One of our clients reached out with a request: "Since you're a presentation design agency, I'm sure you know PowerPoint shortcuts like the back of your hand. Could you share a list for our internal teams? Most of us aren’t PowerPoint experts."
Rather than just sending the list to our client, we decided to write and publish this blog so that not only our clients but anyone looking to improve their PowerPoint skills can benefit from it.
What Are PowerPoint Shortcut Keys?
PowerPoint shortcut keys are combinations of keyboard strokes that allow you to execute commands quickly without the need to navigate menus with your mouse. These shortcuts help streamline tasks like editing text, aligning objects, formatting slides, and navigating through your presentation.
Complete List of PowerPoint Shortcut Keys
Text Editing Shortcut Keys
Function | Shortcut |
Bold text | Ctrl + B |
Italicize text | Ctrl + I |
Underline text | Ctrl + U |
Copy selected text or object | Ctrl + C |
Paste copied text or object | Ctrl + V |
Cut selected text or object | Ctrl + X |
Select all text in a text box | Ctrl + A |
Align center | Ctrl + E |
Align left | Ctrl + L |
Align right | Ctrl + R |
Increase font size | Ctrl + Shift + > |
Decrease font size | Ctrl + Shift + < |
Slide Management Shortcut Keys
Function | Shortcut |
Create a new slide | Ctrl + M |
Duplicate a slide | Ctrl + D |
Move to the next slide | Page Down |
Move to the previous slide | Page Up |
Start slideshow from the current slide | Shift + F5 |
Start slideshow from the beginning | F5 |
End slideshow | Esc |
Open the slide sorter view | Alt + Shift + S |
Switch between outline and slide pane | Ctrl + Shift + Tab |
Hide/unhide slide | Ctrl + Shift + H |
Object Handling Shortcut Keys
Function | Shortcut |
Insert a new shape | Ctrl + Shift + M |
Group selected objects | Ctrl + G |
Ungroup selected objects | Ctrl + Shift + G |
Duplicate object | Ctrl + D |
Align objects | Alt + Shift + A |
Rotate objects | Alt + Right/Left Arrow |
Send object backward | Ctrl + Shift + [ |
Bring object forward | Ctrl + Shift + ] |
Distribute objects horizontally | Alt + Shift + H |
Distribute objects vertically | Alt + Shift + V |
General Shortcut Keys
Function | Shortcut |
Save presentation | Ctrl + S |
Open a new presentation | Ctrl + O |
Close presentation | Ctrl + W |
Undo last action | Ctrl + Z |
Redo last undone action | Ctrl + Y |
Open the print dialog | Ctrl + P |
Open the file tab | Alt + F |
Zoom in | Alt + W, Q |
Zoom out | Alt + W, Q, Tab |
Why Are PowerPoint Shortcut Keys Important?
Increased Efficiency: One of the main reasons to learn and use shortcut keys is to speed up your workflow. Instead of constantly switching between your mouse and keyboard, you can perform tasks in a fraction of the time.
Improved Focus: Shortcut keys allow you to maintain your focus on your content without getting distracted by menus and toolbars. This helps keep you in the creative flow, especially when designing complex slides.
Reduced Errors: By using shortcut keys, you reduce the risk of making accidental changes while navigating through menus. This precision is particularly useful when working on detailed slide designs.
Better Navigation: Shortcut keys allow faster navigation between slides, making it easier to present in a smoother and more professional manner.
How to Use PowerPoint Shortcut Keys Effectively
To make the most of PowerPoint shortcut keys, you don’t have to memorize all of them at once. Instead, start by learning shortcuts for tasks you perform frequently. Over time, you’ll develop muscle memory, and the keys will become second nature.
You can also categorize shortcut keys by different tasks:
Text Editing: Shortcuts for formatting text, paragraphs, and bullet points.
Slide Management: Shortcuts for adding, deleting, and navigating slides.
Object Handling: Shortcuts for inserting and aligning objects like shapes and images.
The goal is to incorporate shortcuts into your daily workflow gradually.
Example: Applying Shortcut Keys in Real-Life Scenarios
Let’s say you’re in the process of designing a product sales deck and need to create a visually compelling slide with a lot of text formatting and image placement. Instead of manually going through menus to bold important keywords, you can use Ctrl + B to bold text instantly. To quickly align all your images, you can use the shortcut Alt + Shift + A to open the align menu. If you need to duplicate an image multiple times, Ctrl + D will do the job efficiently.
Once the slides are ready, you can start your slideshow from the current slide using Shift + F5 during your rehearsal to ensure smooth transitions.
Why Hire Us to Build your Presentation?
If you're reading this, you're probably working on a presentation right now. You could do it all yourself. But the reality is - that’s not going to give you the high-impact presentation you need. It’s a lot of guesswork, a lot of trial and error. And at the end of the day, you’ll be left with a presentation that’s “good enough,” not one that gets results. On the other hand, we’ve spent years crafting thousands of presentations, mastering both storytelling and design. Let us handle this for you, so you can focus on what you do best.
How To Get Started?
If you want to hire us for your presentation design project, the process extremely easy.
Just click on the "Start a Project" button on our website, calculate the price, make payment, and we'll take it from there.
We look forward to working with you!
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