcuts for creating and delivering a presentation.

Note: On Macs, the ⌘ key is the same as the Command or Cmd key.

Useful PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts

When creating a presentation.

When giving a presentation

Looking for more help with PowerPoint for Windows? If you have Microsoft 365 or Office 365 subscription, see “ PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 cheat sheet .” If you have a non-subscription version of Office, see “ PowerPoint 2016 and 2019 cheat sheet .” We’ve also got cheat sheets for an array of other Microsoft products , including older versions of Office.

• Handy Word keyboard shortcuts for Windows and Mac
• Handy Excel keyboard shortcuts for Windows and Mac
• Handy Outlook keyboard shortcuts for Windows and Mac

Related content

Will your business apps run on the latest copilot+ pcs, ai washing: silicon valley’s big new lie, omnissa downplays its vmware past in official launch, china sets its sights on human brain-computer interface standards, from our editors straight to your inbox.

Preston Gralla is a contributing editor for Computerworld , a blogger for ITworld, and the author of more than 45 books, including NOOK Tablet: The Missing Manual (O'Reilly 2012) and How the Internet Works (Que, 2006).

More from this author

Windows 11 insider previews: what’s in the latest build, windows 11: a guide to the updates, windows 10: a guide to the updates, congress warns microsoft about foreign hackers again — will it matter this time, office 365: a guide to the updates, windows 10 insider previews: a guide to the builds, microsoft’s copilot+ ai pcs: still a privacy disaster waiting to happen, is openai’s sam altman becoming a liability for microsoft, most popular authors.

• Gyana Swain

Show me more

Cocoapods flaws left ios, macos apps open to supply-chain attack.

With iOS 18, Apple deepens its connection to India

Top 5 AI employee fears and how to combat them

Podcast: Are audio AI companies infringing on musicians' rights?

Podcast: What skills will future tech leaders need?

Podcast: Is social media as dangerous as smoking?

Music companies strike back against audio AI

Skills that future tech leaders will need

Is social media usage as unhealthy as smoking?

Sponsored Links

• Visibility, monitoring, analytics. See Cisco SD-WAN in a live demo.

• Amazon Prime Day Early Deals
• Summer Sales: Waterproof Bluetooth Speakers

Use Keyboard Shortcuts to Speed up PowerPoint Presentations

Help to put together a slideshow quickly

• Brock University
• Using a Keyboard Shortcut

General Keyboard Shortcuts

• Using the CTRL Key
• Quick Navigation
• Using the Arrow Keys
• Using the Shift Key
• Using Function Keys
• While Running a Slideshow

When you want to quickly create a PowerPoint presentation and minimize the amount of time you spend with your mouse, learn to use keyboard shortcuts to speed up PowerPoint presentations and make your job easier.

These instructions apply to PowerPoint versions 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, and PowerPoint for Microsoft 365.

How to Use the Keyboard Shortcut List

When the instructions show the keystroke combination Ctrl + C , for example, it means to hold down the Ctrl key and then press the letter C , holding both at the same time. The plus sign (+) indicates that you need both of these two keys. You do not press the + key on the keyboard.

Certain key combinations are specific to PowerPoint, such as the F5 key to play a slide show. Many other shortcut combinations, such as Ctrl + C and Ctrl + Z, are common to a number of programs. Once you know these common ones, you will be surprised at how often you can use them.

Keyboard Shortcuts Using the CTRL Key

Here is an alphabetical list of all the letter keys that can be used with the Ctrl key as a keyboard shortcut to common tasks in PowerPoint as well as some other shortcuts using the Ctrl key.

• Ctrl + A : Selects all items on the page or the active text box.
• Ctrl + B : Applies bold formatting to the selected text.
• Ctrl + C : Copies the selected text or object to the Clipboard .
• Ctrl + D : Duplicates the selected object.
• Ctrl + F : Opens the Find dialog box.
• Ctrl + G : Opens the Grids and Guides dialog box.
• Ctrl + H : Opens the Replace dialog box.
• Ctrl + I : Applies italic formatting to the selected text.
• Ctrl + M : Inserts a new slide .
• Ctrl + N : Opens a new blank presentation.
• Ctrl + O : Displays the Open dialog box.
• Ctrl + P : Opens the Print dialog box.
• Ctrl + S : Saves the presentation.
• Ctrl + T : Opens the Font dialog box.
• Ctrl + U : Underlines the selected text.
• Ctrl + V : Pastes text and objects from the Clipboard into the presentation.
• Ctrl + W : Closes the presentation.
• Ctrl + X : Deletes the text or object from the presentation and places it in the Clipboard.
• Ctrl + Y : Repeats the last command entered.
• Ctrl + Z : Undoes the last change.
• Ctrl + F6 : Switches from one open PowerPoint presentation to another.
• Ctrl + Delete : Removes the word to the right of the cursor.
• Ctrl + Backspace : Removes the word to the left of the cursor.
• Ctrl + Home : Moves cursor to the beginning of the presentation.
• Ctrl + End : Moves cursor to the end of the presentation.
• Ctrl + Arrow keys: Move from word to word or from object to object on a slide.

Keyboard Shortcuts for Quick Navigation

To quickly navigate around your presentation use these single keyboard shortcuts or shortcut key combinations. Using the mouse can slow you down. These shortcut keys are located to the left of the number keypad on your keyboard.

• Home : Moves cursor to the beginning of the current line of text.
• End : Moves cursor to the end of the current line of text.
• Ctrl + Home : Moves cursor to the beginning of the presentation.
• Ctrl + End : Moves cursor to the end of the presentation.
• Page Up : Moves to the previous slide.
• Page Down : Moves to the next slide.

Keyboard Shortcuts Using the Arrow Keys

Keyboard shortcuts often use the arrow keys on the keyboard. Using the Ctrl key with the four arrow keys makes it easy to move to the beginning or end of a word or paragraph. These arrow keys are located to the left of the number keypad on your keyboard.

• Ctrl + left arrow : Moves cursor to the beginning of the previous word.
• Ctrl + right arrow : Moves cursor to the beginning of the next word.
• Ctrl + up arrow : Moves cursor to start of the previous paragraph.
• Ctrl + down arrow : Moves cursor to start of the next paragraph.

Keyboard Shortcuts Using Shift Key

• Shift + Enter : Creates a soft return to force a line break inside a paragraph. In a bulleted list, this creates a new line without a bullet.
• Shift + another key: Selects a single letter, a whole word, or a line of text.
• Ctrl + Shift + Home or Ctrl + Shift + End : Selects text from the cursor to the beginning or end of the document.
• Shift + F5 : Starts a slideshow that begins with the current slide.
• Shift + left arrow : Selects the previous letter.
• Shift + right arrow : Selects the next letter.
• Shift + Home : Selects text from the cursor to start of the current line.
• Shift + End : Selects text from the cursor to the end of the current line.
• Shift + Ctrl + Home : Selects all text from the cursor to the beginning of the active text box.
• Shift + Ctrl + End : Selects all text from the cursor to the end of the active text box.

Using Function Keys as Keyboard Shortcuts

The function keys or F keys as they are more commonly known are located above the number keys on the regular keyboard.

• F1 : Opens the Help pane.
• F5 : Starts the slideshow at the first slide and displays it in full-screen mode.
• Shift + F5 : Starts the slideshow at the current slide.
• F7 : Runs spellcheck.
• F12 : Opens the Save As dialog box.

Keyboard Shortcuts While Running a Slideshow

While the slideshow is running, you may need to pause to answer questions from the audience, and it is helpful to insert a simple black or white slide while you are talking. This gives you the complete attention of the audience.

Here is a list of several useful keyboard shortcuts to use during a slideshow. As an alternative choice to keyboard shortcuts, simply right-clicking on the screen will show a shortcut menu of options.

Spacebar or click the mouse: Move to next slide or next animation

Number+ Enter : Goes to the slide of that number (for example 6 + Enter goes to slide 6).

B (for black): Pauses the slideshow and displays a black screen. Press B again to resume the show.

W (for white): Pauses the show and displays a white screen. Press W again to resume the show.

N : Moves to the next slide or next animation.

P : Moves to previous slide or animation.

S : Stops the show. Press S again to restart the show.

Esc : Ends the slideshow.

Tab : Goes to the next hyperlink in a slideshow.

Shift + Tab : Goes to the previous hyperlink in a slideshow.

Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day

• The Best Windows Keyboard Shortcuts in 2024
• Control Safari Windows With Keyboard Shortcuts
• Essential Windows Keyboard Shortcuts
• Loop a PowerPoint Slide Show
• The 30 Best Gmail Keyboard Shortcuts for 2024
• Keyboard Shortcuts: Google Chrome for Windows
• The Best Mac Shortcuts in 2024
• How to Insert PDF Files Into PowerPoint Presentations
• How to Use Portrait and Landscape Slides in the Same Presentation
• How to Make a Slideshow on PowerPoint
• Add Hyperlinks to PowerPoint Presentations
• End Powerpoint Presentations With a Black Slide
• Use This PowerPoint Template for a Multiple Choice Quiz
• Change the Case of Text in PowerPoint Presentations
• Tips for Memorial PowerPoint Presentations
• How to Group Objects in PowerPoint

91 PowerPoint Keyboard Shortcuts

Download PowerPoint Shortcut Keys PDF

Table of Contents

• 1.1 Most Used PowerPoint Shortcuts
• 1.2 Edit Text Shortcuts
• 1.3 Tab Selection Shortcuts
• 1.4 Navigation Shortcuts
• 1.5 Outlining Views Shortcuts
• 1.6 Presentation Windows Shortcuts

Learn PowerPoint Shortcuts for Windows

Most Used PowerPoint Shortcuts

Similar Programs: LibreOffice Impress Keyboard Shortcuts

Edit Text Shortcuts

Similar Programs: Google Slides Keyboard Shortcuts

Tab Selection Shortcuts

Similar Programs: reveal.js Keyboard Shortcuts

Navigation Shortcuts

Similar Programs: Apple Keynote Keyboard Shortcuts

Outlining Views Shortcuts

Similar Programs: Microsoft Sway Keyboard Shortcuts

Presentation Windows Shortcuts

• CodeLite Keyboard Shortcuts
• ComplyPro Keyboard Shortcuts
• Comsol Keyboard Shortcuts
• CrazyTalk Keyboard Shortcuts

Related Articles

45 CityEngine Keyboard Shortcuts

43 Midnight Commander Keyboard Shortcuts

What does Ctrl+I do?

