The Best Microsoft PowerPoint Keyboard Shortcuts image

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.

Table of Contents

    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.

    Ctrl+N Create a new presentation.
    Ctrl+O Open already existing presentation
    Ctrl+S Saves a presentation that is currently open
    Alt+F2 or F12 Opens a Save As dialog box
    Ctrl+Q Save and close a presentation
    Ctrl+W or Ctrl+F4 Close currently active presentation
    F1 Opens the Help panel
    F7 Check spelling
    F10 or Alt Turns the key tips on and off
    Ctrl+F1 Expand or collapse the ribbon
    Ctrl+F2 Enter Print Preview mode
    Ctrl+Tab Switch between multiple opened presentations
    Ctrl+Z Undo the last action
    Ctrl+Y Redo the last action
    Ctrl+F Open the find dialog box
    Alt+G Navigate to the Design tab
    Alt+A Navigate to the Animation tab
    Alt+K Navigate to the Transition tab
    Alt+S Navigate to the Slide Show tab
    Alt+F Navigate to the File menu
    Alt+H Navigate to the Home tab
    Alt+N Open the Insert tab
    Alt+W Navigate to the View tab
    Alt+R Open the Review Tab
    Alt+X Navigate to the Add-ins tab

    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.

    Home Go to the beginning of a line in a textbox, or to the first slide in the presentation
    End Go to the end of a line in a textbox, or to the last slide in the presentation
    Page Up Go to the previous slide
    Page Down Go to the next slide
    Ctrl+Up Arrow Move a slide in your presentation up
    Ctrl+Down Arrow Move a slide in your presentation down
    Ctrl+Shift+Up Arrow Move a slide to the beginning of the presentation
    Ctrl+Shift+Down Arrow Move a slide to the end of the presentation
    Ctrl+A Select all slides in a presentation (in slide sorter view), all texts in text boxes, or all objects on a slide
    Tab Move to the next object in the slide, or select it
    Shift+Tab Move to the previous object in the slide, or select it
    Alt+Q Navigate to Tell me what you want to do

    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.

    Ctrl+C Copy the selected text, objects in slide, or slides in presentation
    Ctrl+X Cut the selected text, objects in slide, or slides in presentation
    Ctrl+V Paste previously copied or cut text, objects, or slides
    Delete Delete the previously selected text, object, or a slide
    Ctrl+Backspace Delete a word to the left
    Ctrl+Delete Delete a word to the right
    Ctrl+B Bold the selected text. Press again to remove bold
    Ctrl+I Make the selected text Italic. Press again to remove the Italic
    Ctrl+U Underline the selected text. Press again to remove the underline
    Ctrl+E Align the selected text to the center
    Ctrl+L Align the selected text to the left
    Ctrl+R Align the selected text to the right
    Ctrl+J Justify the selected text
    Ctrl+T Open the font dialog box for the selected text object
    Ctrl+G Group items together
    Ctrl+Shift+G Ungroup items
    Ctrl+K (on selected text or object) Insert hyperlink
    Ctrl+M Insert new slide
    Ctrl+D Duplicate a selected object or slide
    Ctrl+Shift+Right Arrow Increase the size of the font
    Ctrl+Shift+Left Arrow Decrease the size of the font
    Alt+W then Q CHange the Zoom for the slides
    Ctrl++ Make the selected text a superscript
    Ctrl+= Make the selected text subscript
    Hold Alt + N and then P Insert a Picture
    Hold Alt+H then S then H Insert a shape
    Hold Alt+H then L Select a layout for a slide

    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.

    F5 Start the presentation from the beginning
    Shift+F5 Start the presentation from the current slide
    Alt+F5 Start the presentation in Presenter View
    Right Arrow (or Enter) Navigate to the next slide or animation
    Left Arrow Navigate to the previous slide or animation
    Home Restart the presentation from the first slide
    End Quickly go to the last slide
    S Start or stop playing automatic presentation
    Slide number+enter Go to a specific slide
    Ctrl+S Open All Slides dialog box
    Esc Exit the presentation
    B or W To pause the presentation and enter a blank (black or white) screen
    Ctrl+L Change the cursor into a laser dot
    Ctrl+P Live draw on presentation with a pen
    E Erase anything drawn with a pen
    Ctrl+H Hide navigation controls

    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.