powerpoint presentation mode key

Use keyboard shortcuts to deliver PowerPoint presentations

Many users find that using an external keyboard with keyboard shortcuts for PowerPoint helps them work more efficiently. For users with mobility or vision disabilities, keyboard shortcuts can be easier than using the touchscreen and are an essential alternative to using a mouse.

For a separate list of shortcuts to use while creating your presentation, go to  Use keyboard shortcuts to create PowerPoint presentations .

The shortcuts in this topic refer to the US keyboard layout. Keys for other layouts might not correspond exactly to the keys on a US keyboard.

A plus sign (+) in a shortcut means that you need to press multiple keys at the same time.

A comma sign (,) in a shortcut means that you need to press multiple keys in order.

This article describes the keyboard shortcuts and some other common shortcut keys that apply while you're delivering your presentation with PowerPoint for Windows.

To quickly find a shortcut in this article, you can use Search. Press Ctrl+F, and then type your search words.

If an action that you use often does not have a shortcut key, you can record a macro. For step-by-step instructions to record a macro, refer to the section “Record a macro” in Automate tasks with the Macro Recorder to create one.

During the presentation, to open a list of shortcuts, press F1. Use the arrow keys to move between the tabs in the Slide Show Help dialog box.

Get the PowerPoint 2016 keyboard shortcuts in a Word document at this link: PowerPoint 2016 for Windows keyboard shortcuts .

In this topic

Frequently used shortcuts, control the slide show, control media in the slide show, pointer and annotations in the slide show, rehearse the presentation, maneuver in presenter view.

This table lists the most frequently used shortcuts in PowerPoint for Windows.

Top of Page

You can use the following keyboard shortcuts while you’re delivering your presentation in Slide Show (full-screen) mode, with or without  Presenter View .

Control media in the slide show 

These keyboard shortcuts work with video files imported from your computer or other device. They don't work with online video files.

Use the following keyboard shortcuts to control the pointer and to use it to create annotations during your presentation.

You can use these keyboard shortcuts when you are rehearsing your presentation.

You can use the following keyboard shortcuts while you’re delivering your presentation using Presenter View  in PowerPoint 2013 and newer.  Presenter View lets you look at your presentation with your speaker notes on one screen (your laptop, for example), while the audience views the notes-free presentation on a different screen.

When you are connected to a second display, Presenter View is shown automatically when you start the slide show. To start a presentation in Presenter View even if you have only a single display, press Alt+F5.

Tip:  If Presenter View does not start automatically with two displays, go the Slide Show tab, select the Use Presenter View checkbox, and select the preferred monitor.

PowerPoint help & learning

Screen reader support for PowerPoint

Use keyboard shortcuts to create PowerPoint presentations

Basic tasks to create a presentation in PowerPoint with a screen reader

Use a screen reader to explore and navigate PowerPoint

This article describes the keyboard shortcuts and some other common shortcut keys that apply while you're delivering your presentation with PowerPoint for macOS.

The settings in some versions of the Mac operating system (OS) and some utility applications might conflict with keyboard shortcuts in Microsoft 365 for Mac. For information about changing the key assignment for a keyboard shortcut, refer to Mac Help for your version of macOS or your utility application.

If you don't find a keyboard shortcut here that meets your needs, you can create a custom keyboard shortcut. For instructions, go to Create a custom keyboard shortcut for Office for Mac .

Many of the shortcuts that use the Ctrl key on a Windows keyboard also work with the Control key in PowerPoint for macOS. However, not all do.

To quickly find a shortcut in this article, you can use the Search. Press Command+F, and then type your search words.

During the presentation, to open a list of shortcuts, press forward slash (/).

Pointer and annotations in the slide show

Navigate the presenter view on macos 10.15 (catalina) and later.

This table lists the most frequently used shortcuts in PowerPoint for macOS.

You can use the following keyboard shortcuts while you’re delivering your presentation in Slide Show (full-screen) mode, with or without the Presenter View .

Use the following keyboard shortcuts to control media during a presentation.

You can use the following keyboard shortcuts while you’re delivering your presentation using the Presenter View on macOS 10.15 (Catalina) and later, and when the keyboard control navigation is turned on. For instructions, refer to Turn on the keyboard control navigation .

Use the shortcuts in the table below to move in the Presenter View in PowerPoint for macOS.

Skip ahead in your presentation

You can use your keyboard to skip ahead several slides without the audience seeing the slides as you transition to the new slide.

Press the Tab key until you reach the Slide Navigator control (filmstrip).

Press and hold down the Option key and press the Left or Right arrow key repeatedly until you find the slide you want to skip to.

Release the Option key to move to the slide you want to skip to.

Turn on the keyboard control navigation

To use your keyboard to move between and activate controls on your Mac, turn on the keyboard control navigation.

If you're not using VoiceOver, on your computer, select System Preferences > Keyboard > Shortcuts , and select the Use keyboard navigation to move focus between controls checkbox.

If you're using VoiceOver, the control navigation should be on by default. To check the setting, do the following:

On your computer, press Control+Option+M to access the Apple menu bar item. To open the Apple menu, press Control+Option+Spacebar.

Press Control+Option+Down arrow key until you hear "System preferences ellipses," and then press Control+Option+Spacebar.

The System Preferences window opens. The focus is in the Search text box.

Type Keyboard , and then press Return. The Keyboard dialog box opens.

Press Control+Option+Right arrow key until you hear "Shortcuts tab," and then press Control+Option+Spacebar.

Press Control+Option+Right arrow key until you hear: "Use keyboard navigation to move focus between controls." VoiceOver also announces if the option is selected or unselected. To toggle the option on or off, press Control+Option+Spacebar.

To close the Keyboard dialog box, press Command+W.

This article describes the keyboard shortcuts that apply while you're delivering your presentation with PowerPoint for the web.

If you use Narrator with the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, you have to turn off scan mode in order to edit documents, spreadsheets, or presentations with Microsoft 365 for the web. For more information, refer to Turn off virtual or browse mode in screen readers in Windows 10 Fall Creators Update .

When you use PowerPoint for the web, we recommend that you use Microsoft Edge as your web browser. Because PowerPoint for the web runs in your web browser, the keyboard shortcuts are different from those in the desktop program. For example, you’ll use Ctrl+F6 instead of F6 for jumping in and out of the commands. Also, common shortcuts like F1 (Help) and Ctrl+O (Open) apply to the web browser – not PowerPoint for the web.

This table lists the keyboard shortcuts you can use to control the slide show.

Technical support for customers with disabilities

Microsoft wants to provide the best possible experience for all our customers. If you have a disability or questions related to accessibility, please contact the Microsoft Disability Answer Desk for technical assistance. The Disability Answer Desk support team is trained in using many popular assistive technologies and can offer assistance in English, Spanish, French, and American Sign Language. Please go to the Microsoft Disability Answer Desk site to find out the contact details for your region.

If you are a government, commercial, or enterprise user, please contact the enterprise Disability Answer Desk .

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Home Blog PowerPoint Tutorials How to Work with Presenter View in PowerPoint

How to Work with Presenter View in PowerPoint

Not all presenters have excellent memory recall or the ability to speak flawlessly to the audience without any cues. However, many of them are good at hiding it by using Presenter View in PowerPoint. It is a presentation mode that enables the presenter to hide speaker notes and presentation controls from the audience while leveraging the various handy features offered by PowerPoint.

How to Use Presenter View in PowerPoint

To start using Presenter View, ensure it’s enabled before you begin your slideshow. If you are new to this feature, we recommend using this option to familiarize yourself with the various navigation options for this presentation mode. This might also be helpful if the PowerPoint templates you are accustomed to using might have animations that you might want to preview in this mode to understand when to give the next visual cue.

How to Enable Presenter View in PowerPoint

To enable PowerPoint presenter view, go to the SlideShow tab and make sure the Use Presenter View option is enabled. This will ensure that you can access Presenter View when you switch your slides to SlideShow mode.

Adjust Display Settings

You can swap between the presenter view and slideshow mode or duplicate the slideshow to exit the Presenter View from the Display Settings menu from the top toolbar.

Navigate Slides in Presenter View

Like any standard PowerPoint presentation in SlideShow mode, you can navigate between slides by using the arrow keys or with a presentation remote. Presenter View also provides slide navigation buttons to move the slides back and forth.

View Taskbar in Presenter View

The Show Taskbar option at the top enables viewing the taskbar. This can be helpful if you require using the taskbar, such as to view your battery charge, see the time, enable or disable another app from the taskbar menu, etc.

Reset or Pause the Timer

Once you start your presentation in Presenter View, a timer starts showing how much time you have spent in slideshow mode. This is an excellent way to understand how much time you have consumed for your session and to keep an eye out for good timekeeping. You can also hit Pause or reset the timer anytime.