31 Stronghold: Definitive Edition Shortcuts

45 Adobe RoboHelp Keyboard Shortcuts

30 FileZilla Keyboard Shortcuts

• Presentation Design
• Report Design
• Motion Graphics
• Interactive Design
• Design with AI

The 15 Best PowerPoint Keyboard Shortcuts of All Time

PresentationPanda.com is now proudly owned by INK PPT. We aim to enrich and expand upon the valuable content previously provided by PresentationPanda.com. This blog will deliver even deeper insights, comprehensive guides, and innovative strategies to elevate your presentations to new heights.

TL;DR: Mastering essential PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts can make you a more efficient and effective presentation designer. This blog lists 15 of the best shortcuts to help you save time and improve your slide design skills.

To truly master PowerPoint and become a presentation hero, knowing your essential keyboard shortcuts is crucial. We've compiled a list of 15 top PowerPoint shortcuts that are indispensable for efficient slide design. These shortcuts will help you gain better control over your slides, saving you time and enhancing your productivity. Let's dive into each shortcut and explore how they can transform your PowerPoint experience!

1. Zoom In or Out of Your Current Slide by Using Ctrl + Mouse Wheel Spin

Zooming in and out of your canvas is critical if you want to design your slides properly. By zooming in and out of your slide, you will be able to get a close-up view of your file or zoom out to see more of the slide at a reduced size.

Two Ways to Zoom:

• The slow way : Clicking on the magnification dial on the lower right-hand corner of PowerPoint. This method involves a lot of mouse clicking.
• The FAST way : Click on the object you want to zoom in on and then use the shortcut Ctrl + spinning your mouse wheel. Spinning your mouse wheel forward will zoom in on your current slide, while spinning it down will pull your view back.

Zooming in and out is essential for effective slide design. Quickly adjust your view to get a close-up or a broader perspective of your slides by spinning your mouse wheel while holding Ctrl.

Once you see the importance of zooming in and out of your slides, you will be on the path to slide creation greatness!

2. Reorder a Bulleted or Numbered List (Without Having to Cut and Paste) by Using Alt + Shift + Up and Alt + Shift + Down

While we don’t really advocate using bullet lists here at INK PPT, we do realise that people still use them from time to time. If you are going to include some type of list (a bullet list, numbered list, etc.), then you should know that there is a quick way to reorder your list if needed.

To reorder your list, simply place your text cursor next to the list item you want to move up or down and then hit Alt + Shift + Up (to move the item towards the top of the list) or Alt + Shift + Down (to move the item to the bottom of the list).

3. Toggle Through Objects/Layers Using the Tab Key

When dealing with more complex graphics and animations on your slide, you need to be able to select certain objects quickly. Selecting a particular object on your slide can sometimes be difficult when your graphics have multiple layers (objects overlapping one another).

To select the particular object/layer that you want, all you have to do is keep hitting the Tab key until your object/layer is selected.

4. Undo Your Last Edit Using Ctrl + Z

When creating your PowerPoint slides , you will be making edits CONSTANTLY. There are often times you will need to undo your last action/edit. You can do this by hitting the undo button in the PowerPoint Ribbon or by using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Z. If you want to redo your last action, use the keyboard Ctrl + Y.

Bonus Tip : By default, PowerPoint limits the number of times you can undo an action to 20 times. You can increase this number up to 150 times by going to “File,” selecting “Options,” selecting the “Advanced” tab, and then increasing the number (up to 150).

5. Select All Objects Using Ctrl + A

There are times you need to be able to grab all the objects on your slide at once. To do this, all you have to do is press Ctrl + A. This will select all objects on the slide.

Bonus Tip : After you have selected all your objects, you may decide that you want to deselect one or more of them. After you have selected all your objects (Ctrl + A), you can press Ctrl and then select the object(s) you want to deselect.

6. Group Objects Together Using Ctrl + G

Grouping allows you to make two or more PowerPoint objects into a single ‘grouped’ object that you can more easily move around and manage on your slide. To quickly group objects together, simply select multiple objects (you can do this by holding the Shift key), and with your objects selected, hit Ctrl + G.

To do the opposite (ungroup a group of objects), simply select a group of objects and hit Ctrl + Shift + G on your keyboard.

Note : Only grouped objects can be ungrouped.

7. Keep Proportions (Draw a Perfect Square, a Perfect Circle, etc.) by Holding Shift While You Draw with the Mouse

PowerPoint doesn’t offer a square or circle AutoShape. Instead, you must start with the rectangle and oval AutoShape objects. The next time you need to draw a perfect circle, square, etc., simply hold down the Shift key and then draw the shape using your mouse. Be sure to release the mouse before you release the Shift key.

Bonus Tip : You can also hold the Shift key while you draw a line to create a perfectly straight line.

8. Duplicate Objects Using Ctrl + D

It’s simple to create multiple versions of the same shape or picture in a PowerPoint slide, but when you use a shortcut, it’s even easier. Simply select the item you want to duplicate and then press Ctrl + D.

Another way to duplicate an object would be to Ctrl + C (to copy) and then Ctrl + V (to paste). However, using Ctrl + D is much faster since it only involves one step instead of two.

Bonus Tip : You can also duplicate an entire slide by selecting the slide thumbnail on the left side of the screen and then pressing Ctrl + D.

9. Insert a New Slide Using Ctrl + M

Unless you’re planning on giving a one-slide presentation, you want to be able to insert a new slide quickly (as you will be using lots of them). The quickest way to insert a new slide is to simply press Ctrl + M on your keyboard.

10. Change Font Size by Holding Shift + Ctrl and Using the Greater Than (“>”) and Less Than (“<”) Keys

Adjusting font size in PowerPoint is nothing new. But to quickly fit your text the way you want it, you can simply highlight your text, hold Shift + Ctrl, and use the greater than (“>”) and less than (“<”) keys to make it larger or smaller on the fly.

11. Insert a Hyperlink with Ctrl + K

Here at INK PPT, we LOVE hyperlinks. By getting creative with the hyperlinks, you can get a Prezi-like functionality of jumping around to different parts of your presentation. An easy example of this is creating a table of contents that is interactive. You can use it to skip ahead to wherever you want in your presentation and then go back to choose your next destination.

An easy way to insert a hyperlink into your presentation is by selecting the object you want to apply a hyperlink to and then using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + K. Doing so will bring up the box where you can then indicate the place in the PowerPoint deck that you want to link to.

12. Toggle Gridlines On and Off Using Shift + F9 for Better Alignment

Using PowerPoint’s grid and guides will help you keep objects aligned. There are several ways you can customise the grids, including modifying the grid spacing, snapping of objects, and drawing guides. There are times you may want to have grids turned on and other times you may not want to see them. Therefore, it’s good to know the PowerPoint shortcut for toggling grids on and off.

All you have to do is use Shift + F9 to toggle them on or off.

13. Quickly Save Your Presentation Using Ctrl + S

It’s always smart to save your presentation frequently. The fastest way to save your PowerPoint presentation is to use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + S. We use this shortcut so often that it has almost become second nature. We find ourselves using the shortcut without even thinking about it.

14. Move Objects in Smaller Increments Using Ctrl + Arrow Keys

Sometimes you want to place a graphic object “just so” on a PowerPoint slide, but as you drag it with your mouse, it jumps to a spot on its own. This can be VERY frustrating. The quick way around this is to use the arrow keys on the keyboard instead of dragging the object with the mouse.

These keys will “nudge” the object left, right, up, or down a little at a time until you can place it just where you want it. The default nudge setting is 6 points. Points are units of the standard type size. There are 72 points in one inch, so each point measures 0.167 inches – a very small measurement.

If the default setting for nudging is still too large for your purposes, you can make the increments of movement even smaller. Hold down the Ctrl key while using the arrow key (up, down, left, right). When doing this, the nudge setting is reduced to 1.25 points for finer manipulation of the object placement.

15. Activate the On-Screen Laser Pointer in Slide Show Mode With Ctrl + L

In Slide Show mode, you can turn your mouse into a laser pointer to draw your audience’s attention to something on a slide. To turn the laser pointer ON, simply hit Ctrl + L. To turn the laser pointer OFF, hit Ctrl + L again, and the laser pointer will turn back into a mouse pointer.

Note : You can only turn the laser pointer on during Slide Show mode. You cannot turn it on when you’re editing your slides.

By knowing the essential PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts, you will be able to efficiently design your slide deck in record time. Keep in mind that PowerPoint has a TON of keyboard shortcuts that were not mentioned in this article. Rather than overwhelm you with all of the keyboard shortcut options, we focused on some of the ESSENTIAL ones that can significantly impact your PowerPoint productivity.

If you don’t feel you need keyboard shortcuts, remember that slow, inefficient ninjas are dead ninjas. If you practise these shortcuts and memorise them, you will wonder how you ever got by without them!

Here’s my question to you:

After reading this article, do you have any additional PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts that you find particularly helpful?

Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Lastly, do you have a friend that could benefit from learning about these PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts? If so, email them the link to this post.

Thanks for reading, and be sure to share this article if you enjoyed it (by using the sharing buttons to the left).

Hungry for more PowerPoint tips, tools, and tricks just like these? Here are a few articles you might like:

• 10 Essential PowerPoint Hacks For More Exciting Presentations
• 5 Presentation Design Tips for Amazing Looking Slides (Infographic)
• 5 Presentation Tools That Will Make Your Slides Stand Out

Engagement Invitation

After trying these shortcuts, do you have any favourites or additional tips? Share your thoughts in the comments below! And if you found this guide useful, consider sharing it with a colleague who could benefit from these PowerPoint productivity hacks.

