Microsoft Pow­er­Point shortcuts make working with the most popular pre­sen­ta­tion tool that much easier. The program is a fixed component of Microsoft Office suite. Pow­er­Point shortcuts involve special key com­bi­na­tions, that can easily be entered – a feature that many might know from Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word. Shortcut commands such as [CTRL] + [C] for copying content and [CTRL] + [V] for inserting copied content will be familiar terms for most computer users.

Once you master shortcuts, many working steps become sig­nif­i­cant­ly more efficient. That’s because using your keyboard instead of a mouse elim­i­nates many steps involved in menu nav­i­ga­tion. Below, we’ll introduce you to the most important Pow­er­Point keyboard shortcuts. For improved guidance, we’ve divided them up into different ap­pli­ca­tion areas.

Pow­er­Point shortcuts for working with forms and slides

Slides are in­di­vid­ual work­sheets in Pow­er­Point. They are the central component of every pre­sen­ta­tion and the working basis for all content - from texts, graphics, photos, videos or an­i­ma­tions. The top Pow­er­Point keyboard shortcuts when working with in­te­grat­ed elements are:

Duplicate elements Press [CTRL] + [D] at the same time to duplicate the selected elements.
Repeat actions Repeat the previous action with the [CTRL] + [Y] com­bi­na­tion.
Copy and paste an element’s for­mat­ting Press [CTRL] + [Shift] + [C] to copy an element’s for­mat­ting and [CTRL] + [Shift] + [V] to apply it to another element.
Open the “Insert content” dialog window Use the [CTRL] + [Alt] + [V] com­bi­na­tion to open the “Insert content” dialog window.

The most important Pow­er­Point shortcuts for for­mat­ting and editing texts

Text for­mat­ting has a big impact on how readers perceive your pre­sen­ta­tion. Therefore, if you grapple with struc­tur­ing the text passages in your Pow­er­Point slides, you can ef­fec­tive­ly and quickly perform editing and for­mat­ting with these Pow­er­Point shortcuts:

Increase font size The font size can be increased with the [CTRL] + [Shift] + [>] key com­bi­na­tion.
Reduce font size To reduce the font size, apply the [CTRL] + [Shift] + [<] key com­bi­na­tion.
Apply bold to text and word com­po­nents After selecting a text or word component, this is made bold with the [CTRL] + [B] key com­bi­na­tion.
Apply italics to text and word com­po­nents In order to italicize a text component, press [CTRL] + [I] after selecting the desired section.
Centre texts Text oriented toward the center can look more visually appealing. Centering is performed using the [CTRL] + [E] com­bi­na­tion.
Align text to the left or right With Pow­er­Point keyboard shortcuts, the text can also be aligned to the left ([CTRL] + [L]) and to the right ([CTRL] + [R]).
Line break Enter a line break with the [Shift] + [Enter] key com­bi­na­tion.

Pow­er­Point shortcuts for expanding and col­laps­ing the menu ribbon and starting pre­sen­ta­tions

Using Microsoft Pow­er­Point shortcuts, you can also change the view of Pow­er­Point somewhat by expanding or col­laps­ing the menu ribbon or selection pane. You can also use shortcuts to start pre­sen­ta­tions at the start of the document or a selected slide.

Expand or collapse the menu ribbon The menu ribbon is collapsed and hidden via the Pow­er­Point key com­bi­na­tion [CTRL] + [F1].
Switch between Thumbnail pane and Outline View pane With the [CTRL] + [Shift] + [Tab] key com­bi­na­tion you can switch between the Thumbnail pane and the Outline View pane.
Open and close selection pane The selection pane can be displayed and hidden with the [Alt] + [H] key com­bi­na­tion.
Start slide show With the [F5] key, the pre­sen­ta­tion starts at the beginning.
Start pre­sen­ta­tion with the current slide If you would like to start the pre­sen­ta­tion with the current slide, press [Shift] + [F5].

The most popular Pow­er­Point shortcuts to use during the pre­sen­ta­tion

Pow­er­Point shortcuts aren’t just useful when working on slides. During a pre­sen­ta­tion, Microsoft Pow­er­Point provides you with special shortcuts for com­fort­able nav­i­ga­tion and for executing commands using a keyboard:

Zoom in Would you like to magnify the slide? Use the [CTRL] + [+] key on the numeric keypad and zoom in by up to 300%.
Zoom out If you would like to zoom out, press [CTRL] + [–] (also on the numeric keypad).
Interrupt pre­sen­ta­tion and make the screen go black With the [B] key you can make the screen go black if you want to interrupt your pre­sen­ta­tion and provide your audience with ad­di­tion­al in­for­ma­tion. If you would like to continue, press the key again.

Special Pow­er­Point shortcuts used in com­bi­na­tion with the mouse

In addition to key com­bi­na­tions, there are also special Pow­er­Point shortcuts that can be performed using a com­bi­na­tion of key and mouse actions. If you prefer to work with a mouse, these shortcuts can be useful ways to optimize your workflow.

Add current element to selection If you want to select several slide elements, press and hold [Shift] and left-click on the ap­pro­pri­ate elements.
Duplicate elements If you would like to duplicate an element, press and hold [CTRL] and move the element to the desired position with the mouse.
De­ac­ti­vate Smart Guides and the “Align to slide” feature when moving an element. If you would like to move an element without dis­play­ing the Pow­er­Point Smart Guides and the “Align to slide” option, hold down the [Alt] key and then move the element with the mouse.
Resize an element around its center In order to resize an element around its center, hold down the [CTRL] key and the left mouse button and drag the object smaller or larger.
Change size, but keep the original pro­por­tions If you hold [Shift] and then change the element size with the mouse, the original pro­por­tion will be main­tained.
Change the size when the Smart Guides and the “align to slide” feature are de­ac­ti­vat­ed When adjusting the object size, you can collapse the Smart Guides and the “Align to slide” feature by holding the [Alt] key and then adjusting the size with the mouse.
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