Best Microsoft PowerPoint Shortcut Keys to Improve Your Productivity

In Summary

Microsoft PowerPoint has been a go-to tool for many students and professionals for a few decades now.
The app is feature-loaded with a ton of keyboard shortcuts to make working more efficient.
Below, we have curated a list of some of the best Microsoft PowerPoint shortcut keys you can use to get more out of your presentations.

Microsoft PowerPoint is the most commonly used presentation software globally. And while it’s super-intuitive to use, you can get a lot more done faster and more efficiently if you know some of the keyboard shortcuts that PowerPoint offers.

To help you get around this, we have curated a list of some of the best PowerPoint shortcut keys in this guide that you can use to work faster and more efficiently on PowerPoint.

Microsoft PowerPoint includes a wide variety of keyboard shortcut combinations that allow you to access most of the program’s functionality without using your mouse. If you use PowerPoint frequently, knowing how to work faster and more efficiently will improve your productivity.

Table of Contents

1. Frequently Used PowerPoint Keyboard Shortcuts

Let us first have a look at some of the most frequently used PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts. These PowerPoint shortcuts are fast and easy to use, from adding a new slide to selecting text to format. The following table contains shortcuts that you may frequently use daily.

Action	Shortcut
Create a new presentation.	Ctrl + N	Command + Shift + P
Add a new slide	Ctrl + M	Command + Shift + N
Make selected text bold.	Ctrl + B	Command + B
Change the font size for selected text	Alt + H + F + S	Option + H + F + S
Cut selected text, object, or slide	Ctrl + X	Command + X
Copy selected text, object, or slide	Ctrl + C	Command + C
Paste cut or copied text, object, or slide	Ctrl + V	Command + V
Undo the last action	Ctrl + Z	Command + B
Save the presentation	Ctrl + S	Command + S
Insert a shape	Alt + N + S + H	Option + N + S +H
Select a theme	Alt + G + H	Option + G + H
Select a slide layout	Alt + G + H	Option + G + H
Go to the next slide	Page down	Page down
Go to the previous slide	Page up	Page up
Go to the Home tab.	Alt + H	Option + H
Go to the Insert tab	Alt + N	Option + N
Start the slide show	F5	Command + return
End the slide show	Esc	Esc
Close PowerPoint	Ctrl + Q	Command + Q

2. Ribbon PowerPoint Shortcuts

The ribbon bar is a common feature in many Microsoft Office programs where you can locate commands and tools for designing, formatting, and editing content. The ribbon shortcuts will help you navigate the ribbon bar in Microsoft PowerPoint quickly. To use these PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts, you need to have the ribbon bar displayed. To ensure it is, click on the View tab in the Ribbon toolbar and then select Customize Ribbon.

Action	Shortcut
Open the File menu.	Alt + F	Option + F
Open the Home tab	Alt + H	Option + H
Open the Insert tab	Alt + N	Option + N
Open the Draw tab	Alt + J + I	Option + J + I
Open the Design tab	Alt + G	Option + G
Open the Transitions tab	Alt + K	Option + K
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
Open the Recording tab	Alt + C	Option + C
Open the Help tab	Alt + Y + 2	Option + Y + 2
Open the File menu.	Alt + F	Option + F
Open the Home tab	Alt + H	Option + H
Select the active tab	Alt + N	Option + N
Move the focus to commands on the ribbon	Alt + J + I	Option + J, I
Activate a selected button	Alt + G	Option + G
Open the list for a selected command	Alt + K	Option + K
Move to the next command.	Alt + A	Option + A
Expand or collapse the ribbon	Alt + S	Option + S
Open a context menu	Alt + R	Option + R
Move to the submenu	Alt + W	Option + W
Get help on the currently selected command	Alt + C	Option + C

3. PowerPoint Shortcut Keys for Text blocks

If you find editing text in Microsoft PowerPoint time-consuming, then the following table is worth checking out once. It contains the fastest keyboard shortcuts to use when editing large text blocks in PowerPoint without having to touch your mouse and lift your hands off the keyboard.

Action	Shortcut
Delete one character to the left	Backspace	Backspace
Delete one word to the left	Ctrl + Backspace	Command + Backspace
Delete one character to the right	Delete	Delete
Delete one word to the right	Ctrl + Delete	Command + Delete
Cut selected object or text	Ctrl + X	Command + X
Copy selected object or text	Ctrl + C	Command + C
Paste cut or copied object or text	Ctrl + V	Command + V
Duplicate an object	Ctrl + D	Command + D
Undo the last action	Ctrl + Z	Command + Z
Redo the last action	Ctrl + Y	Command + Y
Copy formatting only	Ctrl + Shift + C	Command + Shift + C
Paste formatting only.	Ctrl + Shift + V	Command + Shift + V
Copy animation painter	Alt + Shift + C	Option + Shift + C
Paste animation painter.	Alt + Shift + V	Command + Shift + V
Open the Paste Special dialog box.	Ctrl + Alt + V	Command + Alt + V

4. PowerPoint shortcut Keys for working with tables

Anyone who isn’t new to PowerPoint would know that tables are a necessary component of every presentation, and it is essential to use them correctly. The following PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts will help you work with tables seamlessly in Microsoft Powerpoint. So let us have a detailed look at them below.

Action	Shortcut
Move to the next cell	Tab key	Tab key
Move to the preceding cell.	Shift + Tab	Shift + Tab
Move to the next row	Down arrow key	Down arrow key
Move to the preceding row	Up arrow key	Up arrow key
Insert a tab in a cell	Ctrl + Tab	Command + Tab
Start a new paragraph	Enter	Return

5. Paragraph Alignment Keyboard Shortcuts

The following table contains some of the most commonly used PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts for paragraph alignment, like justifying a paragraph, centering a paragraph, and aligning a paragraph.

Action	Shortcut
Center a paragraph	Ctrl + E	Command + E
Justify a paragraph	Ctrl + J	Command + J
Left align a paragraph	Ctrl + L	Command + L
Right align a paragraph	Ctrl + R	Command + T

6. PowerPoint shortcut keys for Slideshows

These keyboard shortcuts will be helpful once you have completed your PowerPoint document and are ready to view the presentation. Considering how important it is to use slide transitions effectively in presentations, the following table contains some handy shortcuts that will help you add and edit slide transition effects.

Action	Shortcut
Play the presentation from the start	F5	Command + Shift + Return
Play the presentation from the current slide	Shift + F5	Command + Return
Annotate using a Pen tool while playing the slideshow	Ctrl + P	Command + P
Move to next slide while playing the slideshow	N or Page Down	N or Page Down or Right Arrow or Down Arrow
Return to previous slide while playing the slideshow	P or Page Up	P or Page Up or Left Arrow or Up Arrow
Pause the slideshow and display a Black screen	B	B
Pause the slideshow and display a White screen	W	W
Stop the slideshow	S (press again to resume)	S (press again to resume)
End the slideshow	Esc	Esc or Command + .

Work Efficiently using PowerPoint Keyboard Shortcuts

As you saw, there are a plethora of Microsoft Powerpoint shortcuts available that you may not have been aware of despite using PowerPoint for a few years now. These are not only fast to use but also help you save time. So, don’t be surprised if you find yourself working faster when you know the PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts in the following sections.

Do let us know in the comments below if you found these keyboard shortcuts helpful and if you will start using them the next time you are working on a presentation.