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50 + PowerPoint Keyboard Shortcuts

Fiona Walsh
September 30, 2024

In this post, we focus on PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts. Here are over 50 useful shortcuts for PowerPoint;

Getting Started

Create a new presentation – Ctrl + N

Open an existing presentation – Ctrl + O

Save As – Ctrl + Shift + S

Print your presentation – Ctrl + P

Cancel a command, e.g. Print – Esc

Editing Slides

Insert a new slide – Ctrl + M

Undo and Redo – Ctrl + Z undoes your last action, and Ctrl + Y will redo your last action

Copy a slide, text, or other object – Ctrl + C

Paste a slide, text, or other object – Ctrl + V

Open the Clipboard to see previously copied items – Windows + V

Delete a selected slide, text, or other object – Delete

Move a slide up one slide – Ctrl + Up Arrow

Move a slide down one slide – Ctrl + Down Arrow

Move a slide to the start of the presentation – Ctrl + Shift + Up Arrow

Move a slide to the end of the presentation – Ctrl + Shift + Down Arrow

Repeat the last action – F4 or Function + F4, depending on your keyboard

Zoom out – Ctrl and turn the mouse wheel towards you

Zoom in – Ctrl and turn the mouse wheel away from you

Make a copy of the selected slide – Ctrl + Shift + D

Duplicate selected objects – Ctrl + D or Ctrl + Drag and release your mouse

Copy the formatting of the selected object or text – Ctrl + Shift + C

Paste copied formatting to the selected object or text – Ctrl + Shift + V

Copy animation painter – Alt + Shift + C

Paste animation painter – Alt + Shift + V

Select another object when one object is already selected – Tab

Send object to back – Ctrl + Shift + [

Send object to front – Ctrl + Shift + ]

Select all objects on a slide – Ctrl + A

Group selected objects – Ctrl + G

Ungroup selected group – Ctrl + Shift + G

Regroup selected objects – Ctrl + Shift + J

Rotate selected objects clockwise by 15 degrees – Alt + Left Arrow

Rotate selected objects anticlockwise by 15 degrees – Alt + Right Arrow

Play or pause media – Ctrl + Spacebar

Insert a hyperlink – Ctrl + K

Insert a new comment – Ctrl + Alt + M

Insert an equation – Alt + =

Presenting with PowerPoint

To start a presentation from the first slide – F5

To start a presentation from the current slide – Shift + F5

Go to the next slide or start the next animation – N, or Enter, or Spacebar, Page Down, Right Arrow, or Down Arrow

Go back to the previous slide or animation – P, or Page Up, or Left Arrow, or Up Arrow

Go to the first slide – Home

Go to the last slide – End

Go to a specific slide – enter the slide number followed by Enter, e.g. 10 + Enter to go to slide number 10

Switch between the presentation and a black or white screen (to bring focus back to the presenter) – B, or W

Start the laser pointer – Ctrl + L

Annotate the presentation with a pen – Ctrl + P

Erase annotations – E

Hide the pointer and navigation controls (laser pointer or pen) – Ctrl + H

End a presentation – Escape

For custom keyboard shortcuts, press and release the Alt key and you will see Access Keys, a series of letters and numbers on the Ribbon. Access Keys are an accessibility tool, and while they are essential for some, they are useful for all! Press the corresponding key on your keyboard and you will be taken to the Tab you have chosen and shown a new series of letters for the Tab. For example, if you want to open the Animation Pane, press the Alt key, then A, and, finally C.

Image of Access Keys on The PowerPoint Ribbon

Thank you for reading this post. I’d love to hear about your favourite keyboard shortcuts, and if you need assistance with PowerPoint training for your team, please get in touch!

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