Keyboard shortcuts for PowerPoint

Give your productivity a boost with these PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts. Edit slides quickly and easily using simple key presses.

One of the best ways to increase your productivity and speed up your workflow is by using keyboard shortcuts. Key combinations can be especially helpful when creating and editing lengthy presentations in PowerPoint.

Here are some of the most useful PowerPoint shortcuts for actions like saving presentations, moving from one slide to the next, formatting text, zooming in or out, and more.

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Working with presentation files

To get started in PowerPoint, you can use the following keyboard shortcuts to create or open a presentation. Then, use the others to save and close a slideshow.

Action Shortcut
Create a new presentation Ctrl + N
Open a presentation Ctrl + O
Save a presentation Ctrl + S
Save a presentation with a new name, location, or format Ctrl + Shift + S
Close a presentation Ctrl + D
Close PowerPoint Ctrl + Q

Moving to and rearranging slides

For maneuvering around your slides or rearranging their order, keep these handy shortcuts in mind.

Action Shortcut
Insert a new slide Ctrl + M
Go to the next slide Page down
Go to the previous slide Page up
Copy the selected slide Ctrl + Shift + D
Move the slide up Ctrl + Up arrow
Move the slide down Ctrl + Down arrow
Move the slide to the beginning Ctrl + Shift + Up arrow
Move the slide to the end Ctrl + Shift + Down arrow

 Tip: Want to switch to a different size? Check out how to change the slide size in PowerPoint.

Selecting text

If you want to quickly select text in PowerPoint, you can use this next list of keyboard shortcuts. To select additional text, hold the primary key and continue to press the secondary key.

For example, when you use Shift + Right arrow to select one character to the right, you can hold Shift and continue pressing the Right arrow to select additional characters.

Action Shortcut
Select one character to the right Shift + Right arrow
Select one character to the left Shift + Left arrow
Select to the end of a word Ctrl + Shift + Right arrow
Select to the start of a word Ctrl + Shift + Left arrow
Select from the cursor one line up Shift + Up arrow
Select from the cursor one line down Shift + Down arrow
Select from the cursor to the end of a paragraph Ctrl + Shift + Down arrow
Select from the cursor to the start of a paragraph Ctrl + Shift + Up arrow

Working with text and objects

For the basics of copying, pasting, and deleting text or objects, check out these convenient shortcuts.

Action Shortcut
Copy Ctrl + C
Duplicate Ctrl + D
Cut Ctrl + X
Paste Ctrl + V
Paste Special Ctrl + Alt + V
Copy the formatting Ctrl + Shift + C
Paste the copied formatting Ctrl + Shift + V
Delete one character to the left Backspace
Delete one character to the right Delete
Delete one word to the left Ctrl + Backspace
Delete one word to the right Ctrl + Delete

 Tip: Need to create an object to show progress or status? Look at how to add Harvey Balls in PowerPoint.

Moving around text

You don’t have to lift your fingers from the keyboard to move around text on a slide. Just use these keyboard shortcuts.

Action Shortcut
Move one character to the left Left arrow
Move one character to the right Right arrow
Move one word to the left Ctrl + Left arrow
Move one word to the right Ctrl + Right arrow
Move one line up Up arrow
Move one line down Down arrow
Move one paragraph up Ctrl + Up arrow
Move one paragraph down Ctrl + Down arrow
Move to the end of a line End
Move to the start of a line Home

Formatting text

To apply formatting like bold or italics, insert a hyperlink, or align a paragraph, these shortcuts make it easy.

Action Shortcut
Open the Font dialog box Ctrl + T or Ctrl + Shift + F
Apply bold Ctrl + B
Apply italic Ctrl + I
Apply underline Ctrl + U
Apply superscript Ctrl + Shift + Plus sign
Apply subscript Ctrl + Equal sign
Increase the font size Ctrl + Shift + Right angle bracket
Decrease the font size Ctrl + Shift + Left angle bracket
Insert a hyperlink Ctrl + K
Insert an equation Alt + Equal sign
Left align a paragraph Ctrl + L
Right align a paragraph Ctrl + R
Center a paragraph Ctrl + E
Justify a paragraph Ctrl + J

​​Tip: Learn how to curve text in PowerPoint for a unique appearance.

Miscellaneous keyboard shortcuts

For additional keyboard shortcuts, these are some you’ll want to remember. Undo an action, find a word, or zoom in to fit the window.

Action Shortcut
Undo the last action Ctrl + Z
Redo the last action Ctrl + Y
Cancel the current action Esc
Open the Find dialog box Ctrl + F
Open the Replace dialog box Ctrl + H
Zoom in Ctrl + Plus sign
Zoom out Ctrl + Minus sign
Zoom to fit Ctrl + Alt + O

Ribbon shortcuts

Along with the above keyboard shortcuts, you can use ribbon shortcuts to select the actions to perform. Once you use the first key combination to open the tab, you’ll see letters on the ribbon for the available actions.

For example, if you use Alt + N to open the Insert tab, you can then press X to insert a Text Box.

Tab Shortcut
File Alt + F
Home Alt + H
Insert Alt + N
Draw Alt + J
Design Alt + G
Transitions Alt + K
Animations Alt + A
Slide Show Alt + S
Review Alt + R
View Alt + W
Help Alt + Y

 Pro-tip: If you want to be a true PowerPoint power user, try using a macro toolbar which exposes additional functionality as macros. You can also save macros (or other functions to your quick access toolbar and access them using Alt + number key)

Save time with Plus AI for PowerPoint

Keyboard shortcuts aren’t the only tools for saving time when you work in PowerPoint. Using Plus AI, you can create and edit slideshows with artificial intelligence.

You can ask Plus AI to do the research for you, craft the text, and arrange it in an attractive and effective slide layout.

You can also tell Plus AI to insert a summary slide, add a reference or works cited slide, or include a slide with metrics.

Check out the Plus AI website for complete information, a peek at the template gallery, and to start your trial.

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