shortcut key to start powerpoint presentation

5 PowerPoint Keyboard Shortcuts to Start a Slide Show

Try These Useful PowerPoint Shortcuts to Start a Slide Show

by Avantix Learning Team | October 16, 2021

Applies to: Microsoft ® PowerPoint ® 2013, 2016, 2019 and 365 (Windows)

You can start a slide show in PowerPoint using several keyboard shortcuts. In this article, we'll review shortcuts to start a show using function keys or by using key tips.

Recommended article: How to Strikethrough or Cross Out Text in PowerPoint (4 Ways with Shortcuts)

If the function key shortcuts don't work, you may need to press the Fn key on your keyboard at the same time.

Typically, you would start a slide show from Normal View or Slide Sorter View. To exit a slide show, press ESC.

If Presenter View is selected on the Slide Show tab in the Ribbon, the show will start in Presenter View. If you have two monitors and Automatic is selected as the Monitor setting on the Slide Show tab, the show will display as a standard slide show on the second monitor and will display Presenter View on the presenter's screen by default.

1. Start a presentation from the beginning using a function key

2. start a presentation from the current slide using a function key.

Press Shift+F5.

3. Start the presentation in Presenter View using a function key

Press Alt + F5.

4. Start a presentation from the beginning using key tips

Press Alt > S > B (press Alt, then S, then B).

5. Start a presentation from the current slide using key tips

Press Alt > S > C (Alt, then S, then C).

There are many shortcuts you can use during a PowerPoint slide show as well. Check out the article PowerPoint Slide Show Shortcuts (50+ Keyboard Shortcuts).

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Handy PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts for Windows and Mac

Whether you’re creating a presentation or giving one, you can do it more efficiently with the help of keyboard shortcuts in the microsoft powerpoint desktop app for windows or macos..

Contributing Editor, Computerworld |

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PowerPoint’s Ribbon interface is great for finding everything you might ever want to do in the presentation package — particularly things you don’t do frequently, like using the rehearse timing feature.

But if you’re looking to do common tasks fast, you’ll find keyboard shortcuts far more useful. Why bother to lift your hands from the keyboard if you want to open or close a presentation, apply formatting, or start a presentation?

There are keyboard shortcuts to accomplish a vast array of tasks in the PowerPoint desktop client, in both the Windows and Mac versions. (Fewer shortcuts are available for the Mac, but you can create your own custom keyboard shortcuts if you like.)

We've listed the shortcuts we've found the most useful below. Most work whether you’re using a subscription (Microsoft 365/Office 365) or non-subscription version of PowerPoint. For even more shortcuts, see Microsoft's Office site, which lists shortcuts for creating and delivering a presentation.

Note: On Macs, the ⌘ key is the same as the Command or Cmd key.

Useful PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts

Looking for more help with PowerPoint for Windows? If you have Microsoft 365 or Office 365 subscription, see " PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 cheat sheet ." If you have a non-subscription version of Office, see " PowerPoint 2016 and 2019 cheat sheet ." We've also got cheat sheets for an array of other Microsoft products , including older versions of Office.

• Microsoft Office
• Microsoft 365
• Office Suites
• Productivity Software

Preston Gralla is a contributing editor for Computerworld and the author of more than 45 books, including Windows 8 Hacks (O'Reilly, 2012) and How the Internet Works (Que, 2006).

Copyright © 2022 IDG Communications, Inc.

The 48 best PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts for making great presentations quickly and easily

• There are many PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts that you can use to work faster and more efficiently on the platform.
• You can use a long list of keyboard shortcuts for common tasks, along with PowerPoint's Access Key shortcuts.
• Visit Business Insider's Tech Reference library for more stories .

Microsoft PowerPoint is a complex program with a vast number of features, so it's worth your time to learn all its secrets. Some of these secrets include keyboard shortcuts, which can seriously speed up your workflow.

Not only can keyboard shortcuts save you a lot of time, but knowing important shortcuts when delivering a presentation can help everything run more smoothly. 

Here's a guide to the most useful keyboard shortcuts in the Windows 10 version of Microsoft PowerPoint .

Check out the products mentioned in this article:

Windows 10 (from $139.99 at best buy), acer chromebook 15 (from $179.99 at walmart), microsoft office (from $149.99 at best buy), how to use powerpoint's access key shortcuts.

The ribbon at the top of PowerPoint gives you access to virtually all the program's countless features, and you don't need to use your mouse to use it – every ribbon command has its own keyboard shortcut. 

To use the ribbon entirely using your keyboard, do this:

1. Press and release Alt. You should see an overlay called Access Keys appear. 

2. Press the Access Key indicated to switch to the Ribbon tab you want to use.  

3. Press the Access Key for the command you want to use. Some Access Keys are more than one key press – just press the keys in sequence. If there is yet another layer of choices, continue to press the appropriate keys. For example, if you wanted to rehearse the timing of a presentation, you would press Alt and release it, then press S, and then press T. 

Every PowerPoint keyboard shortcut you need to know

You can use the ribbon shortcuts to perform virtually any task in PowerPoint, but you might often find the more traditional keyboard shortcuts more convenient to use. 

Here are the most important keyboard shortcuts in PowerPoint.

Delivering a presentation

Start a presentation from the beginning: Press F5 to start playing a presentation from the first slide. 

Start a presentation from the current slide: Press Shift + F5 to start playing a presentation from whatever slide is currently on screen.

Start a presentation in Presenter View: Press Alt + F5 to start a presentation in Presenter View, which lets you see your notes on the main computer screen while the audience sees only the slides on a separate screen. 

Go to the next slide or start the next animation: To advance to the next slide, you have several options. You can press any of these keys: N, Enter, Spacebar, Right Arrow, or Down Arrow.

Go back to the previous slide or animation: To go back to the previous slide, you also have several options. You can press any of these keys: P, Page Up, Left Arrow, or Up Arrow.

Go to the first slide: Press Home to restart the presentation at the first slide.

Go to the last slide: Press End to go directly to the final slide. 

Stop or start an automatic presentation: Press S to toggle an automatic, timed presentation between start and stop. 

Go to a specific slide: To go to a specific slide within the presentation, enter the slide number followed by Enter, such as 15 + Enter to go to slide number 15. 

Open the All Slides dialog box: To see a list of all the slides in your presentation, press Ctrl + S.

End a presentation: Press Esc to exit a presentation. 

Toggle between presentation and a blank screen: To temporarily display a blank screen in the middle of a presentation, press B to see a black screen or W to see a white screen. 

Start the laser pointer: Press Ctrl + L to change the pointer into a virtual laser dot. 

Draw on the presentation with a pen: Press Ctrl + P to change the pointer into a pen that you can use to annotate the screen. 

Hide the pointer and navigation controls: Press Ctrl + H to hide the pointer (or laser dot or pen) and the navigation controls. 

Erase annotations: Press E to erase any annotations you've made with the pen.

Creating a presentation

Open a presentation: Press Ctrl + O to open an existing PowerPoint presentation. 

Create a new presentation: Press Ctrl + N to create a new presentation. 

Add a new slide: Press Ctrl + M to add a new slide to a presentation in progress. 

Save the presentation: Press Ctrl + S to immediately save a presentation with its current file name. 

Save a presentation with a new filename: Press F12 to open the Save As dialog box and save your presentation. 

Close a presentation: Press Ctrl + W to close the current presentation. If it hasn't been saved, PowerPoint will give you the opportunity to save it first. 

Editing slides

Copy a slide, text, or other object: Press Ctrl + C to copy the selected item, which can be text, a graphic, or even an entire slide. 

Cut a slide, text, or other object: Press Ctrl + X to cut the selected item, which can be text, a graphic, or even an entire slide. 

Paste a slide, text, or other object: Press Ctrl + V to paste the content of the clipboard at the cursor location. 

Delete a selected slide, text, or other object: Select the item you want to remove and then press Delete.

Insert a hyperlink: Select text or object in a slide and then press Ctrl + K to open the Insert Hyperlink dialog box to turn it into a link. If you press Ctrl + K without selecting anything first, then you will need to specify the link text as well. 

Go to the next or previous slide: Press Page Down to advance to the next slide; press Page Up to go back to the previous slide. 

Change the order of a slide: Press Ctrl + Up Arrow to move the selected slide one position earlier in the presentation; press Ctrl + Down Arrow to move it one later in the presentation. 

Move a slide to the start of the presentation: Press Ctrl + Shift + Up Arrow to move the selected slide to the start of the presentation. 

Move a slide to the end of the presentation: Press Ctrl + Shift + Down Arrow to move the selected slide to the end of the presentation.

Editing text

Bold: Press Ctrl + B to bold the selected text.

Italics: Press Ctrl + I to italics the selected text.

Underline: Press Ctrl + U to underline the selected text.

Make the font bigger: Press Ctrl + Shift + Right Arrow to increase the size of the selected text a little at a time. 

Make the font smaller: Press Ctrl  + Shift + Left Arrow to decrease the size of the selected text a little at a time.

Center text: Press Ctrl + E to center the selected paragraph.

Left align text: Press Ctrl + L to left-align the selected paragraph.

Right align text: Press Ctrl + R to right-align the selected paragraph.

Justify text: Press Ctrl + J to justify the selected paragraph. This causes the text to auto-fit to the left and right margins of the slide. 

Superscript: Press Ctrl and the Plus sign to turn the selected text into superscript.

Subscript: Press Ctrl + = to turn the selected text into subscript. 

Check spelling: Press F7 to run PowerPoint's built-in spell checker.

General tasks

Search within a presentation: Press Ctrl + F to open the Find dialog box, where you can search for specific text within the presentation. You can also search and replace text using this dialog box. 

Undo: Press Ctrl + Z to undo your last action. 

Redo: Press Ctrl + Y to redo the last action, if possible. If it's not possible for PowerPoint to redo the action, nothing will happen. 

Help: Press F1 to open the Help and Support pane. 