Q1: What are PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts? A1: PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts are combinations of keys that perform specific functions to enhance productivity and ease navigation within the software, allowing users to quickly execute commands without using a mouse.

Q2: How can PowerPoint shortcuts improve my presentation efficiency? A2: By mastering PowerPoint shortcuts, you can perform tasks more quickly, reducing the time spent on repetitive actions and allowing you to focus more on the creative aspects of your presentation.

Q3: Can these shortcuts be customized in PowerPoint? A3: Yes, PowerPoint allows users to customize keyboard shortcuts to suit their preferences. You can go to the PowerPoint options to change or assign new shortcuts based on your needs.

Q4: Are these shortcuts available in all versions of PowerPoint? A4: Most of these shortcuts are available across different versions of PowerPoint, but it's important to check the specific version you're using, as some shortcuts might differ slightly between versions.

Q5: Can these shortcuts be used in PowerPoint Online? A5: Many of the basic shortcuts work in PowerPoint Online, but there may be some differences in functionality compared to the desktop version of PowerPoint. It's a good idea to test them out in the online environment to confirm their effectiveness.

Are you ready to enhance your PowerPoint skills and streamline your presentation process? Start using these essential keyboard shortcuts today to boost your productivity and create stunning slides with ease. For more tips, tricks, and resources to elevate your presentations, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on social media. If you found this guide helpful, share it with your colleagues and friends to help them master PowerPoint too. Let's make every presentation impactful and efficient together!

Thanks for checking out our blog! If it resonated with you, please feel free to share it with others. 

Want more blogs, Check out these additional blogs you may find interesting:

How to Make Linkedin or YouTube Banner in PowerPoint

How to Make a Social Media Post in PowerPoint

How to Insert Video into PowerPoint

How to automatically align items in PowerPoint

How to Customise a Table Within PowerPoint

Discover how we can create magic in your communication

About the Author

Deveshwar Bhardwaj - Embracing Creativity and Innovation

In one realm, I dive into marketing activities, while in another, I oversee project management. Beyond my roles, I'm a content writer, marketing professional, engineer, tech enthusiast, and artist, finding my passion at the crossroads of creativity and innovation. Join me on this journey, where we explore endless business possibilities one story at a time.

Read The latest Related Blog

Mastering PowerPoint Presentations: Ideas, Design, and Best Practices

Presentation Tips Inspired by Culinary Art: Design Like a Chef

How to Engage Your Audience Before Your Presentation: Tips and Strategies

Experience excellence with your presentations..

• CPAs + Advisors
• Wealth Management

• Meet Our Team
• Newsletter Sign-up
• Client Onboarding
• Training Guides
• Polycom Video Guides
• Huntress Managed Security
• Cisco Umbrella DNS Filtering
• Security Awareness & Training
• Microsoft Cloud Security
• Backup & Disaster Recovery
• Web Development

10 Keyboard Shortcuts to Use When Presenting PowerPoint Slideshows

In business meetings, you can use Microsoft PowerPoint slideshows to highlight important information and capture audiences’ attention. During a slideshow , clicking through various options with the mouse can throw off your timing. Plus, the audience can see you perform these actions.

A better approach is to use keyboard shortcuts . Besides being faster, you will look like a more experienced presenter. Here are 10 keyboard shortcuts that you can use when presenting slideshows using PowerPoint 2016, 2013, 2010, or 2007. You can also Google some other keyboard shortcuts!

Keyboard Shortcuts For PowerPoint

Pressing the F5 key begins the slideshow from the first slide.

2. Shift+F5

To begin the slideshow from the current slide , press Shift+F5. In other words, press the Shift and F5 keys at the same time.

3. Spacebar, N, or Right Arrow

When you are ready to advance to the next slide or perform the next animation, you can press any of the following: the Spacebar , the N key, or the right arrow key.

4. Backspace, P, or Left Arrow

If you need to backtrack , press the Backspace, P, or left arrow key to go back to the previous slide or animation.

Pressing Ctrl+P changes the mouse pointer from an arrow to a pen. You can then use the pen to add a note to a slide or call attention to an item.

6. W or Comma

During a presentation , you might want to pause the slideshow so that you can discuss a certain point. Pressing the W or comma key pauses it and displays a white screen. Pressing the W or comma key again resumes the slideshow. When the slideshow is paused, you can use the pen to write on the white screen. If you do not already have the pen activated, though, you will need to do so with the mouse (Pressing Ctrl+P to activate the pen does not work – it simply prompts the slideshow to resume.) Anything you write on the white screen will not be saved when you resume the slideshow .

7. B or Period

Pressing the B key or period key pauses the slideshow and displays a black screen, which you can write on. Press the B or period key again to resume the slideshow.

8. Ctrl+E or E

If you need to erase a mark you made with a pen on a slide, you can change the pointer to an eraser by pressing Ctrl+E. You can erase all the marks you made to a slide at once by pressing the E key. (The pointer will not change in the latter case.) You cannot use Ctrl+E or E to erase marks on a white or black screen created when pausing a slideshow.

Pressing Ctrl+A changes the pointer to the default arrow.

Another way to change the pointer to the default arrow is pressing the Esc key. If the pointer is already an arrow, pressing Esc exits the slideshow.

Share this post

Related posts.

How to Use Daily Focus Plan in Microsoft Outlook to Get Work Done

We’ve previously discussed how using Focus sessions in Windows 11... read more

What is Microsoft Recall and Why is it Concerning Some Cybersecurity Researchers?

UPDATE (June 14, 2024, 1:42 p.m.): Microsoft announced it will... read more

What is Microsoft Secure Score and How Do I Improve It?

Microsoft Secure Score is a tool designed to help organizations... read more

7 Questions to Ask Before Choosing a PDF Editor

Choosing a PDF editor is a lot more nuanced than... read more

Why Would You Tag Someone in an Email?

In real life, nonverbal cues like eye contact make it... read more

How to Use Focus Sessions in Windows 11 to Get Work Done

Did you know Windows 11 has a built-in productivity tool... read more

What are MailTips in Microsoft Outlook?

While composing a message in Microsoft Outlook, you may have... read more

Windows 11 In-place Upgrade or Clean Install?

Security updates and support for Windows 10 will end Oct.... read more

Planning Your Upgrade from Windows 10 to 11

Next year, Oct. 14, 2025, to be exact, Microsoft will... read more

Microsoft Unbundles Teams and Office: What You Need to Know

Earlier this month, Microsoft announced it will sell its messaging... read more

Top 50 PowerPoint Shortcuts for Consultants (and the best ways to use them)

By Paul Moss

Join 100k+ subscribers on our YouTube channel and enjoy highly engaging lessons packed full of best practices.

We’ve identified the top 50 powerpoint shortcuts used by consultants around the world and ranked them in order of their usefulness. don’t forget to enroll in our free slide building course to get your own pdf copy.

Unlike most shortcut lists, this list focuses on using PowerPoint how it’s actually used at places like McKinsey , Bain , and BCG . You won’t find any shortcuts for adding clipart into your presentation, or adding slide transitions. Instead, you’ll learn the exact PowerPoint shortcuts that top-tier consultants actually use to build world-class presentations for their clients.

Once you’ve read through the list, be sure to also download the full cheat sheet of all 50 PowerPoint shortcuts. In addition to being used as a quick reference as you build slides, this cheat sheet can also be used as a study guide to help in boosting your PowerPoint skills.

Don’t forget to also check out our full courses: Advanced PowerPoint for Consultants and Advanced Presentations for Consultants .

FREE Slide Design Course

Enroll in our free 5-day email course and learn how to design slides like a McKinsey consultant.

Complete hands-on exercises , review a realistic consulting case study , and get personalized feedback from your instructor!

Plus get a free copy of our Top 50 PowerPoint Shortcuts for Consultants cheat sheet.

Learn More ➔

Success! Please check your email.

We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe anytime.

Table of Contents

Shortcut #1 | Undo / Redo

This first one might be a bit boring, but it’s still incredibly useful. To use it, just hit  Control Z  to undo your last action and  Control Y  to redo the same action. 

PC: Control + Z / Y Mac: Command + Z / Y

Shortcut #2 | Quick Copy

This one lets you quickly copy an object.  Select the object, then hold control and drag it away with your mouse . You can do this as many times as you want, and this can be faster than hitting Control C to copy and Control V to paste (or Control D to duplicate).

Pro tip: Combine this with Shortcut #8 to duplicate objects in a straight line. 

PC: Control + Mouse Click Mac: Control + Mouse Click

Shortcut #3 | Select All (texts, objects, or slides)

Hit  Control A  to select all the objects, slides, or text in a given area. This can be useful when wanting to make a change to multiple things at once (too obvious?). 

Pro tip: Combine this with shortcut #7 to make quick font size changes to your text, even if that text is in different boxes. 

PC: Control + A Mac: Command + A

Shortcut #4 | Open Align / Distribute / Group Menu

This is actually less of a shortcut and more of a group of shortcuts. Hit  Alt, H, G, then A  to open up a full menu of incredibly useful shortcuts that let you align, distribute, and group objects on your slide (incredibly helpful for data or text heavy slides).

Pro tip: Add this shortcut to your Quick Access Toolbar to save even more time. 

PC: Alt + H + G + A Mac: Not Available

Shortcut #5 | Copy / Paste Formatting

Just like you would copy and paste a whole object, this shortcut lets you copy just the formatting of an object. Hit  Control + Shift + C  to copy the formatting of an object, then  Control + Shift + V  to paste the formatting onto another object.  

Pro tip: Use this to ensure consistency across your presentation.

Super pro tip: Use this when two objects look just slightly different, but you don’t want to go looking for the problem (e.g. margins are incrementally different). 

PC: Control + Shift + C / V Mac: Command + Shift + C / V

Shortcut #6 | Select Multiple Objects

Quickly select multiple objects on your slide by  holding the   Control Key and clicking on each object. 

