50+ PowerPoint Shortcut Keys to Save You Time (For Windows and macOS)

Designing good PowerPoint presentations is a much-needed skill for everybody in today’s world. Be it teachers, managers, entrepreneurs, students, or executives; everyone needs presentation skills to achieve success. While one can choose to curate a presentation from scratch, we recommend using expert-designed PowerPoint templates to craft outstanding slides. These templates and certain shortcuts can make your process of designing and delivering presentations much easier and quicker!

What Are Keyboard Shortcut Keys?

As the name suggests, shortcut keys are an alternative to accomplish tasks without using the mouse. These can be a single key or a combination of them that can help you accomplish tasks in less time.

In the following article, the (+) symbol means you need to press those keys simultaneously, while (,) means you need to press multiple keys in order.

Shortcuts for WINDOWS:

Shortcuts to Build Your Presentation

1. Create a New Presentation – Ctrl + N
2. Select a Theme – Alt + G, H
3. Select a Slide Layout – Alt + H,  L
4. Insert a New Slide – Alt + M
5. Copy Selected Text, Image or Object – Ctrl + C
6. Cut Selected Text, Image or Object – Ctrl + X
7. Paste the Text, Image or Object – Ctrl + V
8. Align and Copy Text, Image or Object – Ctrl + Shift + Drag
9. Group Text, Image or Object – Ctrl + G
10. Insert a Picture – Ctrl + N, P
11. Insert a Shape – Alt + H, S, H
12. Save the Presentation – Ctrl + S

Shortcuts to Format Your Presentation

1. Open Design Tab – Alt + G
2. Decrease Font Size – Ctrl + Shift + ,
3. Increase Font Size – Ctrl + Shift + .
4. Bold Text – Ctrl + B
5. Underline Text – Ctrl + U
6. Italicize Text – Ctrl + I
7. Send Object Back – Ctrl + Shift + [
8. Bring Object to Front – Ctrl + Shift + ]
9. Open Zoom Dialogue Box – Alt + W, Q
10. Undo Last Action – Ctrl + Z
11. Redo Last Action – Ctrl + Y
12. Insert Hyperlink – Ctrl + K

Shortcuts to Add Touches to Your Presentation

1. Open Transition Tab – Alt + K
2. Open Animations Tab – Alt + A
3. Open Review Tab – Alt + R
4. Check Spelling – F7

Shortcuts to Rehearse Your Presentation

1. Start the Slideshow – F5
2. Show Presenter View – Alt + F5
3. Play/Pause – Ctrl + Space
4. Set New Timings – T
5. Re-Record Timing – R

Shortcuts to Control Your Presentation

1. Increase Sound Volume – Alt + ↑
2. Decrease Volume – Alt + ↓
3. Mute Sound – Alt + U
4. Go to Next Animation or Slide – N or Spacebar
5. Go to Previous Animation or Slide – P or Backspace
6. Go to Specific Slide – Slide# + Enter

Shortcuts to Focus Audience Attention on Your Presentation

1. Start the Laser Pointer – Ctrl + L
2. Change Pointer to an Arrow – Ctrl + A
3. Change Pointer to Pen- Ctrl + P
4. Change Pointer to an Eraser – Ctrl + E
5. Show or Hide Ink Markup – Ctrl + M
6. Go to Next Hotspot on Slide – Tab
7. Follow Hyperlink on Slide – Enter
8. Showcase Black Screen – B
9. Showcase White Screen – W
10. End the Slideshow – Esc
11. Close PowerPoint – Ctrl + Q 

Shortcuts for MAC:

Shortcuts to Build Your Presentation

1. Create a New Presentation – ⌘ + N
2. Insert a New Slide – Alt + M
3. Copy Selected Text, Image or Object – Ctrl + C
4. Cut Selected Text, Image or Object – Ctrl + X
5. Paste the Text, Image or Object – Ctrl + V
6. Save the Presentation – ⌘ + S
7. Save As – ⌘ + Shift + S

Shortcuts to Format Your Presentation

1. Decrease Font Size – ⌘ + Shift + ,
2. Increase Font Size – ⌘ + Shift + .
3. Bold Text – ⌘ + B
4. Underline Text – ⌘ + U
5. Italicize Text – ⌘ + I
6. Undo Last Action – ⌘ + Z
7. Redo Last Action – ⌘ + Y
8. Insert Hyperlink – ⌘ + K

Shortcuts to Add Touches to Your Presentation

1. Open Transition Tab – Alt + K
2. Open Animations Tab – Alt + A
3. Open Review Tab – Alt + R
4. Check Spelling – F7

Shortcuts to Rehearse Your Presentation

1. Start the Slideshow – F5
2. Show Presenter View – Alt + F5
3. Set New Timings – T
4. Re-Record Timing – R

Shortcuts to Control Your Presentation

1. Zoom In – ⌘ + +
2. Zoom Out – ⌘ + –
3. Go to Next Animation or Slide – ⌘ + ↓
4. Go to Previous Animation or Slide – ⌘ + ↑
5. End the Slideshow – Esc
6. Close PowerPoint – ⌘ + Q 

We hope that these PowerPoint shortcuts help you draft and deliver your next presentations quickly!