Cancel: Press Esc to abort any task you don't want to complete. In some cases, you may also need to click "Cancel."

Related coverage from  Tech Reference :

How to do a voiceover on a powerpoint presentation and add pre-recorded audio to your slides, how to add a border to slides in powerpoint, and give your slideshow a sleek design, how to change and format the background of your powerpoint slides to custom designs, how to change your language settings in microsoft powerpoint in 3 different ways, how to copy or duplicate a powerpoint slide and put it anywhere in your slideshow.

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Home Blog PowerPoint Tutorials Essential Shortcuts for PowerPoint Presentations

Essential Shortcuts for PowerPoint Presentations

PowerPoint is an indispensable tool for business professionals, aiding in creating impactful presentations that can make or break a deal. However, creating and delivering presentations can be time-consuming. To help you speed up your presentation slide design and delivery performance, here are 30 essential PowerPoint shortcuts every user should master.

Table of Contents

Reasons to Learn PowerPoint Shortcuts

Frequently used shortcuts, apply character formatting, ribbon navigation, select and edit text and objects, control slides during a presentation.

Time Efficiency and Productivity: Mastering PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts can significantly reduce the time spent creating and editing presentations, allowing users to focus on content and delivery.

Enhanced Focus: By eliminating the need to search for functions in menus, presenters can maintain their focus on the task at hand, leading to better quality work.

Professionalism: Quick and seamless operation during a presentation can make a user appear more professional and in control.

Ease of Use: Once mastered, keyboard shortcuts become second nature, making the software easier and more enjoyable.

Accessibility: For users with disabilities, PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts can provide an easier and more accessible way to use software.

This selection of shortcuts represents the most commonly used tools by PowerPoint users. Applying these shortcuts to our workflow will significantly speed up our performance.

• Insert a new slide: CTRL + M / CMD + M
• Duplicate a selected object or slide: CTRL + D / CMD + D
• Change the zoom for the slide: ALT + W + Q / OPTION + W + Q
• Cut selected object, text, or slide: CTRL + X / CMD + X
• Copy selected object, text, or slide: CTRL + C / CMD + C
• Paste selected object, text, or slide: CTRL + V / CMD + V
• Undo the last action: CTRL + Z / CMD + Z
• Start Slide Show: ALT + S + B / OPTION + S + B
• End Slide Show: Esc / Esc
• Insert a Picture: ALT + N + P / OPTION + N + P

This set of shortcuts will help us to edit our copy text in PowerPoint slides.

• Open the Font dialogue box: CTRL + T / CMD + T
• Apply bold formatting: CTRL + B / CMD + B
• Apply an underline: CTRL + U / CMD + U
• Apply italic formatting: CTRL + I / CMD + I
• Apply subscript formatting: CTRL + = / CMD + =
• Apply superscript formatting: CTRL + SHIFT + ‘+’ / CMD + SHIFT + ‘+’
• Insert a hyperlink: CTRL + K / CMD + K

Instead of manually switching between tabs in the Ribbon, we can do it via PowerPoint shortcuts.

• Open the File page: ALT + F / OPTION + F
• Open the Home tab: ALT + H / OPTION + H
• Open the Insert tab: ALT + N / OPTION + N
• Open the Design tab: ALT + G / OPTION + G
• Open the Transitions tab: ALT + T / OPTION + T
• Open the Animations tab: ALT + A / OPTION + A
• Open the Slide Show tab: ALT + S / OPTION + S
• Open the Review tab: ALT + R / OPTION + R
• Open the View tab: ALT + W / OPTION + W

Most of these shortcuts are handled with the arrow keys of your keyboard in combination with CTRL/CMD and SHIFT/OPTION. We will list a few other shortcuts, but you can find the full list in the infographic shown at the end of this guide.

• Send object back one position: CTRL + [ / CMD + [
• Send object forward one position: CTRL + ] / CMD + ]
• Select another object (when one is selected): TAB or SHIFT + TAB / OPTION + TAB
• Send an object to the back: CTRL + SHIFT + [ / CMD + OPTION + [
• Bring an object to the front: CTRL + SHIFT + ] / CMD + OPTION + ]

Ideally, these shortcuts are handled by the person in charge of the slides during the presentation rather than the speaker. Still, since both roles sometimes are done by the same presenter, it’s best to familiarize ourselves with these shortcuts.

• Stop or restart an automatic presentation: S
• End a presentation: ESC
• Erase on-screen annotations: E
• Display a blank slide or return to the presentation: W
• Hide the pointer and navigation button immediately: CTRL + H

Mastering PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts is not just about saving time; it’s about transforming your work process to be more efficient, professional, and focused. The benefits are clear, from increased productivity and ease of use to enhanced professionalism during presentations.

We invite you to take the time to learn and practice these shortcuts. Incorporate them into your daily work routine and watch as they become second nature, significantly improving your presentation design and delivery. Remember, the small investment of time and effort you put into mastering these shortcuts will pay off in the long run, giving you a valuable skill that will serve you well throughout your professional journey. So, start today and unlock the full potential of your presentations with the power of keyboard shortcuts!

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Microsoft Office PowerPoint Keyboard Shortcuts and Cheat Sheet

Save your time and Boost Your Productivity

Microsoft PowerPoint is one of the most popular tools for creating and delivering presentations, but a lot of people are still unaware of how to use it as quickly and efficiently as possible.

If you’re a frequent user of Microsoft Office PowerPoint, you know that there are a lot of different features and functions to master. One way to make your workflow more efficient is by using keyboard shortcuts.

Here are some of the most useful keyboard shortcuts for PowerPoint:

Ctrl + N: Create a new presentation.\ Ctrl + O: Open an existing presentation.\ Ctrl + S: Save your presentation.\ Ctrl + P: Print your presentation.\ Ctrl + Z: Undo your last action.\ Ctrl + Y: Redo your last action.\ Ctrl + C: Copy selected text or object.\ Ctrl + X: Cut selected text or object.\ Ctrl + V: Paste copied or cut text or object.\ Ctrl + A: Select all objects on a slide.\ Ctrl + F: Find and replace text.\ Ctrl + B: Apply or remove bold formatting.\ Ctrl + I: Apply or remove italic formatting.\ Ctrl + U: Apply or remove underline formatting.\ Ctrl + E: Center align text.\ Ctrl + L: Left align text.\ Ctrl + R: Right align text.\ Ctrl + M: Insert a new slide.\ Ctrl + D: Duplicate currently selected slide.\ Ctrl + H: Show or hide the Ribbon.

These shortcuts can save you a lot of time and effort, especially if you’re working on a large presentation. To view a full list of keyboard shortcuts for PowerPoint, you can access the “Keyboard shortcuts for PowerPoint” help article on the Microsoft website. In addition to keyboard shortcuts, you can also create your own custom shortcuts by assigning a keyboard shortcut to a specific command or function. To do this, select “Options” from the “File” tab, then select “Customize Ribbon” and “Keyboard Shortcuts.” From there, you can select the command you want to assign a shortcut to and create your custom shortcut.

By utilizing keyboard shortcuts and custom shortcuts, you can streamline your PowerPoint workflow and become a more efficient presenter.

Microsoft Office PowerPoint – Keyboard Shortcuts and Cheat Sheet

Shortcuts are a quick and easy way to elevate your design skills and improve your overall presentation. Take the time to memorize them I promise it’s worth it.

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Ppt Keyboard Shortcuts & Hotkeys (List)

In today’s fast-paced work environment, efficiency is key. When it comes to creating dynamic and professional presentations, knowing the most popular keyboard shortcuts for PowerPoint can save you valuable time and streamline your workflow.

By mastering these shortcuts, you can navigate through your presentation, format text and images, and customize slides with ease.

In this article, we will provide you with a comprehensive list of the most popular keyboard shortcuts for PowerPoint, so you can take your presentation skills to the next level and impress your audience.

What Is Ppt

PPT stands for PowerPoint, which is a presentation software developed by Microsoft. It is used to create slideshows and presentations, and allows users to add text, images, graphic elements, and multimedia content to their slides.

PowerPoint is commonly used in business, education, and other professional settings for presenting information in a visual and organized manner.

Ppt Keyboard Shortcuts & Hotkeys

The popular keyboard shortcuts of Microsoft PowerPoint are:

1. Ctrl + N – Create a new presentation 2. Ctrl + O – Open an existing presentation 3. Ctrl + S – Save the presentation 4. Ctrl + C – Copy the selected text or object 5. Ctrl + X – Cut the selected text or object 6. Ctrl + V – Paste the copied or cut text or object 7. Ctrl + Z – Undo the last action 8. Ctrl + Y – Redo the last undone action 9. Ctrl + P – Print the presentation 10. Ctrl + F – Find and replace text in the presentation

You can enter this information into your HTML page as follows:

• Ctrl + N – Create a new presentation
• Ctrl + O – Open an existing presentation
• Ctrl + S – Save the presentation
• Ctrl + C – Copy the selected text or object
• Ctrl + X – Cut the selected text or object
• Ctrl + V – Paste the copied or cut text or object
• Ctrl + Z – Undo the last action
• Ctrl + Y – Redo the last undone action
• Ctrl + P – Print the presentation
• Ctrl + F – Find and replace text in the presentation

In conclusion, mastering the keyword shortcuts of PowerPoint can significantly improve efficiency and productivity for users. By utilizing these time-saving techniques, individuals can streamline their workflow, create presentations more effectively, and ultimately enhance their overall presentation experience.

Whether it’s navigating slides, formatting text, or organizing shapes, understanding and implementing these shortcuts can help users become more proficient and confident in their use of PowerPoint. So, take the time to learn and practice these shortcuts, and enjoy a smoother and more efficient PowerPoint experience.

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PowerPoint Keyboard Shortcuts for Slide Show Presentations

Whether you use a mouse or remote control to navigate through a PowerPoint slide show presentation, one of the best ways to more effectively deliver PowerPoint presentations with greater engagement is to take advantage of handy slide show shortcuts.

