powerpoint presentation slide show shortcut key

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 Fn 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 .

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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

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Edit Text Shortcuts

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Tab Selection Shortcuts

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Navigation Shortcuts

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Outlining Views Shortcuts

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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.

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PowerPoint Slide Show Shortcuts (50+ Keyboard Shortcuts)

Deliver a PowerPoint Presentation in Slide Show or Presenter View using Keyboard Shortcuts

by Avantix Learning Team | Updated June 17, 2024

Applies to: Microsoft ® PowerPoint ® 2016, 2019, 2021 and 365 (Windows)

You can use PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts when you are running a slide show to quickly move around in your PowerPoint presentation. Using your keyboard, you can move from slide to slide, jump to a specific slide or even change the screen to black or white.

Recommended article: 10 PowerPoint Slide Show Tips and Tricks

Do you want to learn more about PowerPoint? Check out our live instructor-led virtual classroom or in-person PowerPoint courses >

On some laptops, you may need to press the Fn key in addition to the listed shortcuts to enable function keys (such as Fn + F5).

Run a slide show

In Normal View or Slide Sorter View, to start a slide show from the beginning, press F5. To start a slide show from the current slide, press Shift + F5.

Exit a slide show

Move to the next slide or animation during a slide show.

To go to the next slide or animation, press the right arrow, down arrow, spacebar, Page Down or N.

Move to the previous slide or animation during a slide show

To go to the previous slide or animation, press the left arrow, up arrow or Page Up or P.

Move to a specific slide during a slide show by title

To go to a specific slide by title during a slide show:

• In Slide Show mode, press Ctrl + S. A dialog box appears with slides and their titles (as they appear in the title placeholders).
• Use the up and down arrow keys to navigate to the desired slide in the dialog box.
• Press Enter to select the slide.

Move to a specific slide during a slide show by number

In Slide Show mode, type the number of the slide you wish to display and press Enter.

Make your screen black or white during a slide show

In Slide Show mode, press B for black screen or W for white screen. Press any key to return to the slide show.

Show or hide the mouse pointer or laser pointer

In Slide Show mode, to display  the mouse pointer or arrow, press Ctrl + A. To hide the mouse pointer, press Ctrl + H.

To display the laser pointer, press Ctrl + L. Press ESC to hide it.

Show or hide the pen, highlighter or eraser

In Slide Show mode, press Ctrl + P to display the pen or Ctrl + I to display the highlighter. Drag over the slide to draw (ink annotation). Press ESC to turn them off.

Press Ctrl + E to display the eraser and you can drag over the ink annotation to erase it. You can also press E to erase all.

Show or hide ink markup

To show or hide ink markup, press Ctrl + M.

Zoom in or out

In Slide Show mode, to zoom in or out, press =  or – on the top right of the keyboard. The = key is also the + key on the top right of the keyboard.

Access the context menu during a slide show

To access the context menu during a slide show (comparable to right-clicking):

• Press Shift + F10 (some users may need to press Shift + Fn + F10) or press the Context button on your keyboard (if you have one). The Context button usually appears near Ctrl and Alt on some keyboards.
• Use the up or down arrow keys to navigate through the menu or type the underlined letter of the command you want to select.
• Press Enter to select menu items if you have used the up and down arrows to navigate.

The Context key appears as a box with lines on some Windows keyboards:

Jump to hyperlinks during a slide show

To go to the first or next hyperlink on a slide, press Tab.

To go to the last or previous hyperlink on a slide, press Shift + Tab.

To perform a hyperlink action (perform the mouse-click behaviour), press Enter while a hyperlink is selected.

Play, pause and stop audio or video during a slide show

To start audio or video on a slide (assuming it is not set to start automatically), press Alt + P or Ctrl + spacebar.

To stop playback, press Alt + Q.

To toggle between play and pause, press Alt + P.

To go to the next bookmark in a video, press Alt + End.

To go to the previous bookmark in a video, press Alt + Home.

To go forward 3 seconds, press Alt + Shift + Page down.

