Do you use PowerPoint in your daily work? Check out this list of keyboard shortcuts to boost your productivity.
Microsoft PowerPoint is an essential presentation software used by many digital professionals. It allows you to create a visual support, composed of one or more slides, to accompany an oral presentation. You can integrate many elements, such as text, images, graphics, videos, and orchestrate them with animation effects. This list of keyboard shortcuts aims to help you save time when making your PowerPoint presentations.
Good to know: these shortcuts have been tested on the PowerPoint version for Microsoft 365 on Windows. To use them on a Mac keyboard, simply replace Ctrl with Cmd, and Alt with Option.
20 Essential PowerPoint Keyboard Shortcuts
Here is the list of essential keyboard shortcuts to know and master in PowerPoint to quickly create, modify and project a presentation:
- Ctrl + n: create a presentation
- Ctrl + o: open an existing presentation from your documents
- Ctrl + m: add a new slide to your presentation
- Ctrl + a: select all the text in a text box, all the elements present in a slide, or all the slides of a presentation
- Ctrl + g: make the selected text bold
- Ctrl + i: put the selected text in italics
- Ctrl + x: cut selected text, slide or object
- Ctrl + c: copy selected text, slide or object
- Ctrl + v: Paste previously cut or copied text, slide or object
- Delete key: delete selected text, object or slide
- Ctrl + f: use the Find function in your presentation
- Ctrl + z: undo the last action performed on your presentation
- Ctrl + y: repeat the last action performed on your presentation
- Ctrl + s: save your presentation (also works with alt + f2)
- Ctrl + F1 key: show or hide the ribbon
- F5 key: launch the slideshow of your presentation
- Right arrow: go to the next slide
- Left arrow: return to previous slide
- Esc key: exit the slideshow of your presentation
- Ctrl + q: close PowerPoint
Bonus: if you have several PowerPoint presentations open on your computer, you can switch between them by pressing the F6 key on your keyboard.
15 Keyboard Shortcuts to Access Ribbon Tabs in PowerPoint
Discover below the keys to enter to perform actions within the PowerPoint menu, also referred to as the “ribbon” for the presentation software:
- Alt + q: go to the Search field and type a search term
- Alt + f: go to File tab
- Alt + l: Go to Home tab
- Alt + s: go to the Insert tab
- Alt + é: access the Design tab
- Alt + k: access the Transitions tab
- Alt + to: go to the Animations tab
- Alt + w: go to Slideshow tab
- Alt + c: access the Save tab
- Alt + r: Go to Review tab
- Alt + n: access the View tab
- Alt + y: access the Help tab
- Alt + y, then a + 1 (numeric keypad): open the online help menu
- Alt + arrow keys: move right, left, down, or up within the ribbon in PowerPoint
- Space or enter keys: activate a selected button or control.
Bonus: by pressing the Alt key, the shortcuts will appear and you can easily discover the combinations allowing you to perform more advanced actions thanks to your keyboard shortcuts.
15 Shortcuts for Editing and Navigating in a PowerPoint Presentation
Below is a list of keyboard shortcuts that will allow you to edit, make changes and navigate within your PowerPoint presentation, in order to increase your productivity:
- Ctrl + down arrow: move a slide down in your presentation (after clicking the slide to move)
- Ctrl + up arrow: move a slide up in your presentation (after clicking on the slide to move)
- Ctrl + d: duplicate the selected object or slide (after clicking on it)
- Tab key : move to the next object in a slide (also works with shift + tab)
- End key: go to the last slide or, in a text box, to the last line.
- Ctrl + e: center a paragraph in a text box
- Ctrl + j: justify a paragraph in a text box
- Ctrl + l: align a paragraph to the left in a text box
- Ctrl + r: align a paragraph to the right in a text box
- Ctrl + u: underline a term or a paragraph in a text box
- Ctrl + k: insert a hypertext link on one or more terms
- Alt + s, then z + i + 1, then i + 1 + a : insert an image from your device
- Alt + s, then z + i + 2, then e + r : insert a shape (Insert menu > Illustrations)
- Ctrl + alt + v: open the Paste Special dialog box (HTML format, formatted text (RTF), image (PNG)…)
- Ctrl + t: open the Font dialog (after selecting text or an object on the slide)
Bonus: when an object on your slide is selected, simply use the arrow keys to move it in your slide. You can also rotate it by clicking on the following key combination: alt + caps lock (caps locked) + right or left arrow keys.
