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Today, everyone knows how to use Microsoft PowerPoint, though some people know it better than others. As you read this, you might think that you know everything there is to know about how to use PowerPoint to its fullest. We don’t doubt that you’re good at what you do, but you might be surprised by how many different ways you can use the computer to work faster.
Like Excel’s shortcut keys, these tools let users use their keyboards in different ways and get things done faster. Keyboard shortcuts can save you a lot of time, and if you know the most important ones, they can also help your presentation go more quickly. For speed, we’ve put our PowerPoint shortcuts into the two most important parts of a presentation: making it and giving it.
Importance Of PowerPoint Shortcuts
PowerPoint shortcuts are very important if you want to be more productive, save time, and have a better general experience when making and giving presentations. Here are some reasons why these tools are helpful:
- Consistency Among Applications: PowerPoint shares many computer shortcuts with other Microsoft Office programs, such as Word and Excel. If you learn and use these shortcuts, you can make your use of the Office suite more regular and easy to understand.
- Better Presentations: If you know shortcuts, you can move through slides, interact with material, and control animations more quickly and easily during a presentation. This makes your presentation look polished and expert to your audience.
- Reduced Repetitive Tasks: Some tasks, like formatting text, lining up items, and adding animations, can be done over and over again. With shortcuts, you don’t have to do these things by hand every time, which saves time and reduces the chance of making mistakes.
Best PowerPoint Shortcuts
Your productivity will become more efficient as a result of the use of shortcuts because you will have less need to switch between the keyboard and the mouse. This helps to retain your focus and concentration, which ultimately results in a working process that is smoother and more efficient. When compared to going through menus and options, doing things significantly more quickly is possible when you use shortcuts.
| Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + N | Create a new presentation |
| Ctrl + O | Open an existing presentation |
| Ctrl + S | Save the presentation |
| Ctrl + Z | Undo the last action |
| Ctrl + Y | Redo the last action |
| Ctrl + Home | Go to the first slide |
| Ctrl + End | Go to the last slide |
| Page Up | Go to the previous slide |
| Page Down | Go to the next slide |
| Ctrl + G | Go to a specific slide |
| Ctrl + H | Hide the current slide in the presentation |
Text Formatting:
| Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + B | Bold text |
| Ctrl + I | Italicize text |
| Ctrl + U | Underline text |
| Ctrl + Shift + > | Increase font size |
| Ctrl + Shift + < | Decrease font size |
| Ctrl + Shift + F | Change font |
| Ctrl + Shift + P | Change font size |
| Ctrl + Shift + A | Align text to the left |
| Ctrl + Shift + C | Center-align text |
| Ctrl + Shift + E | Align text to the right |
| Ctrl + L | Apply left alignment to text in a placeholder |
| Ctrl + R | Apply right alignment to text in a placeholder |
Slide Show:
| Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|
| F5 | Start the slide show from the beginning |
| Shift + F5 | Start the slide show from the current slide |
| B | Turn the screen black |
| W | Turn the screen white |
| Esc | Exit the slide show |
| Enter | Go to the next slide |
| Spacebar | Go to the next slide |
| Backspace | Go to the previous slide |
| N | Go to the next animation or build step |
| P | Go to the previous animation or build step |
| Ctrl + P | Change the pointer to a pen |
General Editing:
| Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + X | Cut selected items |
| Ctrl + C | Copy selected items |
| Ctrl + V | Paste copied or cut items |
| Ctrl + Shift + V | Paste special |
| Delete | Delete selected items |
| Ctrl + D | Duplicate selected items |
| Ctrl + F | Find text or objects in the presentation |
| Ctrl + H | Replace text in the presentation |
| Ctrl + A | Select all items |
| Ctrl + Shift + F5 | Reset the slide layout |
| Ctrl + K | Insert a hyperlink |
Best Powerpoint Shortcuts for Different Platforms
You can navigate to the first slide by pressing Ctrl + Home, and you can get to the last slide by pressing Ctrl + End. Simply click the first slide, hold down the Shift key, and then click the last slide to choose multiple slides that are sequential. Hold down the Control key while clicking on each slide in order to select slides that are not consecutive.