Change the Size of the Speaker Notes

How to view notes in PowerPoint while presenting? If you have any speaker notes added to your slides, they will appear in Presenter View on your screen. You can increase or reduce the size of the text via the two options at the bottom of the speaker notes pane.

Using Annotation Tools in Presenter View

PowerPoint annotation tools can be accessed from the bottom toolbar in Presenter View. The Pen and Laser Pointer Tools button gives you access to the pen, ink colors, laser pointer, and eraser and also allows you to show or hide the mouse pointer via Arrow Options .

View All Slides in Presenter View

If you need to go back and forth to find a relevant slide for an ongoing discussion or query during your presentation, you can view all slides in Presenter View via the See all slides option.

Zoom Slides using Presenter View

PowerPoint’s Zoom feature lets presenters quickly pick a portion of the slide to zoom into. Presenter View allows you to leverage this feature by instantly selecting a portion of the slide to enlarge it after selecting Zoom into the slide option. To exit the Zoom mode or hit the Esc key.

Black or Unblack SlideShow

Sometimes, you might want to turn the screen blank for a while, such as during a mid-presentation break. The Black or Unblack SlideShow option blanks the slides for your audience while continuing to show you all navigation options via Presenter View.

Toggle Subtitles in Presenter View

One of the most revolutionary features introduced by Microsoft for PowerPoint over the past decade has been Live captions. This feature enables subtitles by converting speech to text as you present. You can toggle Live subtitles on or off while in presenter view to help your audience read what you speak.

Toggle Camera in Presenter View

Like subtitles, you can also toggle the camera on or off in Presenter View.

End Slideshow in Presenter View

There are different ways to end or exit a SlideShow from Presenter View. You can hit the Esc key or click End Slide Show . Similarly, you can click the three dots at the bottom and select End Show .

More Slideshow Options

Other than the various visibility prominent menus available to navigate, annotate, and present your slides, you can also find a few additional options via More slideshow options , which are accessible via the three dots at the bottom toolbar. These include adjusting the position of the subtitles, turning your screen white or black, ending the slideshow, etc.

How to Use Presenter View on a Single Screen

While Presenter View can be enabled to work with dual monitors, you can also use Presenter View on a single monitor with remote meeting apps like Zoom. A simple method for switching to Presenter View on a single monitor is to click the three dots ( More slideshow options ) at the bottom in SlideShow mode and select Show Presenter View .

You can also switch to Presenter View on a single monitor anytime using the ALT+F5 hotkey.

The presenter can easily manage a PPT in presentation mode, with the utility to view speaker notes, annotate or zoom slides, toggle subtitles or camera on or off, and keep your audience engaged via better slideshow management. However, if you’re new to this presentation mode, a bit of practice might help you avoid confusion when presenting before an audience in Presenter View for the first few times.

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5 PowerPoint Keyboard Shortcuts to Start a Slide Display

Tried These Beneficial PowerPoint Shortcuts to Go a Slide Show

by Avantix Learned Team | October 16, 2021

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

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

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

Whenever the function key shortcuts don't worked, you may require to press the Fx push on your keyboard at the identical time.

Typically, you could start a slide watch away Normal View or Slide Sorter View. To exit a slide show, press ESC.

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

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

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

Press Shift+F5.

3. Beginning an presentation inside Presenter View using a key key

Press Alt + F5.

4. Start a presentation from of beginning using key tips

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

5. Start a presentation von the current slider using key special

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

There are many shortcuts you can use over a PowerPoint foil show like well. Check out the article Presentation Slide Show Shortcuts (50+ Keyboard Shortcuts).

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• Slidesgo School
• PowerPoint Tutorials

How to Use the Presentation Modes and the Screen Recording Features in PowerPoint

After designing all the slides for your presentation, the next and last step is presenting in front of your audience. In this new Slidesgo School tutorial, you’ll see how the presenter view works and how you can record your presentation .

Presentation Modes

Presentation modes — set up slide show, presentation modes — record slide show.

• There are different presentation modes in PowerPoint, besides the one you can find at the bottom of the screen.
• To access the presentation modes, go to the Slide Show tab.
• The first two options allow you to start the presentation from the beginning or from the currently selected slide.

• If you choose Present Online, an URL will be generated, which you can then share with your potential online viewers. After clicking this button, a new window will open, displaying info about the Microsoft Office online presentation service and a checkbox to enable remote download for your online audience. To enjoy this service, you need an Office 365 account. When you’re ready, click Connect to generate the URL.
• If you choose Custom Slide Show, you can select which slides to display in your presentation.  First, create a new custom slide show and select the slides that you want to display. Then, click Add, enter the name of the presentation and click OK. This new custom presentation will appear on the list. Select it and click Show to begin the presentation.
• In the Set Up group you’ll find options to set up the presentation, hide slides, rehearse your presentation and even record it.
• Click Set Up Slide Show to adjust several settings regarding your presentation. You’ll find more information in the next section of this tutorial .
• If you click Hide Slide, the selected slide won’t show up during your presentation. Hidden slides will appear faded out on the list and their numbers will be crossed out.
• If you click Record Slide Show, you’ll be able to record your presentation from the beginning or from the current slide. We’ll go into detail in the last section of this tutorial.
• There are several checkboxes regarding whether to play narrations, use timings and show media controls.

• In the Monitors group you can choose which screen to display your presentation.
• The last group, Captions & Subtitles, is only available in Office 365. You’ll find options to enable subtitles, which will be generated out of your speech (so you’ll need to have a mic). There are settings to change the language and the position of the subtitles.
• Open your presentation in PowerPoint.
• Go to the Slide Show tab.
• In the Set Up group, click Set Up Slide Show. A new window will open, where you’ll find several options.
• In the top-left corner, under “Show type”, you can choose whether the presentation will be in fullscreen with speaker notes, windowed, or in fullscreen without speaker notes or the menu bar.

• Under “Show options” you can choose whether to show the presentation without narration or animations, or disable the hardware graphics acceleration (for better performance). You can also set the pen and laser pointer color.

• Under “Show slides”, you can choose which slides to show in your presentation. You can select all of them, a specific range or a custom slideshow.
• There are other settings to determine how to advance slides (manually or using timings), what the resolution will be and whether to use the presenter view.
• Click Record Slide Show. From the drop-down menu, select From the Current Slide or From the Beginning.
• A new window will open, along with the presentation in fullscreen mode. At the top-left you’ll find a button to start recording.

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• Presentation Hacks

5 PowerPoint Shortcuts Every Presenter Should Know

• By: Camille Holden

We all know there’s no easy button for becoming a successful public speaker. It takes hard work, lots of practice, and a unique blend of science and artistry.

That’s why it’s all the more heartbreaking when you see a good presenter get derailed by their technology. There’s nothing more embarrassing than having to apologize for your missed cues and misfires.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Presentation technology can be a blessing, rather than a curse, as long as you know how to use it to your benefit. And while there is no easy button for that either, there are certain buttons that can make your presentations more seamless and make your delivery a lot smoother.

To make sure you’re not letting technology get in your way, here are the 5 PowerPoint shortcuts* every presenter needs to know.

*I’m omitting the truly basic ones that work across all of your applications, like copy/paste and save.

Key PowerPoint Shortcut #1 – Blacking / White-ing the Screen Sometimes you may need to pause the presentation for a lunch break or to answer a question unrelated to the presentation. In these situations, you can use shortcut keys to display a blank screen and keep your audience’s attention focused on you.

Here are the shortcuts you need to know: W or comma (while in Slide Show Mode) will turn the screen completely white. Hit either shortcut once more, and you will return to your slide.

B or period (while in Slide Show Mode) will turn the screen completely black. Hit either shortcut once more, and you will return to your slide.

Key PowerPoint Shortcut #2 – Activating the Laser Pointer When giving your talk, you may have specific elements on your slide that you want to point out to your audience. One great way to do that is to use a laser pointer – and PowerPoint provides one directly within the software.

While in Slide Show Mode, hold down the CTRL key on your keyboard and click and drag with your mouse. Doing so turns on the laser pointer, allowing you to point out things on your slide and focus your audience’s attention.

Here are the shortcuts you need to know: Hold the Ctrl key and click with your mouse (in Slide Show Mode).

Key PowerPoint Shortcut #3 – Inking Your Slides Some of the best tools native to PowerPoint when presenting in front of an audience – whether on a webinar or in a room – are the inking tools.

You can use these tools to highlight parts of the slide, add notes, diagram elements in, etc.

The inking tools include the pen and the highlighter.

Here are the shortcuts you need to know: Ctrl + P (while in Slide Show Mode) will activate the pen, allowing you to write / draw on your slides. Hitting CTRL + P a second time will turn the Pen off.