To go backward 3 seconds, press Alt + Shift + Page up.

To go forward 0.25 seconds, then pause, press Alt + Shift + right arrow

To go backward 0.25 seconds, then pause, press Alt + Shift + left arrow

To increase the volume, press Alt + up arrow.

To decrease the volume, press Alt + down arrow.

To mute the sound, press Alt + U.

To toggle the audio and subtitles menu, press Alt + J.

Start and work in Presenter View

To start the presentation in Presenter View, press Alt + F5.

To cycle between Presenter View regions including the Header, tools below the slide and the Notes pane, press F6.

To cycle through tools within a Presenter View region, press Tab.

To scroll down one line in the Notes pane, press Ctrl + down arrow.

To scroll up one line in the Notes pane, press Ctrl + up arrow.

To scroll down one screen in the Notes pane, press Ctrl + Page Down.

To scroll up one screenful in the Notes pane, press Ctrl + Page Up.

To read the next line in the Notes pane, press Alt + A.

To read the previous line in the Notes pane, press Alt + Z.

To read the elapsed time, press Alt + W.

To read the next slide, animation or end of show, press Alt + Q.

To close Presenter View, press ESC.

Turn on live subtitles or captioning (365)

In Slide Show mode, press J.

PowerPoint will use artificial intelligence to create subtitles or captions. You will need PowerPoint 365 to use this feature. It does involve some setup to have the subtitles work well.

Press J again to turn off subtitles.

If you take some time to learn these PowerPoint slide show shortcuts, you'll be able to run your shows without a mouse and focus on your presentation.

This article was originally published on April 10, 2016 and has been updated for clarity and content.

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More resources

How to Highlight Text in PowerPoint (5 Ways)

How to Hide and Unhide Slides in PowerPoint

How to Embed a YouTube Video in PowerPoint

Where to Find Free Images for Your PowerPoint Presentations

How to Insert Video in PowerPoint (from a File on Your PC of Shared Drive)

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PowerPoint Presentation Shortcut Keys

Do you have a list of the best Microsoft PowerPoint Shortcut keys? I didn’t think so, most people that use PowerPoint only use a few of it’s functions and many people don’t know about the fantastic time saving range of shortcut keys that are built into all Microsoft Office tools. These shortcuts are particularly useful with PowerPoint In this guide, I will list the best PowerPoint shortcut keys to help you work more efficiently, whether you’re a novice or an experienced user. There are literally 1’000s but these are my favorites and the ones I find the most useful.

PowerPoint Shortcut Keys for Creating Presentations

There are a range of general shortcuts that can be used across most Microsoft Office tools

• Ctrl + N: Create a new presentation.
• Ctrl + O: Open an existing presentation – this will open a screen with a list of all your recent presentations
• Ctrl + S: Save the current presentation.
• Ctrl + P: Print the current presentation.
• Ctrl + Z: Undo the last action – This is my favourite
• Ctrl + Y: Redo the last action.
• Ctrl + F: Find text within your presentation.
• Ctrl + H: Replace text in your presentation

Shortcut keys for editing text

• Ctrl + X: Cut selected text.
• Ctrl + C: Copy selected text.
• Ctrl + V: Paste copied/cut text.
• Ctrl + B: Bold text.
• Ctrl + I: Italicize text.
• Ctrl + U: Underline text.
• Ctrl + E: Center align text.
• Ctrl + L: Left align text.
• F7: Start spell check
• Ctrl + R: Right align text.

Shortcut keys for formatting text

• Ctrl + Shift + >: Increase font size.
• Ctrl + Shift + <: Decrease font size.
• Ctrl + ]: Increase font size by 1 point.
• Ctrl + [: Decrease font size by 1 point.
• Shift + F3: Toggle between Upper case, Lower case or Sentence case
• Ctrl + Shift + K: Insert a hyperlink.
• Ctrl + M: Insert a new slide.
• Alt + Shift + Arrow Up/Arrow Down: Move selected text or object up/down in the order.

