PowerPoint is an indispensable tool for business professionals, aiding in creating impactful presentations that can make or break a deal. However, creating and delivering presentations can be time-consuming. To help you speed up your presentation slide design and delivery performance, here are 30 essential PowerPoint shortcuts every user should master.
Table of Contents
- Reasons to Learn PowerPoint Shortcuts
- Frequently Used Shortcuts
- Apply Character Formatting
- Ribbon Navigation
- Select and Edit Text and Objects
- Control Slides During a Presentation
- Conclusion
Reasons to Learn PowerPoint Shortcuts
Time Efficiency and Productivity: Mastering PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts can significantly reduce the time spent creating and editing presentations, allowing users to focus on content and delivery.
Enhanced Focus: By eliminating the need to search for functions in menus, presenters can maintain their focus on the task at hand, leading to better quality work.
Professionalism: Quick and seamless operation during a presentation can make a user appear more professional and in control.
Ease of Use: Once mastered, keyboard shortcuts become second nature, making the software easier and more enjoyable.
Accessibility: For users with disabilities, PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts can provide an easier and more accessible way to use software.
Frequently Used Shortcuts
This selection of shortcuts represents the most commonly used tools by PowerPoint users. Applying these shortcuts to our workflow will significantly speed up our performance.
- Insert a new slide: CTRL + M / CMD + M
- Duplicate a selected object or slide: CTRL + D / CMD + D
- Change the zoom for the slide: ALT + W + Q / OPTION + W + Q
- Cut selected object, text, or slide: CTRL + X / CMD + X
- Copy selected object, text, or slide: CTRL + C / CMD + C
- Paste selected object, text, or slide: CTRL + V / CMD + V
- Undo the last action: CTRL + Z / CMD + Z
- Start Slide Show: ALT + S + B / OPTION + S + B
- End Slide Show: Esc / Esc
- Insert a Picture: ALT + N + P / OPTION + N + P
Apply Character Formatting
This set of shortcuts will help us to edit our copy text in PowerPoint slides.
- Open the Font dialogue box: CTRL + T / CMD + T
- Apply bold formatting: CTRL + B / CMD + B
- Apply an underline: CTRL + U / CMD + U
- Apply italic formatting: CTRL + I / CMD + I
- Apply subscript formatting: CTRL + = / CMD + =
- Apply superscript formatting: CTRL + SHIFT + ‘+’ / CMD + SHIFT + ‘+’
- Insert a hyperlink: CTRL + K / CMD + K
Ribbon Navigation
Instead of manually switching between tabs in the Ribbon, we can do it via PowerPoint shortcuts.
- Open the File page: ALT + F / OPTION + F
- Open the Home tab: ALT + H / OPTION + H
- Open the Insert tab: ALT + N / OPTION + N
- Open the Design tab: ALT + G / OPTION + G
- Open the Transitions tab: ALT + T / OPTION + T
- Open the Animations tab: ALT + A / OPTION + A
- Open the Slide Show tab: ALT + S / OPTION + S
- Open the Review tab: ALT + R / OPTION + R
- Open the View tab: ALT + W / OPTION + W
Select and Edit Text and Objects
Most of these shortcuts are handled with the arrow keys of your keyboard in combination with CTRL/CMD and SHIFT/OPTION. We will list a few other shortcuts, but you can find the full list in the infographic shown at the end of this guide.
- Send object back one position: CTRL + [ / CMD + [
- Send object forward one position: CTRL + ] / CMD + ]
- Select another object (when one is selected): TAB or SHIFT + TAB / OPTION + TAB
- Send an object to the back: CTRL + SHIFT + [ / CMD + OPTION + [
- Bring an object to the front: CTRL + SHIFT + ] / CMD + OPTION + ]
Control Slides During a Presentation
Ideally, these shortcuts are handled by the person in charge of the slides during the presentation rather than the speaker. Still, since both roles sometimes are done by the same presenter, it’s best to familiarize ourselves with these shortcuts.
- Stop or restart an automatic presentation: S
- End a presentation: ESC
- Erase on-screen annotations: E
- Display a blank slide or return to the presentation: W
- Hide the pointer and navigation button immediately: CTRL + H
Conclusion
Mastering PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts is not just about saving time; it’s about transforming your work process to be more efficient, professional, and focused. The benefits are clear, from increased productivity and ease of use to enhanced professionalism during presentations.
We invite you to take the time to learn and practice these shortcuts. Incorporate them into your daily work routine and watch as they become second nature, significantly improving your presentation design and delivery. Remember, the small investment of time and effort you put into mastering these shortcuts will pay off in the long run, giving you a valuable skill that will serve you well throughout your professional journey. So, start today and unlock the full potential of your presentations with the power of keyboard shortcuts!