Ctrl + I (while in Slide Show Mode) will activate the highlighter, allowing you to highlight / draw on your slides.

Ctrl + M (while in Slide Show Mode) will hide all the ink on your slide. If you use the shortcut a second time, you will make the ink re-appear.

E (while in Slide Show Mode) will erase all the ink on your slide.

Pro Tip: Be careful when erasing the Ink on screen as there is no way to un-erase that ink. If you typically want to save the ink on yours, memorize the CTRL + M shortcut instead as it merely hides the ink.

Key PowerPoint Shortcut #4 – Launching Presenter View Presenter View is a great alternative to Slide Show Mode, allowing you to play your presentation for an audience.

I love using Presenter View, because it allows you to do several things: 1. See the slide that your audience is viewing so that you can address that slide, 2. See the notes you have for that slide, 3. Preview the next slide to prepare you for what’s to come, 4. View the time and duration of your presentation, and 5. Use the laser pointer and ink features to mark up your presentation.

Knowing how to jump straight to Presenter View from a shortcut allows you to launch it on the fly and be ready to start your talk at any point.

Here are the shortcuts you need to know: Alt + F5 to launch Presenter View from the first slide.

Additional Pro Tips: 1. This is a great view for reviewing your slides before a presentation to spot check them for errors. 2. Best practice is not to overly rely on this view, as you want to be looking at your audience – not looking at your screen, which is just as bad as reading your slides.

Key PowerPoint Shortcut #5 – Jumping to a Slide in Your Presentation When you give a presentation, your talk doesn’t always end up going according to plan. And you want to be prepared in case that happens.

There are some situations when you will need to jump around in your presentation. For instance, say you are on slide 50, and your audience puts a question that requires you to jump back to slide 20.

Pressing Page Up 30 times is time-consuming and looks unprofessional. That’s why PowerPoint has two handy methods for doing so efficiently.

The first method is to simply type the slide number in, and then hit Enter (Ex. “20 Enter”).

The second method is to use the All Slides dialog box. This feature allows you to visually see all the slides within your presentation so you can immediately jump to the correct one. This is handy when you want to move forward or backward quickly within your presentation and you don’t know what the slide number is.

Here are the shortcuts you need to know: Slide number + Enter (while in Slide Show Mode) will jump you to that slide.

Ctrl + S (while in Slide Show Mode) will launch the All Slide dialog box.

Why Shortcuts Matter Creating a PowerPoint presentation is no small task! It requires juggling all sorts of PowerPoint stuff like charts, tables, pictures, object formatting, text, and shapes, and then there is the delivery of the presentation itself. On top of that, you’re expected to have it all done yesterday!

It’s all about trying to get more done in less time. And that’s where PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts come in handy.

With a little bit of practice, PowerPoint shortcuts will seriously cut down your build time, make your slides look more polished and professional, and get you to Happy Hour faster.

For more of the top PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts, check out my in-depth Favorite 80 PowerPoint Shortcuts article.

About the Author: Camille Holden is the Co-Founder and CEO of Nuts & Bolts Speed Training , where she helps busy professionals save PowerPoint hours and gain peace of mind. As an expert trainer and coach, she is passionate about empowering people who are short on time but big on ideas with the tools to truly master PowerPoint and create presentations that work.

Camille Holden

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Tips for Powerpoint by Regina Griffin

How To Get Into Presentation Mode In PowerPoint

Are you looking to take your PowerPoint presentations to the next level?

Presentation Mode in PowerPoint is a powerful tool that can help you create engaging and professional presentations.

We will discuss why you should use Presentation Mode, how to enter it, its key features, and how to navigate through your slides.

Explore the ins and outs of Presentation Mode in PowerPoint, brought to you by teacher Regina Griffin from Oregon, US. Enhance your presentation skills!

Key Takeaways:

• Presentation mode in PowerPoint allows for a more engaging and organized presentation, resulting in a better experience for both the presenter and the audience.
• To enter presentation mode, simply click on the “Slide Show” tab and select “From Beginning” or “From Current Slide”.
• Presentation mode offers features such as a full-screen display, laser pointer/pen tool, and presenter view with notes and slide previews, making it easier to navigate through slides and deliver a professional presentation.

What Is Presentation Mode in PowerPoint?

Presentation Mode in PowerPoint refers to a feature that allows presenters to display their slides in a full-screen view, enhancing the visual impact of their presentation.

This mode is particularly useful during formal presentations, as it eliminates distractions and ensures that the audience’s focus remains on the content being discussed. In Presentation Mode , presenters can navigate through their slides smoothly, interact with their content, and make annotations in real time. One notable advantage of this mode is the Presenter view , where speakers can see upcoming slides, and speaker notes, and even manage time effectively without disrupting the flow of the presentation.

Why Use Presentation Mode in PowerPoint?

Using Presentation Mode in PowerPoint offers numerous advantages, such as creating a more engaging and professional presentation experience for both the presenter and the audience.

When in Presentation Mode, your PowerPoint transforms into a seamless slide show that eliminates distractions and focuses solely on your content. This feature optimizes the screen view for your audience, ensuring they stay engrossed in your message.

Presentation Mode allows the presenter to navigate slides effortlessly, maintaining a smooth flow of information that keeps the audience’s attention intact. The ability to preview slides on a separate monitor while presenting ensures that the speaker remains in control of the presentation pace and content delivery.

Allows for a more engaging and professional presentation

One of the key reasons to use Presentation Mode in PowerPoint is that it allows presenters to deliver a more engaging and professional presentation by providing advanced control over their slides, including features like a laser pointer .

With Presentation Mode, presenters can seamlessly navigate through their slides, controlling the flow of information and keeping the audience’s attention focused. The ability to access advanced controls such as animations, transitions, and speaker notes enhances the overall delivery quality.

The built-in laser pointer feature enables presenters to highlight specific points on the slides, emphasizing crucial information and guiding the audience’s focus. This interactive element adds a dynamic touch to the presentation, making it more engaging and memorable.

Helps the presenter stay on track and organized

Presentation Mode in PowerPoint aids presenters in maintaining focus, organization, and efficiency throughout their presentation by offering tools like Presenter View, where notes and slide previews can be accessed.

This feature is particularly useful as it allows presenters to keep an eye on upcoming slides while also referring to their speaking notes discreetly, enhancing the flow of the presentation. The ability to adjust display settings such as screen mirroring or extending desktops simplifies the setup process, ensuring that the presentation runs smoothly. The note-taking capabilities within Presentation Mode enable presenters to jot down important points or reminders directly within the application, eliminating the need for external notes and promoting a more organized approach to presenting.

Provides a better experience for the audience

Engaging Presentation Mode in PowerPoint not only benefits the presenter but also enhances the audience’s experience by ensuring a seamless and visually appealing display of the content.

When toggling to Presentation Mode, the display settings undergo a transformation that optimizes the presentation for viewer interaction. The ability to seamlessly swap displays allows the presenter to effortlessly navigate through slides, ensuring a smooth transition between different sections of the presentation. This elegant integration of features not only captivates the audience but also enables a more fluid and engaging delivery of the content. The visual appeal of the slides is enhanced, making it easier for viewers to follow along and grasp the key points being presented.

How to Enter Presentation Mode in PowerPoint?

To enter Presentation Mode in PowerPoint, follow these simple steps: open your presentation, click on the ‘Slide Show’ tab in the menu bar, and select ‘From Beginning’ or ‘From Current Slide’ to start your presentation.

If you want to ensure a seamless transition into Presentation Mode, it’s essential to set the right display options. First, check your display settings by going to the ‘Slide Show’ tab and clicking on ‘Set Up Slide Show.’ Here, you can choose whether to present your slides on the primary monitor, a secondary monitor, or in a window. Make sure to select the appropriate display mode based on your setup to guarantee a professional and effective presentation.

Step 1: Open your PowerPoint presentation

The first step to enter Presentation Mode in PowerPoint is to ensure that your presentation file is open and ready for display.

To do so, open PowerPoint and locate the file containing your presentation. Click on the file to open it. Review that the slides are arranged in the correct order and that any speaker notes or animations are set up as desired. Check the slide sorter view to confirm the flow of your presentation. Ensure that the current slide is the one you want to begin with when Presentation Mode is activated. This initial setup is crucial for a seamless transition into your presentation.

Step 2: Click on the ‘Slide Show’ tab in the top menu bar

Once your presentation is open, navigate to the ‘Slide Show’ tab located in the top menu bar of PowerPoint to access presentation controls and features like zooming into specific slides.

Once you’re on the ‘Slide Show’ tab, you’ll find a variety of essential controls that aid in delivering a seamless presentation experience. Here, you can click on ‘From Beginning’ to start the slide show from the very first slide. You can choose ‘From Current Slide’ to begin from the slide you’re currently on.