Pro Tip: Use Control + A to select all the objects on a slide, then hold the Control key and “Deselect” the objects you don’t need.

PC: Control + Mouse Click Mac: Command + Mouse Click

Shortcut #7 | Increase / Decrease Font size

Quickly increase the font size of your text by hitting  Control + Shift + >  and decrease your font size by hitting  Control + Shift + <.  This isn’t the only shortcut to change your font size, but it’s definitely the most intuitive (“greater than” sign means a bigger font, “less than” sign means a smaller one). 

Pro tip: Use this to bring all font sizes up one level (even for text that is at different sizes). 

PC: Control + Shift + > / < Mac: Command + Shift + > / <

Shortcut #8 | Move Shape Directly up or Across

Use this one to make sure your objects stay on the same horizontal or vertical line. When moving the object, just  hold Shift  and it will move in an exact straight line. Even if you push the Shift key after you’ve moved the object, it will snap into place (like magic!). 

Pro tip: combine this with shortcut #2 and quickly copy your objects in a straight line. 

PC: Shift + Mouse Click Mac: Shift + Mouse Click

Shortcut #9 | Enter / Exit Shape

When you have a shape selected, PowerPoint won’t let you edit the text unless you are “inside” that shape (definitely not the technical term). Enter the shape by hitting  F2 , and exit the shape (while keeping it selected) by hitting  Esc . 

Semi-pro tip: Use the Enter key instead of F2 if that’s more intuitive. 

Pro tip: Use the same shortcut combination in Excel to enter and exit cells. 

PC: Enter / F2 / Esc Mac: Enter / F2 / Esc

Shortcut #10 | Duplicate Slide

Quickly duplicate your slide by hitting  Control + Shift + D.

Pro Tip: Use it to duplicate your slide even if you have other objects on your slide selected.

Super Pro Tip: Duplicate your slide multiple times while building a deck to give yourself multiple versions to compare and revert back to.

PC: Control + Shift + D Mac: Command + Shift + D

Shortcut #11 | Highlight Sentence / Word

Once you start using this one you will wonder how you did without it. Just hold the  Control, Shift, and Arrow Keys  to highlight words or sentences quickly. 

Pro tip: Use the Down Arrow to highlight the whole paragraph. 

PC: Control + Shift + Arrow Mac: Command + Shift + Arrow

Shortcut #12 | Next / Previous Slide

If you already have an object selected, hitting the down arrow will just move that object. But if you’d like to move to the next slide, use the  Page Down  key to get there (even if something else is selected). Likewise, use the  Page Up  key to go to a previous slide. 

Pro tip: If you work in a job that requires heavy use of PowerPoint (or Excel), buy a keyboard that has easy-to-access Page Up, Page Down, Home, and End keys. 

PC: Page Up / Page Down Mac: Fn + Up / Down Arrow

Shortcut #13 | Copy / Paste ‘

This is a classic shortcut that works in many other applications outside of PowerPoint. Just hit  Control C  to copy an object or text, then  Control V  to paste. 

Pro tip: If you’re just copying a single object on a slide, use shortcut #2 it’s much faster! 

PC: Control + C / V Mac: Command + C / V

Shortcut #14 | Group / Ungroup

Hard to really show the value of this shortcut here (check out our  advanced courses  for that). But when used correctly this one can really help your slide building efficiency, while making for a much cleaner slide.

Just hit  Control + G  to group multiple objects, or  Control + Shift+ G  to ungroup the objects. 

PC: Control + (Shift) + G Mac: Command + Option (Shift) + G

Shortcut #15 | End Slide Show

This is an easy one. When in Presentation mode, just hit the  ESC  key to exit the presentation.

Pro tip: Check out shortcuts 21, 47, and 48 for more presentation tips!  

PC: Esc Mac: Esc

Shortcut #16 | Repeat Previous Command

This shortcut is a sneaky one. Yes, it can be good for repeating your previous command (just hit  F4) . But it’s best used when copying multiple objects one after another because it will space them apart perfectly.

Pro tip: Use this in combination with shortcuts #2 and #8. 

Super pro tip: Check out  this post  to watch this shortcut used in action! 

PC: F4 Mac: Command + Y

Shortcut #17 | Resize Object

Quickly and easily change the size of your shapes using this simple keyboard shortcut. Just  hold the shift key and use the arrows  to resize horizontally and vertically.

This one is especially helpful because it lets you resize objects from the center (i.e. it doesn’t move the box in only one direction).

PC: Shift + Arrow Key Mac: Shift + Arrow Key

Shortcut #18 | Duplicate Object

In case you decide not to use Shortcut #2, this one can be useful for duplicating objects quickly, especially if you’re trying to duplicate a single object multiple times. To use it, just hit  Control + D.

PC: Control + D Mac: Command + D

Shortcut #19 | Open Text Box Option

Shortcut #19 is what we call a ribbon shortcut, where you’re actually just accessing a command in the ribbon. To open the text box options, hit  Alt + H + AT + O . There you’ll find various options for adjusting your margins, vertical alignment, and more. 

Pro tip: To close the box, just hit Control + Spacebar and then C (two separate actions). Sometimes you need to have the box in focus first by hitting F6. 

PC:    Alt + H + AT + O Mac: Command + Options + M

Shortcut #20 | Save

Before the introduction of Autosave, this shortcut was critical. Now it’s less important, but can still be really handy for those who prefer to have Autosave turned off (including some Analyst Academy instructors!). To save your presentation just hit  Control S.  

PC: Control + S Mac: Command + S

Shortcut #21 | Start Presentation from Current Slide

Hit  Shift + F5  to start the presentation from the slide you’re working on. This can be handy when you need to quickly check how the slide you’re editing looks in Presentation View.

PC: Shift +F5 Mac: Shift +F5

Shortcut #22 | Start Presentation from Beginning

Similar to shortcut #21, this one lets you quickly jump into Presentation View. Just hit  F5  (no Shift key need) and you’ll be on your way. 

PC: F5 Mac: F5

Shortcut #23 | Bold / Underline / Italicize

Most people are familiar with this dynamic trio. Hit  Control B  to bold,  Control U  to underline, and  Control I  to italicize your text. 

PC: Control + B / U / I Mac: Command + B / U / I

Shortcut #24 | Enter Slide Sorter View

If you are doing a lot of storyboarding or if you’re trying to make sure the flow of your presentation looks good, Slide Sorter View is a really easy way to make that happen. Just hit  A lt, V, D  to be able to quickly change the order of the slides in your deck. 

PC: Alt + V + D Mac: Command + 2

Shortcut #25 | Make a Straight Line

Make your lines completely straight by  holding the Shift key  when adding them to your slide and avoid untidy slides that would disappoint your mother.

Pro tip: Add the “Insert Line” command to your Quick Access Toolbar for… wait for it… quicker access.

PC: New Line + Shift Mac: New Line + Shift 

Shortcut #26 | Insert New Slide

Avoid using your mouse by hitting  Control + M  to insert a new slide. Note: the slide will be created from the template you already have in place. 

PC: Control + M Mac: Control + M

Shortcut #27 | Find / Replace

Use this handy shortcut to find and replace words throughout your deck. Hit  Control + F  to search the presentation, or hit  Control + H  to find  and  replace. 

Pro tip: use this to search for sensitive data before sharing the deck with clients or other stakeholders. 

PC: Control + F / H Mac: Control + F / H

Shortcut #28 | Left / Right / Center Align Paragraph

This shortcut is really three shortcuts in one. Use it to Left, Right, or Center align your text with the shortcuts  Control + L, Control + R, or Control + E. 

PC: Control + L / R / E Mac: Control + L / R / E

Shortcut #29 | Move Slide

With the slide selected in the Navigation Pane, just  hold the Control key while selecting the up or down arrows.  Use this shortcut to quickly navigate through the presentation without having to use the mouse or enter Slide Sorter view.

PC: Control + Up / Down Mac: Command + Up / Down

Shortcut #30 | Zoom In / Out

This shortcut finally lets you put that mouse wheel to use! Just  hold the Control key and scroll the mouse wheel  to zoom in or out. 

Pro tip: Zoom out to assess the overall look and design of your slide. Zoom in to make pixel-perfect micro adjustments (it will zoom in on whatever object you have selected).

PC: Control + Mouse Wheel Mac: Command + Mouse Wheel 

Shortcut #31 | Hide Ribbon

This shortcut is less well known but can be really handy in the right situation. Just hit  Control + F1  to hide the ribbon completely. Use it to increase your workable area if you’re working on a design-heavy slide, or if you just don’t like looking at the ribbon!  

PC: Control + F1 Mac: Option + Command + R 

Shortcut #32 | Create Footnote

Simultaneously hitting the  Control, Shift,  and  Equals Sign  keys (AKA Control and the Plus Sign) will let you create footnotes quickly and easily. No more searching for footnotes and copying them into your presentation! 

PC: Control + Shift + = Mac: Command + Shift + =

Shortcut #33 | Open Slide Master View

Enter into Slide Master view by using the ribbon shortcut:  Alt, W, M.  This lets you edit the underlying structure of your presentation and can be a real timesaver if you use it right. Check out our  Advanced PowerPoint  course to learn how you can really use this feature to your advantage! 

PC: Alt + W + M Mac: Command + Option + 1

Shortcut #34 | Send Objects Backward / Forward

This shortcut is a bit difficult to understand without really diving into the layering feature of PowerPoint, but essentially it allows you to move the objects on your slide on top of or below each other. Just hit  Control + Shift + [  to move backwards, and  Control + Shift + ]  to move forwards. 

Pro tip: If you forget this shortcut, just right click on the object and select from the menu options. 

PC: Control + Shift + ] / [ Mac: Not Available

Shortcut #35 | Delete Entire Word

Control and Backspace  or  Control and Delete  will help you delete an entire word, which can be really helpful when editing text. Using the Backspace key will delete the closest word to the left of the cursor, and using the Delete key will delete the word to the right of the cursor. 

