PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts
PowerPoint has two sets of shortcuts worth knowing: the editing ones you use while building slides, and the presenting ones (B, W, slide numbers) that save you when a live show goes sideways.
Practise PowerPoint shortcuts
15 PowerPoint shortcuts for Windows. You get 10 prompts: press the real keys on your keyboard (or pick from four answers on a phone). Anything you miss comes back sooner in your daily review.
PowerPoint shortcut cheat sheet
Slides
| Action | Windows | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| New slide | CtrlM | ⌘cmd⇧shiftN |
| Duplicate slide or object | CtrlD | ⌘cmdD |
| Start slideshow from beginning | F5 | ⌘cmd⇧shift↩return |
| Start slideshow from current slide | ShiftF5 | ⌘cmd↩return |
| End slideshow | Esc | esc |
| Black screen during show | B | B |
| White screen during show | W | W |
| Go to slide number during show | NumberEnter | Number↩return |
Objects
| Action | Windows | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Group objects | CtrlG | ⌘cmd⌥optionG |
| Ungroup objects | CtrlShiftG | ⌘cmd⌥option⇧shiftG |
| Bring forwardBrings to front on Windows | CtrlShift] | ⌘cmd⇧shift] |
| Nudge object | Arrow keys | Arrow keys |
Text
| Action | Windows | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Center text | CtrlE | ⌘cmdE |
| Increase font size | CtrlShift. | ⌘cmd⇧shift. |
| Insert hyperlink | CtrlK | ⌘cmdK |
Source: Microsoft Support: Keyboard shortcuts in PowerPoint; Microsoft Support: Keyboard shortcuts to deliver PowerPoint presentations. Defaults for the current version as documented by Microsoft; custom keymaps and non-US keyboard layouts can differ.
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Type a task in plain words and get the shortcut for Windows, with a note if the app lacks one.
PowerPoint shortcut questions
How do I start a PowerPoint slideshow from the current slide?
Shift+F5 on Windows or Cmd+Return on a Mac. F5 (Cmd+Shift+Return) starts from the first slide.