You’ll notice the ‘Slide Show’ tab offers options to toggle various functionalities like accessing presenter view or setting up custom slide shows. This tab is a hub of useful tools that elevate your presentation delivery.

Step 3: Select ‘From Beginning’ or ‘From Current Slide’ to start the presentation

After accessing the ‘Slide Show’ tab, choose between the ‘From Beginning’ or ‘From Current Slide’ options to initiate your presentation in Presentation Mode, ensuring the desired display settings and presenter view are selected.

When you opt for ‘From Beginning,’ your presentation will start from the very first slide, whereas selecting ‘From Current Slide’ allows you to start your presentation from the slide you are currently on. This choice depends on whether you want to begin at the start of the presentation or jump in at a specific point.

It is crucial to carefully review and adjust the display settings to ensure that your content appears as intended on the screen during the presentation. Make sure to enable the presenter view option for a more dynamic and organized delivery of your content, offering you control over what the audience sees and what you see on your screen.

What Are the Features of Presentation Mode in PowerPoint?

The features of Presentation Mode in PowerPoint are designed to enhance the presenter’s experience and engage the audience, offering functionalities such as Presenter view with notes, laser pointer integration, and slide previews.

Presenter view with notes allows speakers to refer to their talking points discreetly, ensuring a seamless delivery. The incorporated laser pointer feature permits highlighting key areas on slides, directing the audience’s focus effectively. Slide previews provide a comprehensive overview of the presentation flow, aiding in smoother transitions between topics. The option to hide or reveal slides as needed enhances the element of surprise and control during the presentation, captivating the audience’s attention. These combined features transform the presenter’s performance into a dynamic and engaging experience for all participants.

Full-screen display of slides

Presentation Mode in PowerPoint offers a full-screen display of slides, ensuring that the audience can focus solely on the content being presented.

This feature eliminates distractions and directs attention to the key points of the presentation. By seamlessly transitioning between slides, the flow of information is maintained, keeping the audience engaged throughout the talk. The full-screen view enhances the visibility of multimedia elements, such as images and videos, making them more impactful.

Ability to use a laser pointer or pen tool

Presentation Mode enables presenters to use a laser pointer or a pen tool to highlight key points on slides, enhancing the clarity and impact of their presentation.

The laser pointer, a staple in traditional presentations, offers a precise way to direct attention to specific details, aiding in engaging the audience. On the other hand, the pen tool, usually found in digital platforms like smartphone apps or presentation software, allows for more creativity and flexibility in drawing emphasis without the need for physical devices like remote controls. This versatility caters to different presenter preferences and presentation styles, ensuring a dynamic and interactive delivery of content.

Presenter view with notes and slide previews

Presenter view in PowerPoint provides presenters with a comprehensive overview of their slides, including notes and slide previews, facilitating better organization and seamless delivery.

When utilizing the Presenter view, presenters gain the advantage of accessing notes discretely without them being displayed to the audience, allowing for a more professional and polished delivery. In addition, having a live preview of the upcoming slides enables the presenter to seamlessly transition between points, enhancing the flow of the presentation. Through system preferences or the displays app, customization options such as adjusting the layout to suit individual preferences or toggling between speaker notes and slide previews can be easily configured, providing a tailored experience for each presenter.

Option to hide the presentation controls

One convenient feature of Presentation Mode is the ability to hide presentation controls , providing a cleaner and more immersive viewing experience for both the presenter and the audience.

By opting to hide presentation controls, presenters can focus on delivering their content without any distractions or overlays obstructing their view. This is especially beneficial when engaging in live demonstrations, showcasing visual content, or utilizing mirror displays for a seamless and professional presentation.

In scenarios where presenters are utilizing a two-monitor setup for advanced display configurations, such as showing notes on one screen while presenting on the other, hiding presentation controls on the main display ensures that only the essential content is visible to the audience, maintaining a neat and streamlined appearance.

How to Navigate Through Slides in Presentation Mode?

Navigating through slides in Presentation Mode can be done efficiently using keyboard shortcuts, mouse controls, or specific commands within PowerPoint.

One handy method to quickly move to the next slide during a presentation is by pressing the Spacebar or Enter key on your keyboard. Conversely, to go back to the previous slide, you can use the Backspace key. You can effortlessly jump to a specific slide by entering the slide number followed by pressing the Enter key. For a more visual approach, you can click on the slide thumbnails on the left sidebar or use the scroll wheel to navigate through the slides.

Use the arrow keys on your keyboard

Utilize the arrow keys on your keyboard to seamlessly advance through slides in Presentation Mode, ensuring a smooth and controlled flow of your presentation.

With the simple and intuitive collaboration of the arrow keys, you can effortlessly navigate through your slides, enabling precision in delivering your content. The arrow keys allow you to move forward or backward with ease, keeping the focus on your message during the presentation. This feature is especially useful in Presenter View, where you can see upcoming slides and speaker notes, maintaining a seamless delivery. When you record a slide show, the arrow keys help you pace your narration perfectly, ensuring synchronization between your speech and slide transitions.

Click on the arrows in the bottom left corner of the screen

For a more interactive navigation experience, users can click on the directional arrows located in the bottom left corner of the screen to progress through their presentation while having access to speaker notes and animations.

Users can enhance their presentation experience by utilizing the fullscreen mode . By entering fullscreen, viewers can keep the focus solely on the presentation content, removing any distractions from the surrounding interface elements. This feature is particularly useful when showcasing detailed slides or when presenting to a larger audience, allowing for a more immersive and engaging delivery.

Use the scroll wheel on your mouse

Another seamless way to navigate through slides in Presentation Mode is by utilizing the scroll wheel on your mouse, providing smooth and intuitive control over slide transitions and content progression.

The scroll wheel allows users to effortlessly advance slides without the need to click buttons or use keyboard shortcuts, enhancing the overall presentation experience.

With its responsive nature, the scroll wheel ensures quick and precise movements, enabling presenters to fluidly transition between slides with the utmost ease.

This feature is particularly handy when presenting slides with high resolution , allowing for a seamless display of detailed content in a visually appealing manner.

How to Exit Presentation Mode in PowerPoint?

Exiting Presentation Mode in PowerPoint is a simple process that involves pressing the ‘Esc’ key on your keyboard, clicking on the ‘End Show’ button, or selecting ‘End Show’ from the drop-down menu to return to the normal viewing mode.

To exit Fullscreen mode in PowerPoint, you can simply press the ‘Esc’ key, the keyboard shortcut that is universally used to escape full-screen views across various applications. This action will promptly take you out of the immersive mode and back to the regular interface.

Another convenient way to exit the Presentation Mode is by navigating to the bottom left corner of the screen and clicking on the ‘End Show’ button. This button serves as a quick exit route from the full-screen display, offering an immediate transition back to the standard PowerPoint screen.

Step 1: Press the Esc key on your keyboard

The first step to exit Presentation Mode is to press the ‘Esc’ key on your keyboard, which will promptly exit the full-screen display and return you to the standard PowerPoint interface.

Exiting Presentation Mode using the ‘Esc’ key is a simple maneuver that can swiftly transition you back to your familiar workspace. Once you press the ‘Esc’ key, the fullscreen effect will dissolve, and any Speaker Notes you might have been glancing over will no longer dominate your screen, ensuring a seamless flow as you exit the presentation. This action provides an effortless way to shift the focus back to the general view of your PowerPoint, facilitating a smooth continuation of your usual workflow.

Step 2: Click on the ‘End Show’ button on the top left corner of the screen

To exit Presentation Mode, users can also click on the ‘End Show’ button located in the top left corner of the screen, providing a direct and visible method to conclude the presentation.

Once you are ready to end your presentation and exit the immersive Presentation Mode, simply direct your attention to the top left corner of the screen where the ‘End Show’ button awaits your command. By clicking on this button, you seamlessly transition back to the regular view, enabling you to navigate your presentation’s content, check additional details, or record the slide show for future reference. This function provides an effortless way to not only conclude your speech but also to review or amend content from the current slide onward, ensuring a smooth transition and accessibility for your audience.

Step 3: Select ‘End Show’ from the drop-down menu

For a more detailed exit process, users can select ‘ End Show ‘ from the drop-down menu within PowerPoint, ensuring a controlled and comprehensive conclusion to their presentation.

Once ‘End Show’ is chosen, users can seamlessly transition back to PowerPoint’s standard interface, bidding farewell to the presenter view. Exiting this mode allows presenters to access additional options to end their presentation smoothly and efficiently.