PC: Control + Backspace / Delete Mac: Command + Delete

Shortcut #36 | Move to End / Beginning of Line

This one takes some getting used to, but is helpful once it’s burned into your muscle memory. Use the  End  key to quickly jump to the end of the line, and the  Home  key to quickly jump to the beginning. 

PC: End / Home Mac: Command + Right / Left Arrow

Shortcut #37 | Move to End / Beginning of Text Box

Similar to shortcut #36, this shortcut will help you move to the end or the beginning of a text box quickly. Hit  Control + End  to go to the end, or  Control + Home  to go to the beginning.

PC: Control + End / Home Mac: Command + Down / Up Arrow

Shortcut #38 | Nudge Object

Hold the Control key and then hit your Arrow keys  to nudge an object across the slide. Note: how this command performs will depend a little bit on the grid settings of your slide.

Pro tip: enable the “snap to grid” option (in the View tab) to make moving objects on your slide a little easier (warning: some people don’t like this). 

PC: Control + Arrow Mac: Control + Command + Arrow

Shortcut #39 | Insert Line Break

File this shortcut under the list of shortcuts you didn’t know you were looking for. When editing text, hit  Shift + Enter  to start a new line (but not a new paragraph). This keeps the spacing between the line above it small.

Pro tip: use this when you want to add a new line underneath a bullet point (without adding a new bullet).  

PC: Shift + Enter Mac: Shift + Enter

Shortcut #40 | Keep Shape Proportioned

This beautiful shortcut lets you keep objects proportioned as you make them bigger or smaller. Just  hold the Shift key as you resize the object  with your mouse. 

Pro tip: Use this when resizing photos to keep them from becoming distorted. 

PC: Shift + Resize Shape Mac: Shift + Resize Shape

Shortcut #41 | Resize from Center

To resize an object from the center,  hold the Control key  as you make the object bigger or smaller. This lets you keep the object in place instead of it extending in a different direction (similar to shortcut #17). 

Pro tip: Combine this with shortcut #40 to keep it proportioned  and  have it extend from the center.

PC: Control + Resize Shape Mac: Control + Resize Shape

Shortcut #42 | Move Bullet Up / Down

Here’s one many people don’t know. To easily move your bullet points up or down, just put your cursor on the line you want to move and hit  Shift + Alt + Up / Down.  

Pro tip: do this one in front of your boss because it’ll blow their mind (or they’ll pretend they already know it which we both know isn’t true).

PC: Shift + Alt + Up / Down Mac: Not Available

Shortcut #43 | Move to Previous or Next Section / Object

This shortcut allows you to quickly cycle between the different objects on a slide. Just hit the  Tab  key to move forward through the objects, or  Shift + Tab  to move backward through the objects (they are in order of when they were placed on the slide). 

Pro tip: this shortcut works pretty much everywhere on the internet (helpful when you’re filling out a form!). 

PC: (Shift+) Tab Mac: (Shift+) Tab

Shortcut #44 | Change Case of Selected Text

This one doesn’t come in handy as often as you’d think, but can still be really helpful at times. It’s a nice party trick, but if you’re having PowerPoint parties you might have other issues.

Just hit  Shift + F3  and watch your text cycle through different cases (all caps, all lowercase, first letter capitalized). 

PC: Shift + F3 Mac: Shift + F3

Shortcut #45 | Enter Normal View

Jump back into Normal View with this simple ribbon shortcut. Hit  Alt + V + N  if you’re in another view (e.g. Presentation, Slide Master) and it’ll drop you right in. 

PC: Alt + V + N Mac: Command + 1

Shortcut #46 | Duplicate Presentation

Duplicate your entire presentation with this seldom used but still periodically useful shortcut. Hit  Control + Shift + N  and avoid having to navigate through the file itself to copy your presentation.

Pro tip: create multiple versions of a presentation (or slides) when you’re editing and you want to see a range of “looks”.  

PC: Control + Shift + N Mac: Not Available

Shortcut #47 | Go to Slide (number) During Presentation Mode

Jump ahead during a presentation to a specific slide by typing the slide number then hitting  Enter  while in Presentation View. You’ll have to know the number of the slide you want to go to ahead of time, so make sure you write down important slide numbers before the presentation. 

Pro tip: right click on the presentation to open up a menu of options to navigate around the presentation.

Super pro tip: use Control + S to open a dialogue box of all the slides.

PC: (Number) + Enter Mac: (Number) + Enter

Shortcut #48 | Make Screen Black / White during presentation Mode

This is really helpful when you’re in presentation mode. Just hit the  B key  to turn the screen all black (and hit ESC to get out). To turn it completely white, hit the  W key. 

PC: B / W Key Mac: B / W Key

Shortcut #49 | Open Thesaurus

This is a perfect example of a shortcut you think you’ll never use but then end up using all. the. time. Open the thesaurus quickly and easily by hitting  Alt + R + E.

Pro tip: When you have bullet points it’s best to avoid using the same starting word on more than one bullet. Avoid this travesty by double clicking on the repeat word, hitting Alt + R + E, then selecting a new word from the selection pane.

PC: Alt + R + E Mac: Command + Option + Control + R

Shortcut #50 | Toggle Between Outline Pane and Thumbnail Pane

Use this shortcut to quickly and easily edit the storyline of your presentation. Hit  Control + Shift + Tab  to edit the titles of each of your slides directly without having to click on each slide individually. 

Pro tip: use this when building an outline from scratch.

PC: Control + Shift + Tab Mac: Control + Shift + Tab

You can watch a video version of this article on YouTube .

• Print Friendly

• Presentation Hacks

5 PowerPoint Shortcuts Every Presenter Should Know

• By: Camille Holden

We all know there’s no easy button for becoming a successful public speaker. It takes hard work, lots of practice, and a unique blend of science and artistry.

That’s why it’s all the more heartbreaking when you see a good presenter get derailed by their technology. There’s nothing more embarrassing than having to apologize for your missed cues and misfires.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Presentation technology can be a blessing, rather than a curse, as long as you know how to use it to your benefit. And while there is no easy button for that either, there are certain buttons that can make your presentations more seamless and make your delivery a lot smoother.

To make sure you’re not letting technology get in your way, here are the 5 PowerPoint shortcuts* every presenter needs to know.

*I’m omitting the truly basic ones that work across all of your applications, like copy/paste and save.

Key PowerPoint Shortcut #1 – Blacking / White-ing the Screen Sometimes you may need to pause the presentation for a lunch break or to answer a question unrelated to the presentation. In these situations, you can use shortcut keys to display a blank screen and keep your audience’s attention focused on you.

Here are the shortcuts you need to know: W or comma (while in Slide Show Mode) will turn the screen completely white. Hit either shortcut once more, and you will return to your slide.

B or period (while in Slide Show Mode) will turn the screen completely black. Hit either shortcut once more, and you will return to your slide.

Key PowerPoint Shortcut #2 – Activating the Laser Pointer When giving your talk, you may have specific elements on your slide that you want to point out to your audience. One great way to do that is to use a laser pointer – and PowerPoint provides one directly within the software.

While in Slide Show Mode, hold down the CTRL key on your keyboard and click and drag with your mouse. Doing so turns on the laser pointer, allowing you to point out things on your slide and focus your audience’s attention.

Here are the shortcuts you need to know: Hold the Ctrl key and click with your mouse (in Slide Show Mode).

Key PowerPoint Shortcut #3 – Inking Your Slides Some of the best tools native to PowerPoint when presenting in front of an audience – whether on a webinar or in a room – are the inking tools.

You can use these tools to highlight parts of the slide, add notes, diagram elements in, etc.

The inking tools include the pen and the highlighter.

Here are the shortcuts you need to know: Ctrl + P (while in Slide Show Mode) will activate the pen, allowing you to write / draw on your slides. Hitting CTRL + P a second time will turn the Pen off.

Ctrl + I (while in Slide Show Mode) will activate the highlighter, allowing you to highlight / draw on your slides.

Ctrl + M (while in Slide Show Mode) will hide all the ink on your slide. If you use the shortcut a second time, you will make the ink re-appear.

E (while in Slide Show Mode) will erase all the ink on your slide.

Pro Tip: Be careful when erasing the Ink on screen as there is no way to un-erase that ink. If you typically want to save the ink on yours, memorize the CTRL + M shortcut instead as it merely hides the ink.

Key PowerPoint Shortcut #4 – Launching Presenter View Presenter View is a great alternative to Slide Show Mode, allowing you to play your presentation for an audience.

I love using Presenter View, because it allows you to do several things: 1. See the slide that your audience is viewing so that you can address that slide, 2. See the notes you have for that slide, 3. Preview the next slide to prepare you for what’s to come, 4. View the time and duration of your presentation, and 5. Use the laser pointer and ink features to mark up your presentation.

Knowing how to jump straight to Presenter View from a shortcut allows you to launch it on the fly and be ready to start your talk at any point.

Here are the shortcuts you need to know: Alt + F5 to launch Presenter View from the first slide.

Additional Pro Tips: 1. This is a great view for reviewing your slides before a presentation to spot check them for errors. 2. Best practice is not to overly rely on this view, as you want to be looking at your audience – not looking at your screen, which is just as bad as reading your slides.

Key PowerPoint Shortcut #5 – Jumping to a Slide in Your Presentation When you give a presentation, your talk doesn’t always end up going according to plan. And you want to be prepared in case that happens.

There are some situations when you will need to jump around in your presentation. For instance, say you are on slide 50, and your audience puts a question that requires you to jump back to slide 20.

Pressing Page Up 30 times is time-consuming and looks unprofessional. That’s why PowerPoint has two handy methods for doing so efficiently.

The first method is to simply type the slide number in, and then hit Enter (Ex. “20 Enter”).

The second method is to use the All Slides dialog box. This feature allows you to visually see all the slides within your presentation so you can immediately jump to the correct one. This is handy when you want to move forward or backward quickly within your presentation and you don’t know what the slide number is.