Try this selection of PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts for your next in-person or virtual PowerPoint slide show (or watch my video of presentation shortcuts):

• Run a slide show: [F5]
• Run a slide show from the current slide: [Shift] + [F5]
• Help during slide show (displays PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts): [F1]
• Advance to the next slide (any of these): [Right] , [Down] , N (for Next), [Spacebar] ,  [Page Down] (or click the left mouse)
• Return to the previous slide (any of these): [Left] , [Up] , P (for Previous), [Backspace] ,  [Page Up]
• Go to the first slide in a presentation:  [Home]
• Go to the last slide in a presentation:  [End]
• Go to a specific slide number during a slide show: type the slide number and press [Enter]. This is one of my favorite tips to quickly skip past slides or to return to a previous slide. To create a list of slide numbers, print out your presentation as a handout; I choose 9 slides per page. Current versions of PowerPoint display the slide numbers on handouts. If this isn’t available, simply manually add slide numbers to your printout or create a simple hand-written cheat sheet.
• What if you don’t know the slide number? Display the PowerPoint slide selector with [Ctrl] + S
• To show a visual display of slides: press G
• Display a black screen or go back to slide show: B or [Period]
• Display a white screen or go back to slide show: W or [Comma]. (Use carefully as the bright screen can be distracting to an audience).
• To draw on the screen (annotations), press [Ctrl] + P to enable the Pen mode. Use your mouse to draw directly on the slide. To change the pen color or to enable other tools (Laser Pointer, Highlighter) to emphasize your slide content, right-click on a slide and left-click on Pointer Options. From this menu, you can change the ink color.
• To annotate with the highlighter: [Ctrl] + I
• To clear annotations, press [Ctrl] + E to bring up the eraser to remove individual pen or highlighter annotations.
• Erase all annotations: press E to erase at any time. Or, right-click on a slide and left-click on  Pointer Options ,   where you’ll see options for the  Eraser  or to  Erase All Ink on Slide .
• To call attention to slide content with a laser:  [Ctrl] + L
• To switch from the Pen (or highlighter or laser) mode back to the Arrow, press [Ctrl] + A or [Ctrl] + U . Or even better, press  [Ctrl] + H to hide the pointer or pen to avoid displaying a distracting or moving mouse pointer.
• To turn live subtitles on or off:  J . To change subtitles settings, either right-click on your slide show for Subtitles or find these options under the Slide Show Ribbon in PowerPoint.
• Zoom In on a slide:  +
• Zoom Out on a slide: –
• End a slide show: [Esc]

More Tips: You can also right-click anywhere on the slide show screen for a shortcut menu with many of these same actions. Although your audience will also see this shortcut menu, this is a handy way to quickly choose presentation options.

Click here to download a handout of PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts and discover more PowerPoint tips and tricks .

© Dawn Bjork, MCT, MOSM, CSP®, The Software Pro® Microsoft Certified Trainer, Productivity Speaker, Certified Speaking Professional

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120 PowerPoint Shortcuts: Learn More, Be Faster, Save Time

• PowerPoint Tutorials
• Shortcuts & Hacks
• December 12, 2017

In this article you’re going to learn all of the Microsoft PowerPoint shortcuts that are available to you.

And this is important, because based on our experience, the PPT average only knows between 10 to 30 PowerPoint shortcuts.

This shortcut guide covers over 120 shortcuts in PowerPoint that will dramatically improve your productivity!

This guide is NOT designed to be consumed in one sitting…this is not a cram session for some pretend PowerPoint exam… and we are not handing out gold stars here.

Instead, pick a PowerPoint activity you frequently perform, learn its shortcuts and save time… And once you have one activity’s shortcuts down, come back and pick up another one.

Use this Microsoft PowerPoint shortcut guide, learn how to REALLY use it and shine!

See you at Happy Hour!

If you’re using PowerPoint for work, then learning shortcuts (including some hidden and bad ass ones), is a must!

Looking for a specific shortcut? Check out the complete shortcut index here.

To see a break out a shorter list of our 80 favorite PowerPoint shortcuts, see our guide here .

Duplicating slides and objects shortcuts

Header, footer, and date & time shortcuts

Inserting a new slide shortcuts

New slide shortcuts – PowerPoint pro tips

Inserting and navigating hyperlink shortcuts.

How to Create a Hyperlink in PowerPoint

Chart formatting and moving shortcuts, formatting a specific chart element, copying and pasting formatting and animations, copy paste formatting: a little-known but awesome shortcut.

An almost unknown set of PowerPoint shortcut keys, what I call the “Format Dipper”, allows you to pick up or copy (CTRL + SHIFT + C) an object’s formatting (font style, shape fill, outline, etc.) and quickly apply it to another shape (CTRL + SHIFT + V).

This hotkey has been around FOREVER….and sadly, almost no one is using it.

This is similar to copying (CTRL + C) and pasting objects (CTRL + V) in PowerPoint except it includes the SHIFT key.

Tweak this shortcut just slightly (so ALT + SHIFT + C) and you can copy a sequence of PowerPoint animations too! Hitting this shortcut activates the animation painter, which allows you to then apply your sequence of animations to other objects in PowerPoint.

This two shortcuts will save you HOURS of otherwise annoying and repetitive rework. These are critical for anyone who wants to save time in PowerPoint.

PowerPoint Pro Tip

When copying an object’s formatting (CTRL + SHIFT + C), the formatting stays with you, regardless of how many actions you perform, until you pick up or copy another object’s formatting.

As such, you can pick up your standard formatting for your entire presentation and carry it with you throughout your work session, applying it whenever needed with CTRL + SHIFT + V.

Cut, copy, clipboard, paste and paste special shortcuts

Clipboard Copy Shortcut

• From the Home tab, click the downward facing arrow in the Clipboard group, which opens up the clipboard.
• At the bottom of the clipboard, click on Options
• Make sure that the ‘Show Office Clipboard when Ctrl+C is pressed twice’ is selected.

Paste Special PowerPoint Shortcut

Grouping and ungrouping shortcuts.

How to Group Things in PowerPoint

CTRL + G is the keyboard shortcut for how to group things in PowerPoint, and it works in all versions of PowerPoint. This is a CRITICAL shortcut to learn as it allows you to quickly move and/or resize multiple objects at the same time as a single group, instead of wasting time moving things around piece by piece.

Objects can also be part of more than one group. For example, you can first group two rectangles together (as a box layout) and then take that box layout and group it together with a chart.

To learn more about grouping in PowerPoint,  see our guide here .

Not all PowerPoint objects can be part of a group

You can group most PowerPoint objects: charts, tables, pictures, shapes, lines text boxes, etc.

That said, a few PowerPoint objects that CANNOT grouped (or be part of a group) are: #1) tables, #2) any content containers set on your Slide Master (slide titles, page numbers, footers, etc.) and, #3) SmartArt graphics.

How Do You Ungroup in PowerPoint?

The inverse of grouping objects in PowerPoint is ungrouping them, which you can easily accomplish with the CTRL + SHIFT + G shortcut keys.

In addition to ungrouping already grouped objects, you can also:

• Ungroup SmartArt graphics, which breaks the graphic down into shapes, lines and text boxes.
• Ungroup vector graphics, which breaks them down into shapes
• Ungroup tables and charts if you first paste them as Metafiles

Manipulating shapes shortcuts

Moving, Growing, Rotating, and Duplicating Shapes in PowerPoint

These shortcuts are incredibly simple, and yet, so powerful. Once you learn them, you will never want to reach for your mouse to manipulate your shapes again!

Selection Pane shortcuts

How to use the Selection Pane in PowerPoint

The most useful of the Selection Pane shortcuts in PowerPoint 2010 and 2013 is simply opening and closing it with the ALT + F10 keyboard shortcut. Once the pane is open, you can either navigate ti with your keyboard (for the more advanced keyboard users), or simply use your mouse (which is good enough for most things).

In PowerPoint 2007, the Selection Pane is known as the ‘Selection and Visibility’ pane and must be opened with your mouse (there is no keyboard shortcut for opening and closing it).

To open the pane in PPT 2007, from the Home tab, select the Arrange tool drop down and then select the Selection Pane at the bottom of the dropdown.

Selection Pane Pro Tip

To use ALL of the Selection Pane shortcuts (like collapsing and expanding groups) in PowerPoint 2010 and 2013, you need to get to the Selection Pane by rotating through active panes from your keyboard (using F6)… which is SUPER weird, but that’s how it is.

Let me quickly explain.

Normally, you can click something with your mouse to activate it in PowerPoint. Right? Well this doesn’t work with the a couple of shortcuts for the Selection Pane.

Instead you need to hit F6 on your keyboard to rotate to it… otherwise some of the keyboard shortcuts shown above won’t work.

Subscripts, superscripts, font dialog box, and text formatting shortcuts

How to create subscripts and superscripts in PowerPoint

In PowerPoint 2010 and 2013, you can turn subscript writing on and off with the CTRL + ‘=’ keyboard shortcut, and superscripts on and off with the CTRL + SHIFT + ‘=’ keyboard shortcut.

These same shortcuts work in PowerPoint 2007 to make superscripts and subscripts, except to turn them back off you need to launch the font dialog box, CTRL + T on your keyboard.

Font dialog box pro tip:  The Font dialog box is keyboard driven, so after opening it (CTRL + T) you can continue to navigate your options directly from your keyboard.

Look for the underlined letters in the words within the dialog box, which you can activate by holding the ALT key and hitting those letters on your keyboard.

For example, to select the “strikethrough” command within the dialog box, hit ALT + K.

To learn how to use the strikethrough shortcut  click here

Text alignment shortcuts

Aligning text in PowerPoint

There are four text alignment shortcuts that allow you to quickly change how you lay your text out within your slide’s text boxes or shapes:

Center Align Text  (CTRL + E) is often used for titles, and will align your text in the center of its container.