Upon choosing ‘End Show’, users can review their content, make final adjustments, and conclude their presentation with confidence, maintaining professionalism throughout the process. This method ensures a polished and professional exit from Presentation Mode, leaving a lasting impression on the audience.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do i enter presentation mode in powerpoint to enter presentation mode in powerpoint, click on the slideshow tab in the top menu and then select “from beginning” or “from current slide” depending on where you want to start your presentation., can i customize the way i enter presentation mode in powerpoint yes, you can customize the way you enter presentation mode by going to the slideshow tab and selecting “set up slide show.” from there, you can choose options such as looping, presenter view, and more., is there a shortcut to enter presentation mode in powerpoint yes, you can press the f5 key on your keyboard to enter presentation mode in powerpoint. you can also press shift+f5 to start from the current slide., can i use a different display for presentation mode in powerpoint yes, you can use a different display for presentation mode by going to the slideshow tab and selecting “set up slide show.” from there, you can choose to present on a secondary monitor or projector., how do i exit presentation mode in powerpoint to exit presentation mode in powerpoint, press the escape key on your keyboard or right-click and select “end show.” you can also press the b key to go back to the previous slide., can i add speaker notes while in presentation mode in powerpoint yes, you can add speaker notes while in presentation mode by clicking on the notes section at the bottom of the screen. this will allow you to add notes that only you can see while presenting., similar posts, how to add text in powerpoint without text box.

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Jump Start Series: Learn How to Run a PowerPoint Slide Show

About this lesson, how do i run powerpoint slideshows in presenter mode.

This tutorial will walk you through the steps of getting your presentation on the screen.

You will not just see how it works, but get coaching of some subtle techniques that we have learned from our decades of experience.

What Will I Learn?

• How to launch Slideshow Presenter Mode (including shortcut keys)
• How to manage multiple monitors or a laptop and a big screen projector/TV
• Navigating your slides with both the mouse, keyboard, or even a Bluetooth remote
• How to use the big screen laser pointer and magnifier

Watch and learn in under 11 minutes.

BONUS: Room Projector Test File

See below for PDF files which is a four-slide PowerPoint room tester slide deck used in this training tutorial.

Topics include (with video timestamps):

• Intro: 0:00
• Windows Shortcut Extend Screen: 1:16
• Swap Presenter View Monitors: 2:28
• Slide Show Navigating Techniques: 2:53
• Bluetooth Remote Control: 3:58
• Blanking the Screen: 4:58
• Tour of Presenter View: 5:38
• Pen & Laser Pointer: 7:02
• Magnifier: 7:50
• Jump to Slide: 8:14
• On-Screen Controls: 8:50
• Wrap Up: 9:08

Subject Microsoft PowerPoint

Software Compatibility All versions of PowerPoint from Office 2013 to current Office 365

Level Foundation

Course Completed Complete

PDF Files There are not any files associated with this lesson.

TRAINING SERIES VIEW ALL

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Rough Training Video Transcript for “Learn How to Run a PowerPoint Slide Show”

You have created your presentation and you’re about to go on stage and you need help knowing how to run the presentation within PowerPoint.

Don’t worry. I’ve got you covered

This is Les from Power UP Training where my years of experience can become your expertise for free.

In this particular series, we’re gonna walk you through a variety of topics. 

I’m gonna explain how to work with a monitor and a projector screen 

We’ll also go through how to navigate to the presentation. I’ll talk about some of the keystrokes Mount strokes. And other techniques to keep things under control will also go through a hands-on demonstration of all the aspects of the presentation tools so as you feel comfortable before you go on stage and they’ll be some tricks and some tips along the way so let’s power up to running presentation mode. 

Just so you know, this particular training series is being run, guess what in PowerPoint, I do every green screen but we are live going forward, so how do you go from a regular PowerPoint mode into presentation mode, well the trick is to get it up on the projector you hook your laptop or your computer to the projector and then you need to be able to turn on the projection piece and if it’s not automatically being extended out to that presentation monitor, you can use a Windows keyboard trick of the Windows key in the control and the P. 

And it’s going to pop up this screen to give you some choices of how to extend your presentation out to the second monitor or the big screen presentation video system, you’re going to want to choose extend you don’t want to duplicate you don’t want to do any of the choices extends gonna create a second screen for your work from. 

Once you’ve got that turned on the next trick you need to do before you start your presentation is to figure out where the heck your mouse is because you’re going to have to move from one side to the other in your giant upstream video projection system, maybe on the right side or the left side, it’s helpful to know upfront where that is. 

The second thing you may need to do is swap your display once in a while PowerPoint gets confused and what it will do is it’s going to put your presentation on your little laptop screen, when you want it on the big presentation screen for other room simple enough at the very top with the screen you’re going to see that there’s something called a display setting that should then going to be able to swap presenter views and flies show. 

I’ll show you that in a moment but before we go too far, let’s get down some of the basics of how to control your presentation, there are some different ways to manage your presentation one. Is. Moving backwards and forwards with the keyboard or with your mouse You’re going to see on the screen and we’ll see this in just a moment that there’s going to be a VCR like I know a VCR like control the little triangles to maybe afford or backwards that you find often in YouTube or other types of video systems there. 

You’re going to be able to use that but I find I like using the keyboard the reason I like using a keyboard is I don’t have to look around where things are. I can just move things forward by using the space bar to advance to the next slide. You can also use your arrow keys or up and down. 

Lots of different ways to move forward and backwards including the end and home key the home getting to the very beginning your presentation and the end key getting to the very last slide your presentation. And then you can use the letter P to go your previous slide. So lots of techniques, you just need to find ones that you’re comfortable with using up on the stage. 

Hey the quick interruption here because I know people are going to ask on the comments below. That’s not how you’re running your presentation and that’s true when I get my classes. I’d like to stick to the tools that are in PowerPoint, but There are other techniques including some Bluetooth tools that’ll actually advance the slide with a click of a button. 

These are great because you can then walk around on the stage and not have to be tied to your keyboard your mouse and you can move forward on your slides one by one. Personally, I use the Logitech presentation remote control tool, which I love but I need to warn you this extremely expensive. 

It is cool and easy to use and it has looked little tricks like my spotlight mode here and you can see here. I’m using just my little remote to change. The spotlight on the screen. With that let’s go back to our ongoing training video on using Microsoft PowerPoint presenter mode. 

A couple keys that I really prefer is the black and white key. If I hit B in here we go, look what it just did. It blank the screen in black. If I hit the W key, it does the same thing it blanks the screen to white. Why would we use these? 

If I’m doing a presentation and it turns out a discussion pops up on a completely different topic and I don’t want them to be distracted with what they see. On the screen. I can easily blank the screen out by toggling on and off with you the W or the B key. 

So enough talk, let’s go in and see how this is going to work. And switch on over to the presenter view which would typically be displayed on the laptop in front of you. You can see here that we have a giant slide the top left corner. This represents what you’re going to see up on the big screen. 

On the right side is a smaller thumbnail which is showing what the next slide will look like so you have a preview of what’s about to show up. If I click the advantage to slide I’m not really advancing the slide. I’m actually advancing to the next bullet point because I have these as they structured bullet points one by one by one but they click. 

You can see here this is how I actually swap back and forth between my presentation view and my ash will presented you so if you have a confusion with the way is showing up let’s go down advance the slide and we’ll see the bullet points going forward we’ll see on the right side on the bottom right is where the script would be on the right the preview of the next slide the main screen and then these are some advanced tools for us to be able to use and then down here is the slide controls with the mouse or as we said before you can use your keyboard to move forward you could actually click inside the big slide. 

The area to advance or the little slide to advance all of those are hot spots but you cannot click in the other black areas on the screen nothing happens there, so you need to use the advanced at those three different locations, so let’s move on and take a look at some of our extra tools of how to best present we look over on the left side here the first set that I want to point out is the later pointer tool if you really have to highlight because you did not design your slides to be as clear as you wish you could turn this on as you move your mouse only in this hospital. 

One area it would show up on the screen once you leave that hot spot it disappears you can switch to the pen view which is not a favorite of mine is one. I can’t draw very clearly and it’s not as bright once again that’s a choice one that I hate worse is the highlighter because the highlighter just doesn’t demonstrate things any fair fashion, it makes things look messy but it’s there note that you can’t move forward until you turn the tool off by going back and clicking on again now you use your mouse to move forward through your slots a tool that I do love is the magnifying tool now at the moment. 

This is not showing on the big screen until I get to the spot that I want and but once I click that blows up on this screen and the big screen so everyone’s seen the same thing and then you can drag around the spy to show a variety pieces once again, you’re not going to be able to advance the slides until you turn the magnifier off one of the tools that I want to show you that I do enjoy using is the ability to jump back to the presentation to a different slide spot. 

I go down here. I will see all the slides of my presentation at the moment where I’m flight 18. I had to go back to an earlier slide because someone asked something I could just click on it and then run through go back to the giant slide list and go back to my slide 18, so it’s a great way to navigate through your presentation without going left and right with your arrows to bring them back up. 