Here are the shortcuts you need to know: Slide number + Enter (while in Slide Show Mode) will jump you to that slide.

Ctrl + S (while in Slide Show Mode) will launch the All Slide dialog box.

Why Shortcuts Matter Creating a PowerPoint presentation is no small task! It requires juggling all sorts of PowerPoint stuff like charts, tables, pictures, object formatting, text, and shapes, and then there is the delivery of the presentation itself. On top of that, you’re expected to have it all done yesterday!

It’s all about trying to get more done in less time. And that’s where PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts come in handy.

With a little bit of practice, PowerPoint shortcuts will seriously cut down your build time, make your slides look more polished and professional, and get you to Happy Hour faster.

For more of the top PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts, check out my in-depth Favorite 80 PowerPoint Shortcuts article.

About the Author: Camille Holden is the Co-Founder and CEO of Nuts & Bolts Speed Training , where she helps busy professionals save PowerPoint hours and gain peace of mind. As an expert trainer and coach, she is passionate about empowering people who are short on time but big on ideas with the tools to truly master PowerPoint and create presentations that work.

Camille Holden

Join our newsletter today.

© 2006-2024 Ethos3 – An Award Winning Presentation Design and Training Company ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

• Terms & Conditions
• Privacy Policy
• Diversity and Inclusion

SlideDesigning

Free Download Presentation Templates

Microsoft Office PowerPoint Keyboard Shortcuts and Cheat Sheet

Save your time and Boost Your Productivity

Microsoft PowerPoint is one of the most popular tools for creating and delivering presentations, but a lot of people are still unaware of how to use it as quickly and efficiently as possible.

If you’re a frequent user of Microsoft Office PowerPoint, you know that there are a lot of different features and functions to master. One way to make your workflow more efficient is by using keyboard shortcuts.

Here are some of the most useful keyboard shortcuts for PowerPoint:

Ctrl + N: Create a new presentation.\ Ctrl + O: Open an existing presentation.\ Ctrl + S: Save your presentation.\ Ctrl + P: Print your presentation.\ Ctrl + Z: Undo your last action.\ Ctrl + Y: Redo your last action.\ Ctrl + C: Copy selected text or object.\ Ctrl + X: Cut selected text or object.\ Ctrl + V: Paste copied or cut text or object.\ Ctrl + A: Select all objects on a slide.\ Ctrl + F: Find and replace text.\ Ctrl + B: Apply or remove bold formatting.\ Ctrl + I: Apply or remove italic formatting.\ Ctrl + U: Apply or remove underline formatting.\ Ctrl + E: Center align text.\ Ctrl + L: Left align text.\ Ctrl + R: Right align text.\ Ctrl + M: Insert a new slide.\ Ctrl + D: Duplicate currently selected slide.\ Ctrl + H: Show or hide the Ribbon.

These shortcuts can save you a lot of time and effort, especially if you’re working on a large presentation. To view a full list of keyboard shortcuts for PowerPoint, you can access the “Keyboard shortcuts for PowerPoint” help article on the Microsoft website. In addition to keyboard shortcuts, you can also create your own custom shortcuts by assigning a keyboard shortcut to a specific command or function. To do this, select “Options” from the “File” tab, then select “Customize Ribbon” and “Keyboard Shortcuts.” From there, you can select the command you want to assign a shortcut to and create your custom shortcut.

By utilizing keyboard shortcuts and custom shortcuts, you can streamline your PowerPoint workflow and become a more efficient presenter.

Microsoft Office PowerPoint – Keyboard Shortcuts and Cheat Sheet

Shortcuts are a quick and easy way to elevate your design skills and improve your overall presentation. Take the time to memorize them I promise it’s worth it.

Published by SlideDesigning

Free download presentation templates

Critical PowerPoint Shortcuts – Claim Your FREE Training Module and Get Your Time Back!

Top 25 PowerPoint Keyboard Shortcuts That Save Time

• PowerPoint Tutorials
• Shortcuts & Hacks
• October 31, 2018

You just found a treasure trove of PowerPoint shortcuts that are going to save you a ton of time! Shortcuts are the secret to being wicked fast and efficient in PowerPoint. That is because they magically turn long and boring chores into quick and easy to accomplish tasks.

When I first started working in PowerPoint, like most people, I did not know any keyboard shortcuts. That is one of the main reasons too, why doing anything in PowerPoint took me forever. So, I cannot overemphasize the value of being able to quickly crank through client deliverables, pitch books, presentations, or wherever else you are building in PowerPoint like a pro, as opposed to slaving away all night at the office like a newbie, struggling to get basic things done in the program.

If you already know lots of PowerPoint shortcuts, then you are doing things right, and hopefully you learn a few new ones from our list. If you are brand new to PowerPoint, the list below is a fantastic way to start upscaling your skills, so you too can use PowerPoint like a pro.

To generate the below list of PowerPoint shortcuts, we surveyed our 30,000+ PowerPoint community of professionals from a wide variety of fields and industries, asking them what their favorite keyboard shortcuts are that save them the most time on a daily basis.

NOTE: If your PowerPoint shortcuts are not working, or you hear a pinging noise when you hit one of the combinations of keys, see our shortcuts troubleshooting guide here .

[Watch] The Top 25 PowerPoint Shortcuts in Action

You are currently viewing a placeholder content from Youtube . To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.

To see examples of all these PPT shortcuts (and some hidden tricks for using them), watch the video above.  Below I’ve broken out these shortcuts with a brief description of each for your convenience.

1. Slide Master Jump Shortcut

This is my favorite way to jump to the Slide Master View in PowerPoint (and hardly anyone knows about it).

To use it, simply hold the  Shift   key on your keyboard, then click on the Normal  icon at the bottom of your PowerPoint workspace.

The first time you use the Shift + Normal icon , you jump to the child slide layout of your slide on the Slide Master. If you immediately use it a second time, you will jump to the Parent Slide on your Slide Master.

To expand your knowledge about the Slide Master view in PowerPoint and how to use it to build a PowerPoint template, read our guide here .

2. Align and Copy shortcut

This shortcut is one of the top shortcuts from our survey because it allows you to select an object (or group of objects) and in just a couple of heartbeats, create a perfectly aligned copy of object(s) on your slide.

NOTE: Charts can be difficult to align and copy using the Ctrl + Shift + Drag shortcut. If you are having trouble getting this to work, try first clicking and dragging your chart to a new location on your slide, then hold down the Shift and Control keys to pull off the maneuver.

3. Duplicate Shortcut

The duplicate command is twice as fast as the normal Ctrl + C to copy and Ctrl + V to paste shortcuts as it’s half the number of keys.

On top of that, it also has a hidden jump feature whereas each new duplicated object will jump the same distance and same direction as your last manual placement.

To expand your knowledge and learn more about the duplicate shortcut in PowerPoint, read our guide here .

4. The Eyedropper Shortcut

In PowerPoint 2016 and later (the latest version is Office 365 ), Microsoft added an Eyedropper command that has a hidden shortcut allowing you to eyedrop any color on your computer screen. This works even outside of your PowerPoint window.

To use this hidden eyedropper shortcut to change a shape fill (for example), simply:

• Select your object
• Navigate to the  Drawing Tools Format  tab
• Open the  Shape Fill  drop down
• Select the  Eyedropper  command
• Click and drag  with your mouse on your screen (anywhere) to pick up the color

What’s cool about this shortcut is you can get any color from anywhere.

For example, you would want to get the color from another website, all you need to do is to get the Eyedropper, then click down with your mouse and drag it to the website. When you’ve found your desired color, simply let go of the mouse and the shape will be filled with the color you chose.

5. The Group Shortcut

Selecting a set of objects on your slide and hitting Ctrl + G will group those objects together so that you can move them around as a single object on your slide (unless you have a table selected).

This makes organizing your slides significantly easier. learn all of the ins and outs of the grouping shortcuts,  see our ultimate guide here .

6. The Ungroup Shortcut

To ungroup a set of objects that have already been grouped (so you can format and edit the individual pieces), simply select the group of objects and hit  Ctrl + Shift +G  on your keyboard.

You can see these shortcuts in action below, plus some uncommon things you might not have ever realized that you can ungroup like icons.

7. New Slide Shortcut

As you build your presentation, you will be constantly adding new slides. Using the Ctrl+M shortcut will save you some time as you don’t need to constantly go to the Home tab in between typing the content of your slides.

When you add a new slide, PowerPoint automatically inserts a new slide based on the layout of the slide you are currently on. The only exception is if you are on a title slide.

When you are in the title slide and you click  Ctrl+M , instead of generating another title slide, it will give you the next type of slide in your template (usually a content slide).

Another thing that’s cool about this shortcut is that every time you use it, your cursor jumps to the title placeholder of the new slide, so you can immediately type text in.

To expand your knowledge and learn all about how to save time using the New Slide shortcut (Ctrl+M), read our guide here .

8. Start Slideshow From Beginning

To start your presentation (regardless of which slide you are on within your presentation), simply hit  F5  on your keyboard. Hitting F5 will start your presentation from the beginning of your slide deck.

No more hunting around in your PowerPoint Ribbon to kick off your slide show.

To expand your knowledge and learn some of the most effective ways to start a presentation, read our guide here .

9. Start Slideshow From Current Slide

Instead of starting your presentation from the first slide in your presentation, you can also start it from the current slide you are on by hitting  Shift + F5 .

This allows you to quickly jump back and forth between the presentation mode of a slide (so you can spot-check it for errors) and the normal editing view of your slide by hitting the Esc key.

To see all of the different ways you can start a slideshow in PowerPoint (including the presenter view and slide show settings dialog box),  see our guide here .

10. Pick Up Style - Copy Formatting

Select an object in PowerPoint and hit Ctrl + Shift + C on your keyboard to copy the object’s formatting.

This shortcut copies your object’s Font Style, Font Size, Shape Fill, Shape Outline color etc., allowing you to apply it to other objects in your presentation. The one thing to be aware of is, PowerPoint and Word can only copy and hold one style of text formatting at a time. You cannot copy two or more styles of text using this shortcut.