Left Align Text  (CTRL + L) is the most common text alignment option, starting your text alignment form the left.

Right Align Text  (CTRL + R) aligns your text to the right, which is useful when building your own titles for bar charts, for example.

Justify Align Text  (CTRL + J) spreads your text out between the margins you have set. It’s important to note that the last hanging lines in your paragraphs will not be justified, as that would create weird text spacing.

Working with blocks of text

How to navigate and manipulate text from the keyboard

The above shortcuts are VITAL to your ability as an office worker to increase your word processing speed, whether you are typing in Microsoft PowerPoint or in Microsoft Word.

These shortcuts allow you to quickly navigate, select, edit and rearrange blocks of text… which is likely what you are dong ALL DAY long.

Learning the above shortcuts will DRAMATICALLY improve the speed at which you type and process text.

Arranging PowerPoint windows shortcuts

When working with multiple presentations open at the same time, knowing how to cycle forward through them (CTRL + F6) and quickly snap them all side-by-side (CTRL + SHIFT + F10 in PowerPoint 2010 and 2013) is a lifesaver.

Of all the places to lose time when working under a tight deadline, the last thing you want to stumble on is simply flipping through and arranging your presentations.

‘Distraction Free Mode’ and collapsing the Ribbon shortcuts

Clearing the clutter from your workspace

These two shortcuts are a great way to create some visual space on your screen so that you can more easily work on what Cal Newport calls ‘Deep Work’: Professional activities performed in a state of distraction free concentration that push your cognitive capabilities to their limit. These efforts create new value, improve your skill and are hard to replicate.

For more details about these two shortcuts (including the brand-new 2016 one), see our  article here .

Gridlines, guides and rulers shortcuts

Better layout options for your presentations

The PowerPoint gridlines (SHIFT + F9), PowerPoint drawing guides (ALT + F9) and PowerPoint ruler (ALT + SHIFT + F9), are all features to help you better layout your content across your slides, improving the professionalism of your presentation.

I find the drawing guides (ALT + F9) much easier to use than the gridlines (SHIFT + F9), as you can manually adjust their position on your slide and quickly add new ones by holding the CTRL key and dragging with your mouse.

An example of using the drawing guides is setting the left side of your slide where you want all of your objects to start on each and every slide. Once the line is set, you can then see that line on all of your slides and layout your content accordingly.

Drawing guides PowerPoint 20013 – New features

PowerPoint 2013 introduced some new (handy) drawing guide features, including:

• Allowing you to change the color of the drawing guides by right-clicking them, making it easier to see what you have laid out on your slide.
• Allowing you to set them on your slide master, so that they cannot be nudged or moved in the normal view.

Turning your PowerPoint ruler on and off is also a convenient shortcut when you are working on a small screen (ALT + SHIFT + F9). Typically you only need the ruler for adjusting your bullet point spacing, so having a quick way to turn it on and off is handy.

Navigating active panes shortcuts

What these do is allow you to rotate between the open panes in the PowerPoint environment (of which there are five default ones) and any other panes or dialog boxes that you have open.

The default panes in order are:

• The Workspace
• The command bar (at the bottom of your workspace)
• The Notes pane
• The slide thumbnail view on the left side of your screen

You can cycle forward through these panes with the F6 key, or backwards through them with SHIFT + F6, allowing you to get at the various commands in these views directly from your keyboard…  sorry mouse!

Rotating to the Outline View and the Selection Pane

I find these shortcuts are best used in combination with the Selection Pane (ALT + F10) and Outline View (CTRL + SHIFT + TAB) shortcuts, as these are the panes most of us need to frequently get to. Also, both of these panes have very useful keyboard shortcuts associated with them.

For example, to use some of the Selection Pane shortcuts, after opening the Selection Pane (ALT + F10), you need to make it the active pane before you can use the other shortcuts associated with it.

So after opening it, hit F6 on your keyboard and you will rotate to it, and use your other select pane shortcuts.

The same is true for the Outline View, except that instead of rotating forwards to it, you need to rotate backwards to it… Don’t ask me why. So after opening the Outline View (CTRL + SHIFT + TAB), you can activate it from you keyboard by hitting SHIFT + F6.

Outline View shortcuts

PowerPoint Outline View

The Outline View is great for managing large presentations, as it allows you to quickly cycle through, rearrange and evaluate your content at a 30,000 foot view.

It’s also a great way to insert and quickly update your content (titles, subtitles and content containers) as a bulleted list.

To quickly open or close the Outline View in any version of PowerPoint, simply use the CTRL + SHIFT + TAB keyboard shortcut.

Using ALL of the Outline View shortcuts

To use all of the Outline View shortcuts, you need to be active in the Outline View from your keyboard… you cannot just select it with your mouse.

After opening the Outline View (CTRL + SHIFT + TAB), you can rotate to it by hitting SHIFT+F6 on your keyboard.

See the  Navigating Active Panes shortcuts  for more.

To expand your knowledge and learn more about using Outline View in PowerPoint, read our guide here .

Shortcuts for closing and quitting PowerPoint

NOT unique to PowerPoint: these ‘close file’ and ‘close application’ shortcuts work for all Microsoft Office Programs (Word, Excel, Outline, etc.), and the ALT + F4 shortcut will work for any open window in Windows.Creating and opening presentations

Two shortcuts for opening a presentation

>Here is another subtle difference for the hardcore shortcut user:

• CTRL + O will take you the backstage view in PowerPoint to open a presentation, which is ideal for opening a recent presentation.
• CTRL + F12 will take you directly to a file navigation dialog box to find a presentation on your computer.

It is a subtle difference, but if you are frequently opening and closing presentations, these shortcuts will help you jump start your search more effectively (depending on where you want to start).

Pro tip for remembering these shortcuts

The F12 key is directly above the ‘O’ key, so these are actually pretty easy to remember.

Saving and printing shortcuts

These three shortcuts work across the ENTIRE office suite and are MANDATORY shortcuts for any knowledge worker: Save (CTRL + S) is your best friend as there is little more aggravating than spending hours editing a document to later find that you lost all your work because you forgot to save it. CTRL + S as often as you can while working on a presentation

Save As  (F12) is a slightly more advanced version of the Save shortcut, as it allows you to save your file with a new name, change its save location or change its file type. The most frequently used alternative file type is the PDF file format, which you can select in the drop down.

Print  (CTRL + P) takes to you the backstage view where you can choose among various printing options. Two of the often overlooked printing options are the Notes pages and the Outline View.

To learn how to print multiple slides per page using the Print dialog box,  read our guide here .

Protecting your presentation

You can use the  Save As  (F12) shortcut to protect your presentation by saving it as the Picture Slideshow file type. Doing so turns your presentation into pictures that someone can run natively in PowerPoint in Slideshow mode, but cannot edit. To learn more  click here .

Shortcuts for inking and highlighting your presentation

Inking your presentation

You have two inking options in PowerPoint (the pen and the highlighter) which allow you draw on your slides during your presentation to make your point visually.

Once the ink is on your slide, you can either:

• Save the ink in your presentation  – Simply hit ESC to exit Slideshow Mode and select Save Ink. Saving the ink turns your annotations into object that you can then resize and position on your slides.
• Hide the ink on the screen  – Hit CTRL + M to hide the onscreen ink. Hitting CTRL+M a second time will unhide the ink (i.e. make it reappear).
• Erase the ink on the screen  – Hit E on your keyboard and any ink that you have added in Slideshow Mode will be erased. Be careful when using this shortcut though as you cannot undo the erase action.

Pre-inking your presentation… sneaky trick alert!

Besides adding ink to your slides in Slideshow Mode, you can also pre-ink your slides and still use your CTRL + M shortcut to hide and show your ink.

To pre-ink your slide, simply open the ink tools, which you can find on the Review tab. You can then draw on your slides (however you like) and make your notes.

After you have inked your presentation, in Slideshow Mode you can hide or display the ink by hitting CTRL + M on your keyboard… pretty sneaky, no?

Start slideshow shortcuts

How to start a slideshow in PowerPoint

The different shortcuts for starting a slideshow give you flexibility in terms of where you are in your deck and in what View you’re in when you want to start your slideshow.

Start Slideshow from Beginning – Slideshow Shortcuts

• Presentation Mode –  F5 will start your slideshow from the beginning of your presentation.
• Presenter View –  ALT + F5 will start your slideshow from the current in the normal presentation mode.

Start Slideshow from Current Slide – Slideshow Shortcuts

• Presentation Mode –  SHIFT + F5 will start your slideshow from the beginning of your presentation in the Presenter View. This view works in PowerPoint 2013 and in PowerPoint 2010 if you are hooked up to an external monitor.
• Presenter View –  ALT + SHIFT + F5 will start your slideshow from the current slide in the new Presenter’s View. This works in PowerPoint 2010 if you are hooked up to an external monitor and in PowerPoint 2013.

I find the Start from Current Slide the most flexible for spot checking your content in fullscreen mode, and rehearsing individual slides in the new Presenter View.

Spot checking for errors

When spot checking your presentation for errors in Slideshow Mode, it’s a best practice to go through your deck multiple times, each time looking for a single type of error (unaligned titles, wrong formatting, etc.).

Although it might appear to take more time, it makes spotting embarrassing presentation errors significantly easier when you are simple-mindedly focused on a specific error.

Navigating slides in a slideshow shortcuts

Navigating your slides in a slideshow

The two easiest ways to jump between the slides in your presentation in Slideshow Mode are:

Method #1:  Assuming you know the slide’s number, hit the number on your keyboard and then hit ENTER. For example, if you want to jump to slide number 22, hit 2, then 2, and then ENTER and you will jump to slide #22.

Method #2:  Assuming you don’t know your slide’s number, you can hit CTRL+S on your keyboard to see a list of all the different slides and use this dialog box to jump around within your presentation.