When you’re done you could hit the escape key to go out but I’m going to swatch back and now we’re back in our presentation on the bottom left hand corner. I’m going to show you just a single view you can still control some of those magic tools, they’re just highlighted on the very bond it’s very very faint which you see you can do your slide advances and your other advanced tools such as laser pointer and slide jumper so you should now feel very comfortable using the presentation mode of powerpoint you do want to practice before you get up on the stage. 

If you like this video give me thumbs up as it encourages me to make more free videos for you also subscribe to our channel subscriptions help tremendously build the community that we are continuing to work on you got questions about this video or about other PowerPoint leave them in the comments below and you can even ask for future training videos on topics that I may not have already covered that you can find in our channel. 

Share this with others if you thought it was hopeful and that they would benefit from it and this particular class was just a subset of our master class series is a six-part training series that teach you from the beginning to becoming a PowerPoint power user in under three hours take a look for that playlist showing up here on our screen. 

And with that power up.

Critical PowerPoint Shortcuts – Claim Your FREE Training Module and Get Your Time Back!

Our 80 Favorite PowerPoint Keyboard Shortcuts

• PowerPoint Tutorials
• Shortcuts & Hacks
• May 16, 2017

We pulled together this list of our 80 favorite PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts together because…

Creating a PowerPoint presentation is no small task!

It requires juggling all sorts of PowerPoint stuff like charts, tables, pictures, object formatting, text and shapes just to create your slides in the first place. Then there is the delivery of the presentation itself.

On top of that, companies, bosses and clients want everything done yesterday. For you as an employee (or contractor) that means expectations are rising. Getting more done in less time. That’s where PowerPoint Keyboard Shortcuts come to your rescue.

With a little bit of practice, these PowerPoint shortcuts will seriously cut down your build time, make your slides look more polished and professional and get you to Happy Hour.

The Benefits of Using Keyboard Shortcuts

One of the main reasons to learn your keyboard shortcuts is they eliminate mental stress and anxiety.

Studies show that one of the main sources of modern stress and anxiety in the workplace is what researchers call  Cognitive Load . The point being that your brain can only make so many decisions a day before it basically shuts down.

That’s why high-profile leaders like Steve Jobs, Barack Obama, and Superman focus on wearing one or two outfits every day. It cuts down on the decisions they need to make, allowing them to focus on higher priority tasks.

How do keyboard shortcuts help you out here? They eliminate a bunch of micro-decisions and mental hoops your brain otherwise has to process to get a task done.

So instead of playing hide-n-seek in the ribbon for your command –  let me see…where was that command again? –  your fingers just hit the keys and get the task done. Decreasing your cognitive load.

In that sense, your keyboard shortcuts not only decrease your cognitive load, freeing up your mind for higher priority tasks, they also blast through your otherwise repetitive and annoying tasks for you, getting you to Happy Hour.

To see a list of our favorite Windows 10 keyboard shortcuts,  read our guide here .

3 Tips for Mastering Your Shortcuts

If learning your PowerPoint shortcuts was easy, everyone would already have their black belt in PowerPoint, but they don’t. So the very first rule is simply – COMMIT.

Here are a few other tips to make learning your PowerPoint shortcuts as easy as possible:

A. Set learning goals

Define your goals. If there are 100 keyboard shortcuts you want to learn and you can only learn 2 or 3 a day, break it up. Don’t worry about the 100, just worry about the 2 or 3 you want to learn that day (or that week).

B. Put your shortcuts to use

When you first learn a new keyboard shortcut, the most important thing is to start using it every single time you want to complete that task. A common learning mistake is not consistently using the shortcut right off the bat because it’s not comfortable.

Disclaimer:  When you first start learning your keyboard shortcuts (for whichever program in which you are working), you might not feel any faster, or you might even feel slower. That’s because it’s new and uncomfortable.

But trust me, the fastest people in PowerPoint use shortcuts. And that can be you.  Don’t give up.

C. Not all keyboard shortcuts are worth learning

Just because a shortcut exists doesn’t mean you should learn it.

There are hundreds of keyboard shortcuts and thousands of commands you can set up as shortcuts in PowerPoint that you’ll never need to use.

That’s why I recommend that instead worrying about all of the available shortcuts, just focus on learning the keyboard shortcuts around the core activities you perform every single day.

PowerPoint Slide Shortcuts

1. display the all slides dialog box (slideshow mode).

After starting a slideshow, you can open the All Slides dialog box by hitting  CTRL + S  on your keyboard.

This dialog box allows you to visually see all the slides within your presentation and quickly jump around between them.

This is handy when you want to quickly move forwards or backwards within your presentation and you don’t know what the slide number is.

2. Go to slide number (in slideshow mode)

Slide Number + Enter Key

When you give a presentation, your topic never goes in the order you planned. There are some situations when you require going to nonadjacent slides in your presentation.

For instance, say you are on slide 50, and your audience puts a question that requires you to jump to slide 20. Pressing Page Up 30 times doesn’t seem professional.

To easily jump to the 20 th  slide in your presentation, after you start your slideshow, simply hit the slide number on your keyboard and then hit  Enter .

Note:  This only works while after you start  Slideshow  (F5) or start  Presenter View  (Shift + F5). This shortcut will not work in the normal slide editing view of your presentation.

3. Display a black or white slide (in slideshow mode)

For a black slide, press B or . (period)

For a white slide, press W or , (comma)

Sometimes you may need to pause your presentation for a lunch break or to answer a question unrelated to your topic.

In these situations, B and W shortcut keys to display a blank screen. Pressing B or W second time will pick up the show where you left it.

4. Select all slides

You can select the slides all at once if your presentation is in slide sorter view simply hit  CTRL + A .

Remember, this PowerPoint shortcut will work only if your presentation is in Slide Sorter View. To learn more about the Select All shortcuts throughout the Microsoft Office Suite,  see our guide here .

5. Duplicate active slides

To add the copy of the current slide in your presentation, press  CTRL + SHIFT + D .

6. Start Slideshow (from beginning)

When you are ready to start your Slide Show from the very first slide in your presentation, in all versions of PowerPoint, simply hit  F5 on your keyboard.

To learn all the different ways to start a PowerPoint slideshow,  see our guide here .

7. Start Slideshow (from current slide)

To view your presentation from your current slide (all versions of PowerPoint) in Slide Show Mode, hit  SHIFT + F5 .

8. Go to the previous / next slide

To move to the next slide in your presentation, hit  Page Down .

To move to the previous slide in your presentation, hit  Page Up .

PowerPoint Pointer Shortcuts

9. using the built-in laser pointer.

While in Slide Show Mode, hold down the  CTRL  key   on your keyboard and click and drag with your mouse.

Holding the  CTRL  key and dragging around with your mouse turns on the laser pointer to draw your audiences’ attention to different aspects of your slide.

Note:  To learn how to change the  color of your laser pointer shortcut in PowerPoint (Between red, green and blue),  read our guide here .

10. Writing on your slide with a pen (inking)

After you start your Slide Show, you can write on your slides with a pen by hitting CTRL + P  and use your mouse (or pen if you have a touch screen) to write and/or draw on your slides.

Hitting  CTRL + P  a second time turns the Pen off..

11. Writing on your slide with a highlighter (inking)

After starting a Slideshow, to write on your slides with your highlight, hit  CTRL + I  and use your mouse (or pen if you have a touch screen) to highlight and draw on your slides.

12. Hide and erase ink onscreen (inking)

While in slideshow mode, after using the pen or highlight shortcuts to add into your slides in Slide Show mode you can either:

Hit  CTRL + M  to hide the ink. And if you do so a second time, you will make the ink re-appear.

Press  E  at any time to erase all of the ink on that slide.

PowerPoint Shortcut Tip

Be careful when erasing the Ink on screen as there is no way to un-erase that ink. If you typically want to save the ink on yours, memorize the CTRL + M shortcut instead as it merely hides the ink.

13. Hide the pointer and navigation buttons

To hide your pointer and navigation immediately, hit  CTRL + H .

To hide your pointer and navigation after 15 seconds, hit  CTRL + U .

Pointers and navigation button could be annoying to the audience. So it’s important to hide while giving presentation.

PowerPoint Menu Shortcuts

14. display the shortcuts menu.

SHIFT + F10

After you start your Slide Show, Shift + F10   is the equivalent of right-clicking on the screen, displaying the different presentations options available to you.

15. Display the Slideshow Help shortcuts

While in Slideshow mode, this command display all the different slide show shortcuts you can use to quickly navigate your presentation. If you ever forget your shortcut, just hit  F1 .

16. Display the taskbar

While in Slide Show mode, you can display the task bar at the bottom of your screen by hitting  CTRL + T .

Displaying your taskbar is a fast and easy way to navigate between different documents and files on your computer without closing out of your presentation.