11. Apply Style - Paste Formatting

After copying an object’s formatting, you can apply it to other objects by hitting Ctrl + Shift + V . Simply select another similar object and hit Ctrl  + Shift + V to apply all the object formatting you have copied.

The copy and paste formatting shortcuts work the same way in Microsoft Word and Microsoft PowerPoint (wink wink).

NOTE:  This shortcut only works AFTER you have copied an object’s formatting. If you forget to first copy an object’s formatting, you will immediately know because PowerPoint will apply something bizarre. If that happens to you, just hit Ctrl + Z to undo, then go back and start over.

To learn more about copying and pasting formatting (including inside Microsoft Excel),  read our guide here .

12. Selection Pane Shortcut

Hitting the keys  Alt + F10  once will open the Selection Pane. Hitting them again will close it.

The Selection Pane is a great tool for seeing all the objects and groups of objects you have on your slide, allowing you to edit them, change their layering, and even hide them.

The Selection Pane also allows you to more easily select objects that may be hidden on your slide beneath another layer.

13. Bring Object Forward

All of the objects on in your PowerPoint slides exist on a layer, based on when the object was added to your slide.

Hitting  Ctrl + Shift + ]  will bring a selected object (or group of objects) up one layer at a time on your PowerPoint slide

14. Send Object Back

Hitting  Ctrl + Shift + [  will walk a selected object down one layer at a time on your PowerPoint slide.

Very few people know these shortcuts exist, and it’s a shame because allow you to manage the layering of objects on your slide.

This means that you can adjust what objects are above / beneath each other.

15. Animation Painter Shortcut

Select an object with PowerPoint animations and hit Ctrl + Alt + C t o copy the sequence of animations. This copies all the animations applied to a specific object, allowing you then to paste them onto another object.

If you use lots of PowerPoint animations in your presentations, this shortcut will save you a ton of time in the future. That’s because animations can take forever to properly set up.

NOTE: This shortcut only works if the object you select has animations applied to it (obviously). In other words, using this shortcut on an object that does not have any animations on it, will not do anything.

16. Straight Line Shortcut

One thing you want to avoid inserting into your slides is crooked lines. But how do you make sure all your lines are straight?

Simply hold the Shift key while you draw your line, and it ensures your line is perfectly straight. You can use this shortcut to draw perfectly straight horizontal, vertical, or diagonal lines.

NOTE:  This also works for drawing other shapes. For example, if you want to draw in a perfect square, just hold the shift key as you draw in a rectangle. The same goes for a perfect circle.

17. Increase Font Size

The next time you need to increase the size of your text, simply select your text and hit Ctrl + Shift + >  on your keyboard to increase it.

Each time you hit this shortcut, your Font Size will increase by one standard size. This saves you from having to constantly go back and forth to the Home tab to find the right font size. 

This shortcut works in Microsoft Excel too!

18. Decrease Font Size

One thing you will constantly do as you build your slides in PowerPoint is change your font sizes

These shortcut keys are better than using the font size drop own because you can increase or decrease the font size whatever mode or tab you are in. For example, if you are in the Slide Show tab, you can make the font size bigger or smaller without having to go to the Home tab.

What’s great about this shortcut is that it also works in Microsoft Word and other Office programs.

19. Format Chart Element

Charts are the most complicated object class in PowerPoint because they have the most individual pieces that you can format.

A fast way to format the individual elements of your chart is to either double-click them with your mouse or hit Ctrl + 1 on your keyboard.

Hitting Ctrl + 1 opens the formatting options for whatever you have selected in your PowerPoint chart. This also works in Microsoft Excel too (so it is a double-dipping shortcut).

20. Notes Pane Shortcut

Hitting Ctrl + Shift + H will open or close your notes pane.

This is a fast and easy way to review (or edit) your notes while building your presentation. On top of that, the Notes Pane will open to your last manual adjustment. This makes it easy to review your speaker notes in full screen.

21. Create Section

Adding sections to your presentation is an easy way to organize and review your PowerPoint slides.

To create a section, simply select a slide in the Thumbnail View and hit Ctrl + < . Name your sections and you can then print the individual sections of your presentation too.

22. Move Slides (Up and Down)

Another common thing you will do as you build your slides is to move your slides around within your presentation.

To do this quickly, simply select a slide in the Thumbnail View and hit the Ctrl plus up or down arrow key to move it around in your deck.

23. Insert Symbol

The fastest way to insert PowerPoint symbols is the Alt + = shortcut. This inserts an Equation, allowing you to select from the different mathematical symbols.

On top of that, if you then select a symbol in an Equation and hit the shortcut again, you will convert it into normal text. In this way, you can quickly use the Equation options to find your symbol, and then convert the equation symbols back to normal text.

24. Date and Footer Shortcut

This is actually a double-dipper keyboard shortcut.

That’s because you can use it to launch both the  Header and Footer  dialog box and the  Date and Time  dialog box depending on how you use it.

The first thing you need to do is to make sure that you have not clicked into any of the object’s on your slide. You can hit the Esc key a few times to make sure you have not clicked into anything before you use this shortcut.

Then hit Alt + Shift + D on your keyboard and the Header and Footer dialogue box will open. This is where you can add headers, footers, slide numbers and the date and time on your slides.

NOTE:  Ticking the slide number checkbox does not mean the slide number will automatically show up in your presentation. To get your slide numbers to appear correctly,  see our guide here .

Another way to use this shortcut is to add a date on the title slide of your presentation for today’s date.

To do that, simply hit the shortcut to open the date and time dialogue box. Then choose the date format you want and click OK. This will add today’s date (based on your computer’s settings) to your slide as a text box.

You can also select Update Automatically from the dialogue box so that your date updates automatically whenever you open your presentation.

25. Align Objects Shortcut

This single most important PowerPoint shortcut for any serious user.

The trick is, to make it work, you first have to set it up properly (turning all of the alignment tool commands into easy to use shortcuts).

For help setting this shortcut up, see the shortcut in the video at the top of this page.

To set this up, go to the  Home  tab, navigate to the Arrange dropdown, and then right-click the Alignment tool at the group level. Notice that the Alignment Tool is added to the Quick Access Toolbar.

The next step is to click on the downward-facing arrow in the QAT and choose More Commands. In the dialogue box, find the Align Objects tool and click it all the way to the top and then select OK.

Once it’s properly set up, all you have to do is select an object and hit Alt, 1 on your keyboard, and you’ll get all the possible alignment options.

Then you can hit on the next available letter to choose the alignment you want.

So for example, if you want to align two objects to their tops, simply select both objects and hit Alt, 1, T for Align to Top. And that’s it!

To learn more about our PowerPoint training courses and services,  visit us here .

🔒 Unlock the PowerPoint Shortcuts Trusted by Industry Leaders KKR, American Express, HSBC, and More!

Join over 114,880 professionals from diverse fields including consulting, investment banking, advertising, marketing, sales, and business development who have supercharged their PowerPoint game with our proven methods.

✅ Customize compelling presentations effortlessly.

✅ Master time-saving techniques for faster deck creation.

✅ Boost your career prospects with top-notch PowerPoint skills.

Get FREE access to the Critical PowerPoint Shortcuts module of our premium training course by entering your name and email below.

DISCLAIMER: PC Users Only!

We respect your privacy and will keep your info safe and confidential.

Related Articles

About the author.

Popular Tutorials

• How to Strikethrough Text (l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶) in Word, Excel & PowerPoint
• How to Make Animated Fireworks in PowerPoint (Step-by-Step)
• Strikethrough Shortcut (l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶) for Word, Excel & PowerPoint
• How to Create a Flash Card Memory Game in PowerPoint (Like Jeopardy)
• Keyboard Shortcuts Not Working: Solved

PowerPoint Tutorial Categories

• Strategies & Opinions
• Presentation Design
• Pictures, Icons, Videos, Etc.
• New Features
• Miscellaneous
• Charts & Data Viz

We help busy professionals save hours and gain peace of mind, with corporate workshops, self-paced courses and tutorials for PowerPoint and Word.

Work With Us

• Corporate Training
• Presentation & Template Design
• Courses & Downloads
• PowerPoint Articles
• Word Articles
• Productivity Resources

Find a Tutorial

• Free Training
• For Businesses

We help busy office workers save hours and gain peace of mind, with tips, training and tutorials for Microsoft PowerPoint and Word.

Master Critical PowerPoint Shortcuts – Secure Your FREE Training Module and Save Valuable Time!

⌛ Master time-saving expert techniques.

🔥 Create powerful presentations.

🚀 Propel your career to new heights.

We value your privacy – we keep your info safe.

Discover PowerPoint Hacks Loved by Industry Giants - KKR, AmEx, HSBC!

Over 114,880 professionals in finance, marketing and sales have revolutionized their PPT skills with our proven methods. 

Gain FREE access to a full module of our premium PowerPoint training program – Get started today!

We hate spam too and promise to keep your information safe.

You are currently viewing a placeholder content from Facebook . To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.

PowerPoint presentation shortcut keys

Use keyboard shortcuts to deliver PowerPoint presentations for good audience experience

Pranab Bala • March 14, 2020

Preparing good PowerPoint slides is the first thing for delivering an excellent presentation. Keyboard shortcuts comes very handy while delivering Presentations without stumbling or worrying about whats next. This article will cover the Keyboard Shortcuts to make presenter's life at ease. These are very easy to memorize if you practice once or twice. You may bookmark the page and use for quick reference before you start a new presentation

You may wish to Jump to:

Start presentation from current slide, start presentation from beginning, exit presentation mode, go to the first slide, go to the last slide, go to a specific slide, view all slides dialog showing list of titles, show context menu to choose action from, hide pointers, laser pointer, change pointer to arrow, change pointer to pen for annotation or freehand, hide annotation markup, change pointer to annotation eraser, delete or clear all on-screen annotation, display a blank black slide and back.