Shortcut Keys For Working With Objects 

Selecting objects on your slides

• Tab: Cycle through objects on a slide.
• Shift + Tab: Cycle backward through objects.
• Ctrl + A: Select all objects on a slide.

Working with Objects on your slides

• Ctrl + D: Duplicate selected object(s).
• Ctrl + T: Open the Format Text dialog box.
• Ctrl + G: Group selected objects.
• Ctrl + Shift + G: Ungroup selected objects.
• Ctrl + ]: Bring selected object forward.
• Ctrl + [: Send selected object backward.

Shortcut Keys for Slide Design

Formatting your Master slide

• Shift + Slide Sorter View button: Access Slide Master view.
• Ctrl + Shift + C: Copy formatting from one object to another.
• Ctrl + Shift + V: Paste formatting to another object.

Changing your design

• Alt + Shift + Left Arrow/Right Arrow: Navigate between design elements.
• Alt + A: Open the Animations tab
• Alt + G: Open the Design tab
• Alt + H: Open the Home tab
• Alt + K: Open the Transitions tab
• Alt + N: Open the Insert tab
• Alt + R: Open the Review tab
• Alt + S: Open the Slide Show tab
• Alt + W: Open the View tab
• Alt + Shift + T: Open the Header & Footer screen

Shortcut Keys for Presenting

These shortcuts are great for using when you are presenting 

• F5: Start the slideshow from the beginning.
• Shift + F5: Start the slideshow from the current slide.
• Space bar or Enter: Advance to the next slide.
• Backspace or P: Go back to the previous slide.
• B: Turn the screen black (press any key to return to the slide).
• W: Turn the screen white (press any key to return to the slide).
• Ctrl + L: Turn your mouse into a laser pointer – only works in presentation mode. Pressing it again turns the laser pointer off

As mentioned there are 1’000s of different shortcuts and some of them only work on older or newer versions of PowerPoint so don’t get frustrated if one doesn’t work on your PC, you can even create your own shortcuts by using the Alt function and following the letters that appear. For example if you press “Alt” the letters will all appear over the functions, if you type the relevant number or letter it will open that function and will then display letters over each function there. you can keep doing this to select what you need simply using your keyboard. So pressing “Alt”, “H” & “U” would open the bullet point function. If at anytime you want to escape simply press “Alt” again

If you don’t create or use PowerPoint very often I find the biggest issue is remembering the shortcuts, I used to use a printed page that went everywhere with me in my laptop bag but then I discovered these fantastic desk mats that have loads of my favourite shortcuts for PowerPoint, Word, Excel and general Windows too. I find these are a great tool for referring to whenever I need to remember a shortcut. 

Mastering these PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts will significantly enhance your productivity and efficiency when creating presentations. Whether you’re a student, business professional, educator or just creating a presentation at home these shortcuts will help you navigate PowerPoint with ease.They are not difficult and just require a little practice, the desk mats are a fantastic way to have them in front of you at all times and the ALT method is a really easy way to navigate quickly through almost any function. So, start practicing today, and take your PowerPoint skills to the next level.

I really enjoy learning new tips and tricks so if you have any you would like to share please let me know in the comments below what your favourite PowerPoint tips are

4 thoughts on “PowerPoint Presentation Shortcut Keys”

Currently, I am in college studying to be a paralegal. I always have to make a lot of PowerPoint Presentations. I was looking for ways to make this easier. Your blog post really helped with that! I am definitely going to use the PWP Shortcut Keys for creating presentations, I am so happy I can now save time while working on school projects! 

    Really glad that the post helped, I was always looking for PowerPoint shortcuts as I knew they existed but could never find them when I needed them.I initially just pulled them together for my own work but was convinced there must be other people in the same boat so just figured I should share it too. Thanks for the feedback and feel free to let me know if you find any that I haven’t included

Hi,that’s crazy there is 1000s of shortcut keys. I would have thought 20 or 30. Max 50.

it just shows how customizable these presentations can be. 

but it makes sense because technology is getting so good so fast. Maybe when there is quantum computers there will be millions of shortcuts. Just imagine trying to memorize those for your upcoming speech. 