Mac Shortcuts:
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Command+N | Create a new presentation |
| Command+O | Open an existing presentation |
| Command+S | Save the presentation |
| Command+P | Print the presentation |
| Command+C | Copy selected text or objects |
| Command+V | Paste copied text or objects |
| Command+Z | Undo the last action |
| Command+Y | Redo the last action |
| Command+A | Select all objects |
| Command+B | Apply or remove bold formatting |
| Command+I | Apply or remove italic formatting |
| Command+U | Apply or remove underline formatting |
| Command+D | Duplicate selected objects |
| Command+X | Cut selected text or objects |
| Command+K | Insert a hyperlink |
| Command+M | Insert a new slide |
| F5 | Start the slideshow from the beginning |
| Shift+F5 | Start the slideshow from the current slide |
| Command+F | Find text within the presentation |
| Command+H | Replace text within the |
Windows Shortcuts:
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+N | Create a new presentation |
| Ctrl+O | Open an existing presentation |
| Ctrl+S | Save the presentation |
| Ctrl+P | Print the presentation |
| Ctrl+C | Copy selected text or objects |
| Ctrl+V | Paste copied text or objects |
| Ctrl+Z | Undo the last action |
| Ctrl+Y | Redo the last action |
| Ctrl+A | Select all objects |
| Ctrl+B | Apply or remove bold formatting |
| Ctrl+I | Apply or remove italic formatting |
| Ctrl+U | Apply or remove underline formatting |
| Ctrl+D | Duplicate selected objects |
| Ctrl+X | Cut selected text or objects |
| Ctrl+K | Insert a hyperlink |
| Ctrl+M | Insert a new slide |
| F5 | Start the slideshow from the beginning |
| F6 | Switch between the slideshow and the thumbnail pane |
| Shift+F5 | Start the slideshow from the current slide |
| Alt+F4 | Close PowerPoint |
| Ctrl+F | Find text within the presentation |
| Ctrl+H | Replace text within the presentation |
| Ctrl+Shift+< | Decrease the font size of selected text |
| Ctrl+Shift+> | Increase the font size of selected text |
| Ctrl+Shift+C | Copy formatting of selected text or objects |
| Ctrl+Shift+V | Paste formatting of copied text or objects |
| Ctrl+Shift+D | Insert a new slide with the same layout as the current |
| Ctrl+Shift+F5 | Start the slideshow from the current slide in a windowed mode |
| Ctrl+Shift+G | Group selected objects |
| Ctrl+Shift+U | Ungroup selected objects |
| Ctrl+Shift+P | Insert a new slide with a predefined layout |
How to Use PowerPoint Shortcuts effectively?
Using PowerPoint tools well can save you time and make it easier to make a presentation. Here’s a guide to using PowerPoint tools to their fullest:
- Learn How to Save Time: Start by learning the tools that are used most often in PowerPoint. These include saving (Ctrl + S), copying (Ctrl + C), pasting (Ctrl + V), and deleting (Ctrl + Z). These simple shortcuts can be used in a lot of different programs.
- Use Shortcuts on the Ribbon: The Ribbon in PowerPoint has different tabs with controls on them. To use the keys to move around the Ribbon, press the Alt key. This will show letter-based key tips for each tab and action. To open a tab, press the key that goes with it, and then use the key tips to move around inside the tab.
- Customize Shortcuts on the Quick Access Toolbar: The Quick Access Toolbar is above the Ribbon and can be set up with the tools you use most often. Right-click on any action in the Ribbon and choose “Add to Quick Access Toolbar.” You can also use keys like Alt + [Number] to quickly access commands on the Quick Access Toolbar, where [Number] is the command’s position from left to right.
- Use Slide Sorter View: In Slide Sorter view, you can easily change the order of slides by dragging and moving. To move chosen slides up or down, press Ctrl + Shift + Up Arrow or Ctrl + Shift + Down Arrow.
Question and Answers
Press the F7 key on your computer to start the spell check. If you are using a notebook, you may need to hold the function key (Fn) while you press F7 to use the shortcut. This will start with the mistakes on your current slide and continue through the rest of your show.
When you press Ctrl + D in Microsoft PowerPoint, a copy of the chosen slide is added. Choose the slide you want from the thumbnails on the left side of the PowerPoint window, then press Ctrl + D. You can also use this computer shortcut to copy things like shapes.
Yes, you can change the options in PowerPoint to suit your needs. Through the PowerPoint Options menu, you can give or change shortcuts for different tasks.