- Here’s a list of the most useful PowerPoin keyboard shortcuts grouped by category.
- Microsoft PowerPoint is still the most used app for making presentations.
- Knowing these essential PowerPoint shortcuts will help you work faster.
I don’t need to remind you I’m a big fan of using the keyboard when working. A two or three-key shortcut can save a few seconds of moving the mouse around trying to get to that menu option you desperately need. These are seconds you save each time, so in time they add up.
To me using the mouse for repetitive actions is also annoying, and being annoyed is the last thing you want when you work. That’s why I see keyboard shortcuts as essential for happy productive work, no matter the program we’re talking about.
And in this article, we’re going to take a look at the most common keyboard shortcuts for PowerPoint and a few less common, but still good-to-know key combos.
Also learn: Open PowerPoint with a dedicated Office shortcut, insert a YouTube video in PowerPoint
General
| Keyboard shortcut | Action |
| 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 |
| Keyboard shortcut | Action |
| 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 to 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
| Keyboard shortcut | Action |
| 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) |
Slideshow Control
| Keyboard shortcut | Action |
| 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 |
Also read: Useful Word keyboard shortcuts and essential Excel shortcuts
What other important PowerPoint shortcuts are you using on a daily basis? Let me know in the comments so I can include them in this list.
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