PowerPoint Hyperlink Shortcuts

17. insert a hyperlink.

Select the text or object on your slide that you want to add the hyperlink too, then hit  CTRL + K  to open the  Insert Hyperlink  dialog box.

For details on how to use hyperlinks in PowerPoint to create interactive presentations,  click here .

Note:  Your hyperlinks and zoom slides will properly carry over when you convert your presentation to the PDF file format. See details  here .

18. Select a hyperlink

While in Slide show mode, to go to the first or next hyperlink on a slide hit the  TAB  key.

While in Slide show mode, to go to the last or previous hyperlink on a slide, hit  SHIFT + TAB .

19. Open a hyperlink

Once you’ve navigate to a hyperlink (using the above keyboard hot keys) you can activate it by hitting the  ENTER  key.

PowerPoint Font & Paragraph Shortcuts

20. align a paragraph.

First, select the your text or paragraphs, then hit:

Left alignment, hit  CTRL + L

Right alignment, hit  CTRL + R

Center alignment, hit  CTRL + E

Justify alignment, hit  CTRL + J

21. Jump to the end / beginning of a line

Hit the  END  key  move to the end of a line.

Hit the  HOME  key to move the beginning of a line.

22. Increase or decrease text list levels

To promote a paragraph, hit  ALT + SHIFT + Left Arrow.

To demote a paragraph, hit  ALT + SHIFT + Right Arrow .

These List Level Shortcuts are extremely effective when filling in company templates as it properly uses the bullet spacing set on your Slide Master. This is entirely different than the Promote and Demote paragraph shortcuts.

To see how to use these List Level Shortcuts to properly fill in a company PowerPoint template (and see how they are COMPLETELY different than the  TAB  and  SHIFT + TAB  shortcuts) see the short YouTube video below.

23. Promote and demote paragraphs

To promote a paragraph, hit the  TAB  key.

To demote a paragraph, hit  SHIFT + TAB .

24. Move selected paragraphs

To move selected paragraphs up, hit  ALT + SHIFT + Up Arrow .

To move selected paragraphs down, hit  ALT + SHIFT + Down Arrow .

25. Select all text

When within a shape or text box (the blinking cursor), hit  CTRL + A  to select all text.

Note: There are a wide variety of ways you can use the Select All shortcut in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. To learn all about it,  read our guide here .

26. Delete text (towards the left)

To delete one character to the left, hit the  BACKSPACE  key.

To delete an entire word to the left, hit  CTRL + BACKSPACE

Note: Instead of deleting text, you can instead create the strikethrough text effect using your keyboard shortcuts. To expand your knowledge and learn the strikethrough shortcuts for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, read our guide here .

27. Delete text (towards the right)

To delete one character to the right, hit the  DELETE  key.

To delete one word to the right, hit  CTRL + DELETE .

28. Change the font size

To increase the font size, hit  CTRL + SHIFT + , (comma) .

To decrease the font size, hit  CTRL + SHIFT + . (period) .

29. Open the Font dialog box

If you want to open the font dialogue box to performing font or font size changing operations, do the following:

To open font dialogue box to change formatting of the characters, hit  CTRL + T .

30. Change case shortcut (uppercase, lowercase, etc.)

While making a presentation, you frequently need to change your text between uppercase, lowercase, sentence case, etc. That is why knowing the SHIFT + F3 shortcut is such a timesaver in PowerPoint.

31. Make text subscript / superscript

Hit CTRL + = (equal)  too apply subscript formatting with automatic spacing.

Hit CTRL + SHIFT + = (equal)  to apply superscript formatting with automatic spacing.

32. Make text bold

Select the text, and hit  CTRL + B  to make it bold.

33. Make text italic

Select the text, and hit  CTRL + I  to make text italic.

34. Make text underlined

Select the text, and hit  CTRL + U  to give it an underline.

35. Open the spell check engine

To open up the spell check engine to double-check your spelling and grammar, hit the  F7  function key.

36. Launch the thesaurus

To open thesaurus, hit  SHIFT + F7 .

PowerPoint Text & Object Shortcuts

37. select all objects on a slide.

To select all the objects on a slide, with the slide space active (click somewhere on the slide to be sure), hit  CTRL + A .

38. Format Painter shortcut #1 of 2: Pick Up Style

To copy the formatting of text or of an object, select it and then hit  CTRL + SHIFT + C .

39. Format Painter Shortcut #2 of 2: Apply Style

To paste the formatting of text or of an object onto another object, hit  CTRL + SHIFT + V .

Format Painter Shortcuts in Action

The Format Painter is one of the fastest ways to pick up and apply formatting styles throughout your presentation.

And what is so great about these specific shortcuts is that they are SUPER easy to learn. That’s because they mimic the standard  CTRL + C  to Copy and  CTRL + V  to Paste shortcuts. All you need to do is add the Shift key:

• Ctrl + Shift + C  to copy your formatting
• Ctrl + Shift + V  to paste your formatting

40. Open the Paste Special dialog box

CTR L + ALT + V

The Paste Special shortcut gives you a variety of pictures format paste options for your content. To use the shortcut first CTRL + C to copy something in PowerPoint, then hit  CTRL + ALT + V  to open up the Paste Special options.

PowerPoint Tip

The Paste Special dialog box is where you can find the WMF and EFM file formats for breaking apart your copied PowerPoint Tables and PowerPoint charts.

41. Group objects on a slide

To group selected objects on a slide, hit  CTRL + G .

42. Ungroup objects

To ungroup objects (including grouped objects, SmartArt graphics, EMF and WMF objects), select them and hit  CTRL + SHIFT + G .

To learn other cool things you can group and ungroup in PowerPoint,  see our guide here .

43. Regroup ungrouped objects

To reform an ungrouped set of objects, simply select a single object from the previous group, hit  CTRL + SHIFT + J .

44. Rotate objects or text boxes

To rotate an object by 15° to the right, with an object selected, simply hit  ALT + Right arrow .

To rotate an object by 15° to the left, hit  ALT + Left arrow .

PowerPoint Table Shortcuts

45. moving the cursor from cell to cell.

To move to the next cell, hit the  TAB  key.

To move to the previous cell, hit  SHIFT + TAB .

46. Moving the cursor from row to row

To move to the next row, hit the  Up arrow  key.

To move to the previous row, hit the  Down arrow  key.​

47. Add a new row (to the bottom of the table)

To add a new row at the bottom of the table, move your cursor to somewhere on the bottom row of your table and hit the  TAB  key.

48. Add an indent within a table cell

PowerPoint Charting Shortcuts

49. format the selected chart element.

With a charting element selected (such as the data labels or columns), hit  CTRL + F1  to jump to the formatting options for that specific element.

This charting shortcut works in both PowerPoint and Excel, and is one of the fastest ways to drill down to the specific formatting options for your charts.

50. Moving a chart (nudging it) with your keyboard

To move your chart like any other object, simply hold the  CTRL  key down, and then click the chart with your mouse.

Doing so selects your chart like any other object, allowing you to use the  Arrow keys  to move it around on your slide.

PowerPoint View Shortcuts

51. switch between the outline view and the normal view.

Hit CTRL + SHIFT + TAB to switch between the Outline and Normal View in PowerPoint.

52. Switch between the Slide Master View and the Normal View

Holding the SHIFT key and clicking on the Normal View icon  in the lower right-hand corner of your screen will take you to the Slide Master View of your presentation.

Hit the shortcut again to come back to the Normal View.

53. Switch between the Handout Master View and the Normal View

Holding the SHIFT key and clicking on the Slide Sorter View icon  in the lower right-hand corner of your screen will take you to the Handouts Master View of your presentation, where you can customize the handouts for your presentation.

54. Open the Set Up Slide Show dialog box

Holding the SHIFT key and clicking on the Reading View icon  in the lower right-hand corner of your screen will open up the Set Up Slide Show dialog box, where you can choose to show your presentation in a resizable window, run custom slide shows, etc.

55. Close the Thumbnail View

Holding the CTRL and SHIFT keys, and clicking on the Normal View icon  in the lower right-hand corner of your screen will close the Thumbnail View and  give you more work space for your presentation.

56. Open the Outline View in full screen

Holding the CTRL and SHIFT keys, and clicking on the Slide Sorter View icon  in the lower right-hand corner of your screen will open up the Outline View in full screen.

57. Run a mini presentation

In Microsoft PowerPoint 2007 and 2010,  hold down the CTRL key , and in 2013 and 2016  hold the ALT key , and then select the  Slide Show View icon  in the lower right-hand of your screen to run a mini presentation in the upper left-hand corner of your deck.

Hit  ESCAPE  to move to that slide.

58. Switch between open presentation

If you have multiple presentations open on your device, you can switch among them by hitting  CTRL + F6 .

