PowerPoint is the free presentation software for Windows that comes along with the other software of Microsoft Office. It is the most widely used software as it is user friendly and can be used to create excellent presentations easily!
Microsoft Powerpoint provides us with all the tools required to create a presentation along with almost all graphical elements. As a beginner or expert, one can easily understand these tools but using them could seem a bit tedious.
So one must learn the Powerpoint keyboard shortcuts for quick access and easy creation of presentations. In this article, we will cover all the best Microsoft Powerpoint keyboard shortcuts!
Microsoft PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts
Here are top Microsoft PowerPoint keyword shortcuts you should know about
1. Shortcuts for Windows
Here is a list of shortcuts that would make the process of presentation seamless and mouse-free:
The commonly used shortcuts are:
- Open a ‘New presentation’ – CTRL + N
- Add a ‘New Slide’ – CTRL + M
- Close the Presentation – CTRL + O
- Save the presentation – CTRL + S
- For the ‘Save as’ option – F12
- For the next slide – Page Up
- For a previous slide – Page Down
- For selecting a theme – Alt + G, H
- For selecting a slide layout – Alt + H, L
Shortcuts for editing the presentation
2. Insert shortcuts
- Picture – Alt + N, P
- Shape – Alt + N, S, H
- Copy – CTRL + C
- Paste – CTRL + V
- Copy with formatting – CTRL +Shift + C
- Paste with formatting – CTRL + Shift + V
3. Edit texts
- For increasing the ‘Font size’ :
- For decreasing the ‘Font size’:
- Bold option: CTRL + B
- Italics option: CTRL + I
- Underline option: CTRL + U
- Changing the case of alphabets: CTRL + F3
- Undo – CTRL +Z
- Redo – CTRL + Y
4. Edit Objects
- Selection of every object – CTRL + A
- Create a group of the selected objects – CTRL + G
- Ungrouping of the objects – CTRL + Shift + G
- Next object – Tab
- Previous object – Shift + Tab
- To cut the object – CTRL + X
- To paste the object – CTRL + V
- To copy the object – CTRL + C
- To duplicate the object – CTRL + D / CTRL + Drag the mouse
5. Format the objects
- Text box editing options:
- Increase the width of the box – Shift + Right arrow
- Decrease the width of the box – Shift + Left Arrow
- Increase the height of the box – Shift + Upper arrow
- Decrease the height of the box – Shift + Lower arrow
- Rotate the objects:
- Clockwise – Alt + Right arrow
- Counter- Clockwise – Alt + Left arrow
6. Alignment of the texts
- Left – CTRL + L
- Right – CTRL + R
- Center – CTRL + E
7. Zoom options
- Zoom In: + (Plus)
- Zoom Out: CTRL + – (Minus)
8. Access the Ribbon
These are a few PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts to use the tools for the texts or graphics on the screen. Further, let us check out how to access the tools on the Ribbon with the keyboard.
- For accessing the Search option – Alt + Q
- To open the File menu – Alt + F
- To access the Home tab – Alt + H
- To access the Insert tab – Alt + N
- To access the Design tab – Alt + G
- To access the Transitions tab – Alt + K
- To access the Animations – Alt + A
- To access the View tab – Alt + W
- To access the Slideshow tab – Alt + S
- To access the Review tab – Alt + R
If you have an active key selected on the Ribbon then you can just toggle between the tabs instead of using the individual shortcuts. For this, use the following combinations:
- Expand the Ribbon using the command -CTRL + F1
- To activate the key use – Alt / F10
- Then use the arrow keys to move towards the next option.
- To select and open the menu use the – Alt + Down arrow
9. Settings to edit, align, and move the paragraphs:
- Promote the selected paragraph – Alt + Shift + Left arrow
- Demote the selected paragraph – Alt + Shift + Right arrow
- Expand the paragraph below a heading – Alt + Shift + Plus
- Collapse the paragraph below a heading – Alt + Shift + Minus
- Move the selected paragraph up – Alt + Shift + Upper arrow
- Move the selected paragraph down – Alt + Shift + Lower arrow
10. To insert the symbols:
These PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts are very important while creating a presentation with legal data or research pieces of information.
- Copyright symbol – Insert > Symbols > Type ‘c’
- Trademark symbol – Insert > Symbols > Type ‘tm’
- Registered trademark symbol – Insert > Symbols > Type ‘r’
- Add hyperlink – Press CTRL + K
Best Microsoft PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts during the presentation
One cannot remember every shortcut mentioned above, so here are some of the useful quick tools to use while making a presentation are:
- To start a presentation from the beginning with the shortcut – F5
- To start the presentation from the current slide with the shortcut – Shift + F5
- Use the ‘Pen tool’ during slideshow – CTRL + P
- Open the ‘Next’ slide – Page Down / N / Right arrow
- Open the ‘Previous’ slide – Page Up / P / Left arrow
- To turn the screen ‘Black’ during slideshow – B
- To turn screen ‘White’ during the slideshow – W
- To remove the ‘White’ screen and return to the presentation – Press W again
- To remove the ‘Black’ screen and return to the presentation – Press B again
- To end the slideshow – Esc
Combinations of mouse and keyboard shortcuts
Even though we are focusing on the Microsoft PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts, here are few extra tips that might be easier than the conventional methods. Here are some of such combinations:
- To select multiple items at a single time use:
- Shift > Click on the item you want to select
- To move an item perpendicularly upwards and downwards or towards left and right then use:
- Shift + Drag the object Up / Down / Left / Right.
- To proportionally resize an object, use:
- Shift + Resize with mouse
The PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts for iOS, Mac, Android, etc. are different. To know more about the keyboard shortcuts for other platforms click here.
These shortcuts would prevent opening the menu each time you want to alter or jump to some slide. Hence this would keep the PowerPoint presentation smooth and effective.
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