A third option is to use hyperlinks, which you can also navigate to from your keyboard in Slideshow mode.  See our guide here for details

PowerPoint pro tip: Use the black and white screen shortcuts to save ink

Using the ‘B’ or ‘W’ keys to make your screen black or white during your presentation is much better than adding black or white slides to your presentation for two reasons:

• It gives you more flexibility as to when you blank out your screen to manage your audience.
• It cuts down the size of your deck and SAVES your printer’s toner cartridge, especially if you are using black slides to blank out your screen.

I’ve seen people print decks with many completely black slides (i.e. the points at which the presenter wanted to pause during the presentation) and completely killed the printer’s toner cartridge.

Video and audio playback shortcuts

PowerPoint video and audio shortcuts

PowerPoint 2010 and 2013 now lets you control the multimedia in your presentation directly from your keyboard including pausing and playing your videos or audio (ALT + P), controlling the volume (ALT + ↑↓), and jumping between bookmarks in your videos (ALT + Home / END).

How to create a bookmark in your video

To add a bookmark to your video, select it in PowerPoint, and follow these steps:

• Place the play bar on the video’s timeline in the place where you want your bookmark to be
• Navigate to the Video Tools Playback Tab in the Ribbon
• Select ‘Add Bookmark’

Find and replace shortcuts

Using the find and replace keyboard shortcuts

Find  (CTRL + F) is good for finding text strings within your presentation. For example, you could search for the name of your product to jump to its description.

Replace  (CTRL + H) is good for finding AND replacing text strings within your presentation. For example, if you are scrubbing a deckto remove your client’s name, you could search for your client’s name and replace it with ‘The Company’.

Find Again  (SHIFT + F4) will find the next instance of the text string that you previously searched for… without reopening the Find dialog box. It’s good for continuing to cycle through your presentation and make edits.

Pro PowerPoint tip: Word of caution with ‘Replace All’

When using the Replace dialog box (CTRL + H), you have a ‘Replace All’ option.

If you use this option, PowerPoint will sweep through your ENTIRE presentation, including your Slide Master, and replace every instance of the word you are searching for and replacing. This can be good if that’s what you are trying to do, but NIGHTMARE if you are not 100% sure. So just be careful.

If you accidentally do ‘Replace All’ you can thankfully CTRL + Z to undo all of the replacements.

Undo and Redo

Using the  Undo and redo shortcuts

The Undo and Redo commands are Microsoft Office essentials! As you know, Undo is CTRL + Z.

As for Redo, or Repeat Last Action, there are two flavors of the shortcut that work across the entire Office suite (PowerPoint, Excel, Word, etc.). You have CTRL + Y and F4, both of which are best used in PowerPoint when working in a sweeping technique.

By a sweeping technique, I simply mean working through your slides accomplishing a single task at a time, like changing font or fill colors, outlines, text size, etc.

When sweeping through your deck, if you use one of the Repeat Last Action commands, you can simply repeat your last action over and over again, saving yourself a lot of clicking around and wasted time.

Setting the number of ‘undo’s’

As demonstrated in the video above, you can change the limit of how many Undo commands you can perform.

• Navigate to the File menu
• Select Options at the bottom of the menu
• Select Advanced on the left
• In the ‘Editing Options’ section, type in the number of Undo’s you’d like in the box next to ‘Maximum number of undos’

Complete indexed list of shortcuts (from A to Z)

Want a fast way to find a shortcut? Hit Ctrl + F on your keyboard to search the page.

What’s Next?

Related articles, about the author.

This Post Has 4 Comments

What could be a shortcut key for “save as picture” which is appeared using right click to any picture.

Hi Atif! There’s no direct shortcut for that, unfortunately. However, there is what we call a Hybrid Shortcut. If you right-click an image, you can then hit S on your keyboard, and it will launch the Save As dialog box. If you want to do that for a text box or shape, you’ll have to right-click, then hit S, and then hit Enter. Hope that helps!

Cool! Thanks

My pleasure, Atif!

Comments are closed.

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How-To Geek

How to start a powerpoint slideshow.

Let the slideshow begin!

Quick Links

Start a slideshow in powerpoint's desktop app, start a slideshow in powerpoint's web app, start a slideshow in powerpoint's mobile app, key takeaways.

To start a PowerPoint slideshow on your desktop, open your slideshow and click "Start Slide Show" in the "Slide Show" tab. If you're using the web app, select "From Beginning" in the "Slide Show" tab. On mobile, simply tap the Monitor icon at the top of your screen.

There's nothing quite like finishing a presentation after spending hours getting it just right. Now, show off your hard work by starting your Microsoft PowerPoint slideshow on desktop, web, and mobile using the methods below.

Related: How (and Why) to Start Microsoft PowerPoint from the Command Prompt

To play a slideshow in PowerPoint's desktop app, all you have to do is click an option or press a shortcut on your keyboard .

Start the process by opening your presentation with PowerPoint. Then, in the app's ribbon at the top, select the "Slide Show" tab.

In the "Slide Show" tab, from the "Start Slide Show" section, choose "From Beginning" (or press F5). Now your presentation will play from the very first slide.

If you'd like to start the slideshow from your current slide, choose the "From Current Slide" option. Alternatively, press Shift+F5 on your keyboard.

While your presentation is playing, you can perform various tasks, like moving to the next slide or ending the show. You can reveal these options by right-clicking anywhere on the slide.

Alternatively, you can use the following keyboard shortcuts while viewing your slideshow:

• Spacebar or Right Arrow Button: Go to the next slide in the presentation.
• Left Arrow Button: Go to the previous slide in the presentation.
• Esc: End the show.
• W: Hide your current slide and display a white screen. Press the same key again to bring back the slide's content.
• B: Hide your current slide and display a black screen. Revert back to the slide's content by pressing the same button.
• Ctrl+Left Mouse Button: Activate the laser point tool to point at things in your slides.
• Ctrl+P: Launch the pen tool to annotate your slide's content during your show. You can choose if you'd like to keep these annotations when you end the show.
• Ctrl+i: Access the highlighter tool to highlight items in your slides.

If you'd like to jump to a specific slide while presenting, press that slide's number on your keyboard and hit Enter. For example, press 12 and hit Enter to access that slide quickly.

To access the Presenter view, where you can see the upcoming slides and other options, right-click anywhere on your slide and choose "Show Presenter View."

With these options, you can start a slideshow and have it play exactly how you want.

To play a slideshow on the web, launch your preferred web browser and access PowerPoint on the web . Then, open your presentation.

From PowerPoint's ribbon at the top, select the "Slide Show" tab.

In the "Slide Show" tab, start your slideshow from the first slide by clicking the "From Beginning" option. To have your show play from your current slide, choose "From Current Slide."

Your presentation is now playing.

To reveal the options for moving slides, annotating items, and using Presenter Coach , bring your cursor to your screen's bottom-left corner. Then, click the appropriate icon.

Related: How to Practice Your Presentations with PowerPoint's Presenter Coach

To start a slideshow in the PowerPoint mobile app , launch the app on your phone and open your presentation.

On the presentation screen, at the top, tap the Monitor icon to play the slideshow.

Your presentation has now begun.

To move to the next slide, swipe left on your screen. To go to the previous slide, swipe right.

You can reveal PowerPoint's presentation options, like annotation and black screen tools, by tapping at the top of your presentation. Then, choose the option you'd like to use.

And that's it. Happy presenting!

Want to learn a few tips to help you make the best PowerPoint presentations ? If so, check out our guide.

Related: 8 Tips to Make the Best PowerPoint Presentations

Keyboard Shortcuts for PowerPoint Presentations

Working in PowerPoint, there are many different ways of doing the same thing. When it comes to business presentations, time is often of prime importance. You want to know the quickest way of constructing and delivering memorable, engaging content.

Here, we list some handy keyboard shortcuts that you can use in PowerPoint to save time and make your working life easier.

Click to enlarge

Pressing the F5 key will run your presentation from the beginning. This is a fairly well known, yet endlessly useful shortcut. When presenting, it simply looks smoother to hit F5 and begin rather than fiddle about with your mouse pad, looking for that small Slide Show symbol at the bottom of your screen. Using F5 sets a confident, authoritative tone right from the start.

Equally, the F5 key can be of great use to you during the editing process. Pressing Shift + F5 will play your presentation from the slide that you are currently working on. This provides an instant way to see how the slide that you are building will appear to your audience.

Nearly everybody knows that pressing ESC will exit Slide Show mode end your presentation. They hyphen key (-), however, achieves the same objective. Use whichever escape route your finger is nearest to.

number  + Enter

When you start to run your presentation (by hitting F5, obviously) you are not locked into a linear process. If you know your slide numbers, you can jump anywhere within a Slide Show simply by typing the slide number and pressing Enter.

In Slide Show mode, you can jump to a plain black or white screen at any time by pressing the B or W keys, respectively. This can be useful for a pause moment, when you are not ready to advance to the next slide but wish to divert your audience’s attention from material on the current slide.

In edit mode, you can select everything on a slide by pressing CTRL + A. This can save you an enormous amount of time and effort in the production process. Never waste time moving individual items on a slide unless you absolutely have to.

CTRL+  click

If you don’t want to move  everything  at once, hold down the CTRL key while you individually click on the items that you do want to select and move them as you please.

If you want to group a number of items, perhaps to animate them as one, or just to simplify the content of a slide for your own sanity, you can do so. First, select the items that you wish to group and press CTRL+G.

As anyone who has sat through a typical bullet-point business presentation will tell you, potential is so often unrealised and simple, handy features are woefully underused.  If you’re already using these keyboard shortcuts for PowerPoint presentations – good for you! If not, try them out. See how much time you can save when creating and delivering your next big sales presentation.