• Display a blank white slide and back
• Summary of Curated list of PowerPoint Keyboard shortcuts

Switch between Presentation and Normal Mode

Normal mode is the where we do all the editing. Sometime, we may need to come out of the presentation mode, quickly update it and jump back to the presentation mode.

Shift + F5 - If you are in editing mode (Normal Mode), you can start presenting right from that slide by pressing Shift and F5 key together. You may need to switch between the modes during preparation of the slides or to make some adjustment while presenting

F5 - Irrespective of what slide you are currently in, pressing F5 will start the presentation from the beginning

Esc - Anytime during presentation, pressing Esc key will stop presentation and take you to the Normal mode. It will show the slide that you were just before Esc. If you are using previous versions of PowerPoint, please try hyphen ( - )

Moving between slides while presenting

While presenting the slides, sometime, we need to jump around slides instead of sequences. This section covers most of the keyboard shortcuts used in navigation in slide show mode

Home - While presenting, if you need to start-over, pressing Home Button takes you to the very first slide

End - pressing End button anytime during the presentation, takes you to the last slide of the PowerPoint, while in presentation mode

Type the number and Press Enter - Sometimes you need to navigate to backup slides or appendixes. If you remember the slide number, you just need to type that number and press enter. You will not see the numbers on screen, while you type. But the trick will happen when you press enter. To come back to the current slide, you need to type the current slide number and press Enter or you can use Ctrl +S to see "Last Slide Viewed" as mentioned in View All Slides Dialog showing list of titles

Ctrl + S - While in presentation mode if you want to jump forward or backward and do not know the slide number then simply press Ctrl and S . This will show a list of slides that you can choose from. Alternatively, you can select a slide and click on Go To. Remembering this shortcut will save you in difficult times, when you forget any other shortcuts.

Shift+F10 - All actions on slides can be done using mouse after you see the context menu using this keyboard shortcut. This one is my favorite keyboard shortcut . When you forget all the shortcuts, remembering this one will stop you from failing. Though the pop-up on the screen might feel little less intuitive. But, it helps you to get back to your previous slide, start annotating on screen or make it blank

Annotations and pointers (arrow, Pen or Laser)

Pointers play an important role in presentation to glue audiences to the section of the slide where you need their attention. There various option to suit your need. You can also hide any pointers

Ctrl + H - This will hide pointer from the slide show. To bring back pointer you can use Ctrl + A or any of the keyboard shortcuts mentioned in the following sections

Ctrl + L - Pressing Ctrl and L change the pointer to Laser.

This is how it looks.

This tiny little Laser is the right pointer to draw attention of the audiences to particular part of screen

💡 Remember L for L aser

Ctrl + A - Arrow is the default pointer. Anytime, you want to change it back to Arrow use Ctrl + A

💡 Remember A for Arrow

Ctrl + P - This change the pointer to Pen with default color. You can start annotating or write on top of the presentation. When you stop presenting, you will get a popup on whether you want to save your scribble in the PPT. It saves the annotation as image objects and can be adjusted or deleted afterwards

💡 Remember P for P en

If you want to change pen color one option is to hover your mouse at the bottom left corner of the screen and you will notice very light panel floating. Click on the pen sign and it will pop-up the color panel. You can change color from there.

Sometimes, you might prefer a blank screen to draw or illustrate, rather than on the present slide. You can make your screen blank

You may Jump to the section for Black or white for annotation

Ctrl +M - This keyboard shortcut simply hide the the annotation that you have made. but do not delete those. anytime during presentation you can un-hide them again by pressing same Ctrl + M for the same slide

Ctrl + E - Pressing this keyboard shortcut sequences changes the pointer to Eraser. Please note that the eraser erases annotation when you press on top of the annotation one at a time.

💡 Remember E for E raser

E - Pressing E erases all annotations. This is irreversible. You cannot get back the annotation that you have erased

💡 Remember E for E rasing

Making screen Blank for Annotation

Sometimes, during presentation, you might need audience's attention and do not want them to look at the screen or you want to do annotation on a white or Black board. you can blank your screen

B - Pressing B in presentation mode makes the screen Black.

. or Period can be used to get back your slide on screen

💡 B for B lack slide

Display a blank White slide and back

W - Pressing W in presentation mode makes the screen Black.

, or comma can be used to return to the presentation from a blank white slide.

💡 W for W hite slide

Summary of Curated list of PowerPoint Keyboard shortcuts for presentation

More From Forbes

How to make your presentation sound more like a conversation.

• Share to Facebook
• Share to Twitter
• Share to Linkedin

The main difference between strong, confident speakers and speakers who seem nervous in front of the room is in how relaxed and conversational they appear. Here are some basic pointers that will help you create a conversational tone when speaking, regardless of the size of your audience.

1. Avoid using the word, “presentation.” Every time you say, “I’m here to give you a presentation on X,” or, “In this presentation, you’ll see…,” you are emphasizing the formal, structured, sometimes artificial nature of the interaction. No one wants to be “presented” to. Instead, use language that emphasizes a natural, conversational exchange. “We’re here today to talk about X,” or “Today I’ll be sharing some ideas regarding Y.” You can even go so far as to say, “I’m glad we have time together today to discuss Z.” Even if your talk is not going to truly be a dialogue, you can use language that suggests engagement with the audience.

2. If you are using PowerPoint, avoid using the word “slide.” Instead of talking about the medium, talk about the concepts. Swap out, “This slide shows you…,” for, “Here we see….” Instead of saying, “On that slide I showed you a moment ago,” say, “A moment ago we were discussing X. Here’s how that issue will impact Y and Z.” Casual conversations don’t usually involve slide decks. Just because your complicated presentation on tax exposure, supply chain issues, or new health care regulations requires you to use slides, doesn’t mean you have to draw attention to that fact that the setting is formal and structured.

3. For many large-group events, speakers are provided with what’s called a “confidence monitor,” a computer screen that sits on the floor at the speaker’s feet showing the slide that appears on the large screen above the speaker’s head. Avoid using confidence monitors. Our natural inclination when using a confidence monitor is to gesture at the bullet point we’re discussing at the moment. However, we are pointing to a bullet point on the screen at our feet, which the audience can’t see, so it creates a disconnect between us and the audience. Instead, stand to the side of the large screen and gesture at the bullet point you’re talking about so that the audience knows which point you are discussing at the moment.

4. Don’t tell your audience, “I want this to be interactive.” It’s your job to make it interactive. If you are delivering the type of presentation where your audience size allows you to create true engagement with your listeners, create that connecting in stages to “warm up” the audience. Stage One engagement is to ask the audience a question relevant to your topic that you know most of the audience members can respond to affirmatively. “Who here has ever bought a new car?” or, “How many of you have ever waited more than 5 minutes on hold on a customer service line?” Raise your hand as you ask the question to indicate to the audience how to respond. Whoever has raised their hand has now participated in the discussion. They have indicated a willingness to engage. Stage Two engagement is calling on one of the people who raised their hand and asking a specific, perfunctory question. Again, it needs to be a question they can answer easily. If your first questions is, “Who here has bought a new car?” you can then call on someone and ask, “How long ago,” or “What kind of car did you buy most recently?” If your first question was, “Have you ever waited on hold for more than 5 minutes,” you can’t ask, “What company were you calling at the time?” The people who raised their hands weren’t thinking of a specific instance; they were just thinking broadly about that type of experience. You could, however, call on someone and ask, “Do you prefer when they play music or ads for the company’s products?” Anyone can answer that question. At that point, you are in an actual dialogue with that person. Stage Three engagement is asking them a question where they need to reveal something more personal. “How does that make you feel when you hear those ads?” You’ve warmed up your audience and drawn them in with baby steps. Now you have actual, meaningful audience participation.

Best High-Yield Savings Accounts Of 2024

Best 5% interest savings accounts of 2024.

5. Use gestures. When we’re speaking in an informal setting, we all use hand gestures; some people use more than others, but we all use them. When we try to rein in our gestures, two things happen that diminish our speaking style. First, we look stiff and unnatural. We look like we are presenting a guarded or cautious version of ourselves; we look less genuine. Second, hand gestures burn up the nervous energy we all have when speaking in front of a large group. That’s good. When we try to minimize our hand gestures, we tie up that nervous energy and it starts to leak out on odd ways, where we start to tap our foot, fidget with our notes or microphone, or tilt our head side to side to emphasize key points. Just let the gestures fly. It’s unlikely they will be too large or distracting. I have coached people on their presentation skills for 26 years. In that time, I have met three people who gestured too much. Everyone else would benefit from using their gestures more freely.

The impact we have as communicators is based on the cumulative effect of many different elements of our delivery. These suggestions alone won’t make you a terrific presenter. They will, however, add to the overall package your present of yourself when speaking to large audiences.

• Editorial Standards
• Reprints & Permissions

Join The Conversation

One Community. Many Voices. Create a free account to share your thoughts. 

Forbes Community Guidelines

Our community is about connecting people through open and thoughtful conversations. We want our readers to share their views and exchange ideas and facts in a safe space.

In order to do so, please follow the posting rules in our site's  Terms of Service.   We've summarized some of those key rules below. Simply put, keep it civil.

Your post will be rejected if we notice that it seems to contain:

• False or intentionally out-of-context or misleading information
• Insults, profanity, incoherent, obscene or inflammatory language or threats of any kind
• Attacks on the identity of other commenters or the article's author
• Content that otherwise violates our site's  terms.

User accounts will be blocked if we notice or believe that users are engaged in:

• Continuous attempts to re-post comments that have been previously moderated/rejected
• Racist, sexist, homophobic or other discriminatory comments
• Attempts or tactics that put the site security at risk
• Actions that otherwise violate our site's  terms.

So, how can you be a power user?

• Stay on topic and share your insights
• Feel free to be clear and thoughtful to get your point across
• ‘Like’ or ‘Dislike’ to show your point of view.
• Protect your community.
• Use the report tool to alert us when someone breaks the rules.

Thanks for reading our community guidelines. Please read the full list of posting rules found in our site's  Terms of Service.