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.
General Program Shortcuts
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
Selecting and Navigating Text, Objects, and Slides
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)
Formatting and Editing
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)
Helpful Slideshow Shortcuts
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.