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Use Keyboard Shortcuts to Speed up PowerPoint Presentations

Help to put together a slideshow quickly

• Brock University

In This Article

Jump to a Section

• Using a Keyboard Shortcut

General Keyboard Shortcuts

• Using the CTRL Key
• Quick Navigation
• Using the Arrow Keys
• Using the Shift Key
• Using Function Keys
• While Running a Slideshow

When you want to quickly create a PowerPoint presentation and minimize the amount of time you spend with your mouse, learn to use keyboard shortcuts to speed up PowerPoint presentations and make your job easier.

These instructions apply to PowerPoint versions 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, and PowerPoint for Microsoft 365.

How to Use the Keyboard Shortcut List

When the instructions show the keystroke combination Ctrl + C , for example, it means to hold down the Ctrl key and then press the letter C , holding both at the same time. The plus sign (+) indicates that you need both of these two keys. You do not press the + key on the keyboard.

Certain key combinations are specific to PowerPoint, such as the F5 key to play a slide show. Many other shortcut combinations, such as Ctrl + C and Ctrl + Z, are common to a number of programs. Once you know these common ones, you will be surprised at how often you can use them.

Keyboard Shortcuts Using the CTRL Key

Here is an alphabetical list of all the letter keys that can be used with the Ctrl key as a keyboard shortcut to common tasks in PowerPoint as well as some other shortcuts using the Ctrl key.

• Ctrl + A : Selects all items on the page or the active text box.
• Ctrl + B : Applies bold formatting to the selected text.
• Ctrl + C : Copies the selected text or object to the Clipboard .
• Ctrl + D : Duplicates the selected object.
• Ctrl + F : Opens the Find dialog box.
• Ctrl + G : Opens the Grids and Guides dialog box.
• Ctrl + H : Opens the Replace dialog box.
• Ctrl + I : Applies italic formatting to the selected text.
• Ctrl + M : Inserts a new slide .
• Ctrl + N : Opens a new blank presentation.
• Ctrl + O : Displays the Open dialog box.
• Ctrl + P : Opens the Print dialog box.
• Ctrl + S : Saves the presentation.
• Ctrl + T : Opens the Font dialog box.
• Ctrl + U : Underlines the selected text.
• Ctrl + V : Pastes text and objects from the Clipboard into the presentation.
• Ctrl + W : Closes the presentation.
• Ctrl + X : Deletes the text or object from the presentation and places it in the Clipboard.
• Ctrl + Y : Repeats the last command entered.
• Ctrl + Z : Undoes the last change.
• Ctrl + F6 : Switches from one open PowerPoint presentation to another.
• Ctrl + Delete : Removes the word to the right of the cursor.
• Ctrl + Backspace : Removes the word to the left of the cursor.
• Ctrl + Home : Moves cursor to the beginning of the presentation.
• Ctrl + End : Moves cursor to the end of the presentation.
• Ctrl + Arrow keys: Move from word to word or from object to object on a slide.

Keyboard Shortcuts for Quick Navigation

To quickly navigate around your presentation use these single keyboard shortcuts or shortcut key combinations. Using the mouse can slow you down. These shortcut keys are located to the left of the number keypad on your keyboard.

• Home : Moves cursor to the beginning of the current line of text.
• End : Moves cursor to the end of the current line of text.
• Ctrl + Home : Moves cursor to the beginning of the presentation.
• Ctrl + End : Moves cursor to the end of the presentation.
• Page Up : Moves to the previous slide.
• Page Down : Moves to the next slide.

Keyboard Shortcuts Using the Arrow Keys

Keyboard shortcuts often use the arrow keys on the keyboard. Using the Ctrl key with the four arrow keys makes it easy to move to the beginning or end of a word or paragraph. These arrow keys are located to the left of the number keypad on your keyboard.

• Ctrl + left arrow : Moves cursor to the beginning of the previous word.
• Ctrl + right arrow : Moves cursor to the beginning of the next word.
• Ctrl + up arrow : Moves cursor to start of the previous paragraph.
• Ctrl + down arrow : Moves cursor to start of the next paragraph.

Keyboard Shortcuts Using Shift Key

• Shift + Enter : Creates a soft return to force a line break inside a paragraph. In a bulleted list, this creates a new line without a bullet.
• Shift + another key: Selects a single letter, a whole word, or a line of text.
• Ctrl + Shift + Home or Ctrl + Shift + End : Selects text from the cursor to the beginning or end of the document.
• Shift + F5 : Starts a slideshow that begins with the current slide.
• Shift + left arrow : Selects the previous letter.
• Shift + right arrow : Selects the next letter.
• Shift + Home : Selects text from the cursor to start of the current line.
• Shift + End : Selects text from the cursor to the end of the current line.
• Shift + Ctrl + Home : Selects all text from the cursor to the beginning of the active text box.
• Shift + Ctrl + End : Selects all text from the cursor to the end of the active text box.

Using Function Keys as Keyboard Shortcuts

The function keys or F keys as they are more commonly known are located above the number keys on the regular keyboard.

• F1 : Opens the Help pane.
• F5 : Starts the slideshow at the first slide and displays it in full-screen mode.
• Shift + F5 : Starts the slideshow at the current slide.
• F7 : Runs spellcheck.
• F12 : Opens the Save As dialog box.

Keyboard Shortcuts While Running a Slideshow

While the slideshow is running, you may need to pause to answer questions from the audience, and it is helpful to insert a simple black or white slide while you are talking. This gives you the complete attention of the audience.

Here is a list of several useful keyboard shortcuts to use during a slideshow. As an alternative choice to keyboard shortcuts, simply right-clicking on the screen will show a shortcut menu of options.

Spacebar or click the mouse: Move to next slide or next animation

Number+ Enter : Goes to the slide of that number (for example 6 + Enter goes to slide 6).

B (for black): Pauses the slideshow and displays a black screen. Press B again to resume the show.

W (for white): Pauses the show and displays a white screen. Press W again to resume the show.

N : Moves to the next slide or next animation.

P : Moves to previous slide or animation.

S : Stops the show. Press S again to restart the show.

Esc : Ends the slideshow.

Tab : Goes to the next hyperlink in a slideshow.

Shift + Tab : Goes to the previous hyperlink in a slideshow.

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PowerPoint Keyboard Shortcuts to Make Your Life Easier

September 10, 2014 / Blog, PowerPoint Tips powerpoint keyboard shortcuts, Powerpoint tips

Using PowerPoint doesn’t have to be complicated. If you take the time to learn as much as you can, you’ll quickly become a PowerPoint expert. One thing you can try is to learn several keyboard shortcuts. In the past , we  discussed combinations you can use to help create your slide. But there are also several shortcut to help you facilitate your presentation.

Compiled by Guiding Tech , use these shortcuts and combinations to navigate through your deck without using your mouse:

Basic slideshow keyboard shortcuts

These shortcuts allow you to perform basic PowerPoint functions during your presentation:

• To start slideshow , press  F5
• To move on to the next slide or animation sequence , press either  N , Right Arrow , or Spacebar
• To return to the previous slide , press either  P , Left Arrow , or Backspace
• To jump to a specific slide , press the  slide number   + Enter 
• To exit slideshow , press  ESC
• To stop or restart an automatic presentation, press S
• To show hidden slide , press H
• To blackout the screen, press either  B or Period (.)
• To show a blank white screen , press either W or  Comma (,)
• To zoom in to a slide, press CTRL + Plus (+)
• To zoom out of a slide, press CTRL + Dash (-)

Hyperlink keyboard shortcuts

Use these shortcuts to access a hyperlink on your slide:

• To select a link, press  TAB (If you have several links in a single slide, continue pressing TAB until you reach the one you want to access)
• To return to a previous link , press  SHIFT + TAB
• To open a hyperlink, press  ENTER

Keyboard shortcuts for Pointer Options

Use these shortcuts to enable the use of a pen or pointer during your presentation:

• To enable Pen , press CTRL + P
• To enable Laser , press CTRL + L
• To enable Arrow , press CTRL + A
• To enable Highlighter , press CTRL + I
• To erase notes made with pen or highlighter, press CTRL + E
• To hide pointer , press  CTRL + H

Keyboard shortcuts for media files 

These shortcuts allow you to control media files you have on your deck:

• To play or pause a file, press ALT + P
• To stop , press ALT + Q
• To  increase volume , press  ALT + Up Arrow
• To decrease volume , press  ALT + Down Arrow
• To fast-forward , press  ALT + SHIFT + Right Arrow
• To rewind , press ALT + SHIFT + Left Arrow
• To enable or disable mute , press  ALT + U

Use these PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts to deliver your presentations with ease. Learn more PowerPoint tips to make your presentation experience easier by reading our previous blog entries.

Read More:  The Best Keyboard Shortcuts to Master PowerPoint [Guiding Tech]

Featured Image: John Ward via Flickr

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• How to Use PowerPoint Shortcut Keys Like a Pro (Boost Speed)

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If you are a regular PowerPoint user, you might have noticed that performing some tasks can be quite time-consuming, especially if you are using the mouse to navigate through the application. However, using PowerPoint shortcut keys can help you save time and become more efficient. In this article, we will explain how to use PowerPoint shortcut keys like a pro and become a more productive presenter.

Understanding PowerPoint Shortcut Keys

PowerPoint shortcut keys are combinations of two or more keys that allow you to perform certain tasks quickly and easily. The most basic shortcut keys include Ctrl + N for creating a new presentation, Ctrl + O for opening an existing presentation, Ctrl + S for saving a presentation, Ctrl + P for printing a presentation, and Ctrl + F for finding text within a presentation.

Advanced keyboard shortcuts, on the other hand, involve the use of Ctrl, Shift, and other keys to execute more complex commands. For example, Ctrl + Shift + N creates a new slide, Ctrl + Shift + O opens a new presentation, Ctrl + Shift + S saves a copy of the presentation, Ctrl + Shift + P opens the print dialog box, and Ctrl + Shift + F opens the Font dialog box.