But you did a great job of listing these so I can just bookmark this.

Thanks for your feedback, I put my list together initially as I could never find them when I needed them but I have to admit that I never thought to just bookmark it. That is why I ended up buying the desk mat with the shortcuts shown as I find it really useful. It is perfect for people like me with a bad memory 🙂

Thanks again Jake

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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!

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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!

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Quick Links

Start a slideshow in powerpoint's desktop app, start a slideshow in powerpoint's web app, start a slideshow in powerpoint's mobile app, key takeaways.

To start a PowerPoint slideshow on your desktop, open your slideshow and click "Start Slide Show" in the "Slide Show" tab. If you're using the web app, select "From Beginning" in the "Slide Show" tab. On mobile, simply tap the Monitor icon at the top of your screen.

There's nothing quite like finishing a presentation after spending hours getting it just right. Now, show off your hard work by starting your Microsoft PowerPoint slideshow on desktop, web, and mobile using the methods below.

Related: How (and Why) to Start Microsoft PowerPoint from the Command Prompt

To play a slideshow in PowerPoint's desktop app, all you have to do is click an option or press a shortcut on your keyboard .

Start the process by opening your presentation with PowerPoint. Then, in the app's ribbon at the top, select the "Slide Show" tab.

In the "Slide Show" tab, from the "Start Slide Show" section, choose "From Beginning" (or press F5). Now your presentation will play from the very first slide.

If you'd like to start the slideshow from your current slide, choose the "From Current Slide" option. Alternatively, press Shift+F5 on your keyboard.

While your presentation is playing, you can perform various tasks, like moving to the next slide or ending the show. You can reveal these options by right-clicking anywhere on the slide.

Alternatively, you can use the following keyboard shortcuts while viewing your slideshow:

• Spacebar or Right Arrow Button: Go to the next slide in the presentation.
• Left Arrow Button: Go to the previous slide in the presentation.
• Esc: End the show.
• W: Hide your current slide and display a white screen. Press the same key again to bring back the slide's content.
• B: Hide your current slide and display a black screen. Revert back to the slide's content by pressing the same button.
• Ctrl+Left Mouse Button: Activate the laser point tool to point at things in your slides.
• Ctrl+P: Launch the pen tool to annotate your slide's content during your show. You can choose if you'd like to keep these annotations when you end the show.
• Ctrl+i: Access the highlighter tool to highlight items in your slides.

If you'd like to jump to a specific slide while presenting, press that slide's number on your keyboard and hit Enter. For example, press 12 and hit Enter to access that slide quickly.

To access the Presenter view, where you can see the upcoming slides and other options, right-click anywhere on your slide and choose "Show Presenter View."

With these options, you can start a slideshow and have it play exactly how you want.

To play a slideshow on the web, launch your preferred web browser and access PowerPoint on the web . Then, open your presentation.

From PowerPoint's ribbon at the top, select the "Slide Show" tab.

In the "Slide Show" tab, start your slideshow from the first slide by clicking the "From Beginning" option. To have your show play from your current slide, choose "From Current Slide."

Your presentation is now playing.

To reveal the options for moving slides, annotating items, and using Presenter Coach , bring your cursor to your screen's bottom-left corner. Then, click the appropriate icon.

Related: How to Practice Your Presentations with PowerPoint's Presenter Coach

To start a slideshow in the PowerPoint mobile app , launch the app on your phone and open your presentation.

On the presentation screen, at the top, tap the Monitor icon to play the slideshow.

Your presentation has now begun.

To move to the next slide, swipe left on your screen. To go to the previous slide, swipe right.

You can reveal PowerPoint's presentation options, like annotation and black screen tools, by tapping at the top of your presentation. Then, choose the option you'd like to use.

And that's it. Happy presenting!

Want to learn a few tips to help you make the best PowerPoint presentations ? If so, check out our guide.

Related: 8 Tips to Make the Best PowerPoint Presentations

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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 .

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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.

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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 .

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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.

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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

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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).

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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

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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.

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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