Tips and Tricks for Using PowerPoint Shortcut Keys

To use PowerPoint shortcut keys effectively, you need to know which keys to use and when to use them. Here are some tips and tricks for using PowerPoint shortcut keys:

Creating and Editing Slides

• Use Ctrl + M to add a new slide to your presentation
• Use Ctrl + D to duplicate a slide
• Use Ctrl + Z to undo your last action
• Use Ctrl + Y to redo your last action

Working with Text and Objects

• Use Ctrl + B to bold text
• Use Ctrl + I to italicize text
• Use Ctrl + U to underline text
• Use Ctrl + Shift + > to increase font size
• Use Ctrl + Shift + < to decrease font size

Managing Presentations

• Use Ctrl + F5 to start a slideshow from the beginning
• Use F5 to start a slideshow from the current slide
• Use Shift + F5 to start a slideshow from the current slide in a window
• Use Ctrl + Shift + G to group selected objects together

Formatting and Designing Slides

• Use Ctrl + Shift + C to copy formatting from one object
• Use Ctrl + Shift + V to paste formatting from one object to another
• Use Ctrl + E to align text center
• Use Ctrl + L to align text left
• Use Ctrl + R to align text right

By using these shortcut keys, you can easily format and design your presentation, saving time and making your presentation look more professional.

Common Mistakes to Avoid While Using PowerPoint Shortcut Keys

While using PowerPoint shortcut keys can save you a lot of time, there are some common mistakes that you should avoid.

Overusing Shortcut Keys

Using shortcut keys too frequently can be counterproductive. While it’s good to use them to save time, it’s important to use them judiciously. Overusing shortcut keys can result in errors and confusion.

Using Incorrect Shortcut Keys

Using the wrong shortcut keys can also lead to errors and frustration. Take the time to learn the correct keys for the task you are trying to perform.

Ignoring Mouse Navigation

While using keyboard shortcut keys can speed up your work, it’s also important to remember that you can still use the mouse to navigate the application. Sometimes, using the mouse can be quicker and easier than using shortcut keys.

Most Useful Keyboard Shortcuts for PowerPoint

#1: common powerpoint shortcut keys, #2: slide navigation shortcut keys, #3: text formatting shortcut keys, #4: shape formatting shortcut keys, #5: other useful shortcut keys.

PowerPoint is a powerful tool for creating and delivering presentations, and incorporating shortcut keys can make your workflow more efficient and save you time. Whether you’re navigating between slides, formatting text, or starting and ending your presentation, there’s a shortcut key for that. Take the time to learn and memorize these keys, and you’ll be Powering up your presentations in no time!

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• Presentation Hacks

Keyboard Shortcuts for Powerpoint Presentations

• By: Mimi Johnson

Do you find yourself often uttering “there must be a better way!” when working in PowerPoint? We get it. Fortunately, we’ve found some keyboard shortcuts that have proven helpful while building and delivering presentations. Whether you need to point something out, create a clean slate, or get back to where you started from, there’s a shortcut for that!

Start at the beginning

Giving the same presentation a few times on the same day? Need a fresh start? Want to show the opening slide again? We’ve got you. There are a few different ways to go back to slide 1 of your presentation. If you’re already in presentation mode and want to return to the first slide, this should work: 1 + Enter If you’re in edit mode and would like to go to the first slide in presentation mode, no matter which slide you’re on, this command will bring you to your first slide and start presentation mode: Shift + Command + Enter (mac) F5 (pc)

Enter presentation mode

Now, if you want to start presentation mode, staying on a different slide than the first slide, then click that slide, and use Option + Enter (mac) Alt + F5 (pc)

Create a new slide

Want an easier way to create a new slide than having to click the “new slide” button on the taskbar? 1 + Enter This formula is your ticket. Look familiar? That’s because it’s also used to get back to the first slide in presentation mode, as mentioned above.

Go anywhere

If you’re in a presentation and want to skip to a certain slide, that’s easy as long as you know the slide number. Slide number + Enter This should skip your presentation to the slide of your choice.

Blank slate

Ever just need a moment to get away from the slide show and go rogue? This is an option in PowerPoint. If you want to make the screen white, you can utilize W If you’d prefer the screen go black, press B Clicking any key will take you out of black or white mode and back to your presentation.

Highlight important points

Ever want to cross something off of a slide or circle a certain part of a slide in real-time? You can utilize the pen tool for this. Command + P (mac) Control + P (pc) This will activate the pen tool while in presentation mode. Want to erase markups? It’s as simple as typing a single letter. E Would you rather have a laser pointer to point out information without marking up the page? Command + L (mac) Control + L (pc) Want to exit the laser pointer tool during a presentation and return to the default arrow? Command + A (mac) Control + A (pc) Don’t need a pointer at all and can’t seem to get the default arrow off of your screen? Command + I (mac) Control + I (pc)

We hope you can start utilizing these keyboard shortcuts ASAP for some newfound presentation savvy. Impress your coworkers! Hopefully, your audiences will think you’ve really done your homework and trust you as an expert. The truth is, we work with presenters every day, and many don’t know about these simple shortcuts. In addition to these easy tips and tricks, we love helping leaders uncover hidden talents and easy commands. Let us know if you want to dig deeper and take our Presentation Mentor course with a coach that will get to know you in a meaningful way. Happy navigating!

Mimi Johnson

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10 Keyboard Shortcuts to Use When Presenting PowerPoint Slideshows

In business meetings, you can use Microsoft PowerPoint slideshows to highlight important information and capture audiences’ attention. During a slideshow , clicking through various options with the mouse can throw off your timing. Plus, the audience can see you perform these actions.

A better approach is to use keyboard shortcuts . Besides being faster, you will look like a more experienced presenter. Here are 10 keyboard shortcuts that you can use when presenting slideshows using PowerPoint 2016, 2013, 2010, or 2007. You can also Google some other keyboard shortcuts!

Keyboard Shortcuts For PowerPoint

Pressing the F5 key begins the slideshow from the first slide.

2. Shift+F5

To begin the slideshow from the current slide , press Shift+F5. In other words, press the Shift and F5 keys at the same time.

3. Spacebar, N, or Right Arrow

When you are ready to advance to the next slide or perform the next animation, you can press any of the following: the Spacebar , the N key, or the right arrow key.

4. Backspace, P, or Left Arrow

If you need to backtrack , press the Backspace, P, or left arrow key to go back to the previous slide or animation.

Pressing Ctrl+P changes the mouse pointer from an arrow to a pen. You can then use the pen to add a note to a slide or call attention to an item.

6. W or Comma

During a presentation , you might want to pause the slideshow so that you can discuss a certain point. Pressing the W or comma key pauses it and displays a white screen. Pressing the W or comma key again resumes the slideshow. When the slideshow is paused, you can use the pen to write on the white screen. If you do not already have the pen activated, though, you will need to do so with the mouse (Pressing Ctrl+P to activate the pen does not work – it simply prompts the slideshow to resume.) Anything you write on the white screen will not be saved when you resume the slideshow .

7. B or Period

Pressing the B key or period key pauses the slideshow and displays a black screen, which you can write on. Press the B or period key again to resume the slideshow.

8. Ctrl+E or E

If you need to erase a mark you made with a pen on a slide, you can change the pointer to an eraser by pressing Ctrl+E. You can erase all the marks you made to a slide at once by pressing the E key. (The pointer will not change in the latter case.) You cannot use Ctrl+E or E to erase marks on a white or black screen created when pausing a slideshow.

Pressing Ctrl+A changes the pointer to the default arrow.

Another way to change the pointer to the default arrow is pressing the Esc key. If the pointer is already an arrow, pressing Esc exits the slideshow.

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10 Keyboard Shortcuts for Working with PowerPoint Slides

Working with PowerPoint slides day in and day out can get tedious if you don’t utilize shortcuts to streamline your workflow. I often see people clicking through endless menus to access common features in PowerPoint when a simple keystroke would save them time.

In this article, I’ll share my top 10 keyboard shortcuts for efficiently working with PowerPoint slides. I use these all the time to zip through my presentations and you’ll be amazed at the time savings once you commit them to memory.

Navigating Slides

Jumping between slides is one of the most common actions in PowerPoint. Rather than tediously clicking the “next slide” and “previous slide” buttons on the toolbar, try these shortcuts:

• Right arrow : Go to the next slide
• Left arrow : Go to the previous slide
• Ctrl + Page Down : Go to the next slide
• Ctrl + Page Up : Go to the previous slide

You can also jump to a specific slide number by typing the number + Enter .

Manipulating Text

Managing text is a big part of working with PowerPoint. Here are some handy keyboard shortcuts:

• Ctrl + B : Bold selected text
• Ctrl + I : Italicize selected text
• Ctrl + U : Underline selected text
• Ctrl + Z : Undo last action
• Ctrl + Y : Redo last action

I probably use Ctrl + B/I/U more than any other shortcuts. It’s so much faster than clicking the Bold, Italicize, and Underline buttons in the toolbar.

Copying, Cutting, and Pasting

The trusty copy/cut/paste shortcuts work in PowerPoint too:

• Ctrl + C : Copy selected item
• Ctrl + X : Cut selected item
• Ctrl + V : Paste item

This lets you quickly duplicate slides, graphics, text, and more.

Deleting Items

Remove items quickly with:

• Delete : Delete selected item
• Ctrl + Delete : Delete current slide

Ctrl + Delete is great when you want to delete the slide you’re currently working on.

Undoing Actions

We all make mistakes. Thankfully you can undo your last actions with:

You can typically undo multiple steps sequentially by hitting Ctrl + Z repeatedly.

Aligning Objects

Struggling to get objects aligned properly on a crowded slide? These shortcuts help:

• Ctrl+Left/Right arrow : Left align or right align selected object
• Ctrl+Up/Down arrow : Top align or bottom align selected object

Resizing Objects

If you want to resize an object proportionally:

• Shift+drag object corner : Resize object while maintaining aspect ratio

This keeps graphics and boxes from getting strangely distorted as you resize them.

Opening and Saving Files

Finally, keyboard shortcuts make quick work of opening and saving presentation files:

• Ctrl + O : Open file
• Ctrl + S : Save current file
• Ctrl + N : Create new file
• F12 : Save As (create copy)

Remembering Shortcuts

That covers my top 10 go-to keyboard shortcuts for PowerPoint. Refer back to this list when you need a refresher. Consider printing a cheat sheet to keep handy until the shortcuts become second nature.

With practice, these keyboard shortcuts will accelerate your productivity by keeping your hands on the keys instead of clicking through menus and toolbars. You’ll zoom through PowerPoint tasks much faster!

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Create a presentation

Create a presentation in powerpoint for the web.

With PowerPoint for the web running in your web browser, you can:

Create presentations that include images, videos, transitions, and animations.

Get to your presentations from your computer, tablet, or phone.

Share and work with others, wherever they are.

If you're using the desktop version of PowerPoint on a Windows PC, see the PowerPoint Quick Start .

If you're using the desktop version of PowerPoint on a Mac, see Office for Mac Quick Start Guides and PowerPoint for Mac Help .

Create, open, and name a presentation

Go to powerpoint.office.com .

Select New blank presentation , open a Recent file, select one of the themes , or start with a presentation template .

To name the presentation, select the title at the top and type a name.

If you need to rename the presentation, select the title and retype the name.

Add a slide

Select the slide you want your new slide to follow.

Select Home > New Slide .

Select Layout and the you type want from the drop-down.

When working in PowerPoint for the web, your work is saved every few seconds. You can select File > Save a Copy to create a duplicate copy in another location.

Or choose File > Download As to save a copy to your device.

When you're online, AutoSave is always on and saves your changes as you work. If at any time you lose your Internet connection or turn it off, any pending changes will sync as soon as you’re back online.

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How To Get Free Access To Microsoft PowerPoint

E very time you need to present an overview of a plan or a report to a whole room of people, chances are you turn to Microsoft PowerPoint. And who doesn't? It's popular for its wide array of features that make creating effective presentations a walk in the park. PowerPoint comes with a host of keyboard shortcuts for easy navigation, subtitles and video recordings for your audience's benefit, and a variety of transitions, animations, and designs for better engagement.

But with these nifty features comes a hefty price tag. At the moment, the personal plan — which includes other Office apps — is at $69.99 a year. This might be the most budget-friendly option, especially if you plan to use the other Microsoft Office apps, too. Unfortunately, you can't buy PowerPoint alone, but there are a few workarounds you can use to get access to PowerPoint at no cost to you at all.

Read more: The 20 Best Mac Apps That Will Improve Your Apple Experience

Method #1: Sign Up For A Free Microsoft Account On The Office Website

Microsoft offers a web-based version of PowerPoint completely free of charge to all users. Here's how you can access it:

• Visit the Microsoft 365 page .
• If you already have a free account with Microsoft, click Sign in. Otherwise, press "Sign up for the free version of Microsoft 365" to create a new account at no cost.
• On the Office home page, select PowerPoint from the side panel on the left.
• Click on "Blank presentation" to create your presentation from scratch, or pick your preferred free PowerPoint template from the options at the top (there's also a host of editable templates you can find on the Microsoft 365 Create site ).
• Create your presentation as normal. Your edits will be saved automatically to your Microsoft OneDrive as long as you're connected to the internet.

It's important to keep in mind, though, that while you're free to use this web version of PowerPoint to create your slides and edit templates, there are certain features it doesn't have that you can find on the paid version. For instance, you can access only a handful of font styles and stock elements like images, videos, icons, and stickers. Designer is also available for use on up to three presentations per month only (it's unlimited for premium subscribers). When presenting, you won't find the Present Live and Always Use Subtitles options present in the paid plans. The biggest caveat of the free version is that it won't get any newly released features, unlike its premium counterparts.

Method #2: Install Microsoft 365 (Office) To Your Windows

Don't fancy working on your presentation in a browser? If you have a Windows computer with the Office 365 apps pre-installed or downloaded from a previous Office 365 trial, you can use the Microsoft 365 (Office) app instead. Unlike the individual Microsoft apps that you need to buy from the Microsoft Store, this one is free to download and use. Here's how to get free PowerPoint on the Microsoft 365 (Office) app:

• Search for Microsoft 365 (Office) on the Microsoft Store app.
• Install and open it.
• Sign in with your Microsoft account. Alternatively, press "Create free account" if you don't have one yet.
• Click on Create on the left side panel.
• Select Presentation.
• In the PowerPoint window that opens, log in using your account.
• Press Accept on the "Free 5-day pass" section. This lets you use PowerPoint (and Word and Excel) for five days — free of charge and without having to input any payment information.
• Create your presentation as usual. As you're using the desktop version, you can access the full features of PowerPoint, including the ability to present in Teams, export the presentation as a video file, translate the slides' content to a different language, and even work offline.

The only downside of this method is the time limit. Once the five days are up, you can no longer open the PowerPoint desktop app. However, all your files will still be accessible to you. If you saved them to OneDrive, you can continue editing them on the web app. If you saved them to your computer, you can upload them to OneDrive and edit them from there.

Method #3: Download The Microsoft PowerPoint App On Your Android Or iOS Device

If you're always on the move and need the flexibility of creating and editing presentations on your Android or iOS device, you'll be glad to know that PowerPoint is free and available for offline use on your mobile phones. But — of course, there's a but — you can only access the free version if your device is under 10.1 inches. Anything bigger than that requires a premium subscription. If your phone fits the bill, then follow these steps to get free PowerPoint on your device:

• Install Microsoft PowerPoint from the App Store or Google Play Store .
• Log in using your existing Microsoft email or enter a new email address to create one if you don't already have an account.
• On the "Get Microsoft 365 Personal Plan" screen, press Skip For Now.
• If you're offered a free trial, select Try later (or enjoy the free 30-day trial if you're interested).
• To make a new presentation, tap the plus sign in the upper right corner.
• Change the "Create in" option from OneDrive - Personal to a folder on your device. This allows you to save the presentation to your local storage and make offline edits.
• Press "Set as default" to set your local folder as the default file storage location.
• Choose your template from the selection or use a blank presentation.
• Edit your presentation as needed.

Do note that PowerPoint mobile comes with some restrictions. There's no option to insert stock elements, change the slide size to a custom size, use the Designer feature, or display the presentation in Immersive Reader mode. However, you can use font styles considered premium on the web app.

Method #4: Use Your School Email Address

Office 365 Education is free for students and teachers, provided they have an email address from an eligible school. To check for your eligibility, here's what you need to do:

• Go to the Office 365 Education page .
• Type in your school email address in the empty text field.
• Press "Get Started."
• On the next screen, verify your eligibility. If you're eligible, you'll be asked to select whether you're a student or a teacher. If your school isn't recognized, however, you'll get a message telling you so.
• For those who are eligible, proceed with creating your Office 365 Education account. Make sure your school email can receive external mail, as Microsoft will send you a verification code for your account.
• Once you're done filling out the form, press "Start." This will open your Office 365 account page.

You can then start making your PowerPoint presentation using the web app. If your school's plan supports it, you can also install the Office 365 apps to your computer by clicking the "Install Office" button on your Office 365 account page and running the downloaded installation file. What sets the Office 365 Education account apart from the regular free account is that you have unlimited personal cloud storage and access to other Office apps like Word, Excel, and Outlook.

Read the original article on SlashGear .

Microsoft 365 Life Hacks > Presentations > Five tips for choosing the right PowerPoint template

Five tips for choosing the right PowerPoint template

The design or template you choose can greatly influence the success of your presentation, either capturing your audience’s attention or leaving them disengaged. To make a lasting impression on your audience, utilize these five tips when selecting your PowerPoint presentation template.

How do you choose a template in PowerPoint?

The initial step in creating your PowerPoint presentation is choosing the appropriate design. To effectively select the best PowerPoint template for your presentation, there are several components you should consider. These components include the following:

1. Consider your audience

The first component you should consider is your audience. Is the presentation intended for a formal setting, such as in a business context, or will it be delivered in a more informal gathering? Are the viewers going to review the slides virtually , in-person, or will they be viewing the presentation independently? What are the demographics of your audience? It’s crucial to contemplate your audience before outlining your presentation, as they significantly influence your design choices. For example, if you are delivering a business-oriented presentation, you might choose a more conservative design, while a more informal presentation may call for a bolder and more captivating template.

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2. Select a template with appropriate layout options

The layout plays a crucial role in determining how your content is delivered, read, and ultimately comprehended by your audience. When you assess presentation templates, ensure that the layout options align with the nature of your content. Ask yourself, ‘Will this format enhance the readability and comprehension of my content for my audience? Is it the most efficient way to convey my information?

3. Choose a design that fits your style

You’ll feel most comfortable presenting when your presentation feels like yourself. Make you presentation an extension of your personal style and brand, that effectively complements your aesthetic preferences. Whether you prefer minimalism and clean lines or a striking, vibrant presentation filled with animation, select a design that aligns with your style and creates cohesive visuals.

4. Find a template that reflects your message

Outside of aesthetics, your template should reflect the core message of your presentation. If your content is data-heavy, opt for a template with clear charts and graphs. For a storytelling presentation, choose a template that incorporates visuals and storytelling elements. Ensuring your template and message aligns strengthens your presentation’s storytelling .

5. Consider the length of your presentation

The duration of your presentation should be incorporated in your template decision making. Longer presentations may benefit from a clean and organized template that aids in maintaining audience attention. Shorter presentations, on the other hand, provide room for more creative and visually striking templates. Consider the pacing and structure of your content in relation to the template to optimize your audience’s engagement.

The key to an effective PowerPoint presentation template is extensively considering the context of your presentation. Know who your audience is, what your message is, the length of your message, and how the content should be presented. When you consider these elements, you can ensure your presentation will resonate with your audience, with your intended impact. For more ways to improve your next presentation, learn more presentation tips .

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