59. Switch between open PowerPoint windows

To switch between your active windows, hit CTRL + TAB.

60. View all active windows

To see all open and active windows on your computer, hit WINDOWS + TAB .

61. Cycle through content placeholders

To cycle through the content placeholders on your slide (built on the Slide Master), first click into a placeholder and then hit CTRL + ENTER .

Once you have cycled through your content placeholders, hitting  CTRL + ENTER  again creates a new blank slide, based on the slide layout you were just previously on.

62. Insert new slide shortcut

This shortcut adds a new blank slide to your presentation, based on the slide layout you were just on.

Note:  After hitting  CTRL + M  to insert a new slide, you can immediately start typing the title of your new slide. This makes creating a quick draft outline of your presentation easy.

To see how to do this using the Outline View in PowerPoint,  read our guide here .

62B. New Slide Shortcut (Optional)

Ctrl + Enter  is a unique little shortcut.

While working in the normal PowerPoint view, hitting  CTRL+ENTER  cycles through the content placeholders in your layout allowing you to quickly type text or add content.

Once it cycles through all the available placeholders in your layout, hitting the shortcut again adds a new slide to your presentation.

So, the way the  CTRL+ENTER  shortcut is different than the  CTRL+M  shortcut, is that before it creates a new blank slide, it first cycles through all the content placeholders on your slide.

Instead of ending up with a new blank slide, you instead create a duplicate of the slide you were working on (making it easy to save your work).

What type of new slide is added? When using the New Slide shortcuts in PowerPoint, the slide layout that is inserted is based on the slide layout you were just on when you used the shortcut.

For example: If you are on the Section Header layout, using the New Slide shortcuts inserts a new blank Section Header layout. If you are on a Comparison layout, using either of the New Slide shortcuts inserts a blank Comparison layout.

The only time this rule doesn’t hold true, is if you use these shortcuts while on the Title slide layout. If you are on the Title Slide layout (for your template), instead of inserting a new Title Slide, the next layout in your slide master will be inserted (most likely a Title and Placeholder layout).

This makes sense too, right?

In a normal presentation you will only have one title slide. So, the New Slide shortcuts are smart enough not to insert a second title slide layout, and instead take you to your first content slide layout.

To expand your knowledge and learn more about how Ctrl+M and Ctrl+Enter are different, read our guide here .

63. Open the Save As dialog box

Hit the F12  function key to save your presentation with a different name, in a different location on your computer, or in a different file format.

Save As Shortcut Pro Tip

The Save As shortcut is the secret to quickly converting your presentation into the PDF file format as we discuss  here , or turn your presentation into a picture presentation as we discuss  here .

64. Open the Save As options in the File area

Hitting CTRL + F12  will immediately open the Save As dialog box to open a file on your computer, without having to navigate through the back-stage view.

65. Open the Find & Replace dialog box

This shortcut opens the Find and Replace dialog box, allowing you to quickly replace text throughout your presentation. Be careful when using the ‘Replace All’ option, as it not only will cycle through the Normal View of your presentation, but all your Slide Master Views.

66. Repeat the last find action

If you have closed the find dialogue box and now want to repeat the last find action, hit  SHIFT + F4 .

67. Capture a clipping of the screen as an image

To take a screen capture of the current screen to the clipboard, hit the  PrtSc (Printscreen)  key.

68. Capture the entire screen as an image

To copy the picture of a selected window, hit ALT + PrtSC (Printscreen) .

69. Launch the Print dialog box

To launch the Print dialog box, hit  CTRL + P . If you don’t need to adjust the settings, you can immediately hit  EN TER  to print your presentation.

The print shortcut works across the entire Microsoft Office suite (and most other software programs you use). So I HIGHLY recommend learning this one.

To learn how to print multiples slides on one page in PowerPoint,  read our guide here .

Note:  A common printing mistake you can avoid is printing your files collated and then manually uncollating the documents.

The reason this is a mistake is because Microsoft Office can automatically print your files uncollated, saving you from a bunch of tedious work.

To learn more about the difference between collated vs. uncollated printing,  read our guide here .

70. Open the Header & Footer dialog box

ALT + SHIFT + D

This dialog box allows you to add and remove your date and time, slide numbers and footers.

PowerPoint Slide Number Pro Tip

To properly add your headers and footers to your slides, you need to add them in twice.

Once on your Slide Master and once in the Normal View using the Header and Footer dialog box. For help navigating your headers, footers and slide numbers like this,  see our detailed blog post here .

71. Close an active presentation

This PowerPoint shortcut closes the active file you are using, without closing the PowerPoint application itself. This is an operating system shortcut and works in all the Microsoft Office programs.

72. Close PowePoint

This is a Windows-level operating-level shortcut and can be used with any program you are running on your computer. After closing out of all your active applications, this shortcut can shut down or restart your computer too.

To expand your knowledge and learn other important Windows 10 shortcuts, see our guide here .

Newer PowerPoint Shortcuts (2013, 2016, 2019 and Microsoft 365)

Use the following shortcuts for the given tasks in the new PowerPoint 2013 version. Note, these PowerPoint 2013 shortcuts all work in PowerPoint 2016 as well.

73. Increase / decrease the font size

Hit CTRL + ]  to increase the font size

Hit CTRL + [  to decrease the font size

Although these are new shortcuts, the old font size shortcuts still work: CTRL + SHIFT + , to decrease the font size and CTRL + SHIFT + . to increase the font size. However, because the shortcuts above work in a wider variety of programs, I recommend memorizing them instead.

74. Show / hide the Notes pane

75. Duplicate an active presentation

To make a copy of your current open presentation in PowerPoint 2013, you need to hit  CTRL + SHIFT + N .

76. Add a section to your presentation

To add a new section in your presentation, hit  CTRL + , (comma) .

77. Zoom out of a slide in Slideshow View

To zoom out of a slide or to see all slides in Slideshow View, simply hit CTRL + – (minus) . Once zoomed out, you can use your  Arrow keys  to navigate around.

78. Zoom into a slide in Slideshow View

To zoom into a slide in Slideshow View, simply hit  CTRL + = (equal) . Once zoomed in, you can use your  Arrow keys  to navigate around.

79. Hide the Ribbon

Hitting Ctrl + F1  once collapses your Ribbon commands into the top of your screen, giving you more uncluttered workspace in PowerPoint. Hitting  CTRL + F1  a second time un-collapses your Ribbon commands.

This is Microsoft Office shortcut, so it works in PowerPoint, Word, Excel, Outlook, etc.

80. “Distraction-Free Mode” – Auto-hiding the Ribon

CTRL + SHIFT + F1

The NEWEST shortcut to hit the Microsoft Office suite delivering Distraction-Free Mode. Hit this keyboard shortcut to auto-hide your Ribbon commands, giving you a 100% clean working space. When you want to see all your Ribbon commands again, just hit this shortcut a second time.

Other Important PowerPoint Shortcuts

While the following shortcuts didn’t make our top 80 favorite PowerPoint shortcuts list, these shortcuts are still extremely value to know (and use).

We consider these MANDATORY shortcuts for any knowledge worker because you they work across the entire Microsoft Office suite (and just about every software program you will ever use).

Copy shortcut

Selecting an option (or group of objects) in PowerPoint and hitting Ctrl + C will copy them, allowing you to reuse them in other parts of your presentation.

This is MUCH faster than trying to recreate and format objects in PowerPoint.

To expand your knowledge and learn all about the Copy shortcut, and how it is different than the Cut shortcut, read our guide here.

Paste shortcut

After you copy an object in PowerPoint, you can then use the Ctrl + V shortcut to paste the object on your slides.

Remember, your goal in PowerPoint is to finish your slide deck, not remake everything from scratch. So, to the extent that you can Copy and Paste objects, slides, and formatting… the more time you will save and the better off you will be.

To expand your knowledge and learn more about the Paste shortcut, and how to use it to control your formatting as you paste into new Microsoft Office documents, read our guide here .

Cut Shortcut

The cut shortcut allows you to pick up (and move) an object.

This is a variation of the Copy Shortcut as instead of copying an object, you cut it out of your presentation that you can then Ctrl + V to paste somewhere else.

To expand your knowledge and learn more about the Cut shortcut (and how to use it), read our guide here .

Note:  If you are trying to delete a table from your presentation, it is often easier to Cut the table out using this Ctrl + X shortcut (and never paste it in anywhere) rather than trying to select the table and delete it.

PowerPoint Shortcuts Conclusion

So that is our list of our 80 favorite PowerPoint shortcuts to speed up your workflow.

Shortcuts are the fastest way to DOUBLE your productivity in PowerPoint. That’s why if you use PowerPoint daily, I highly recommend committing to your keyboard shortcuts.

If you enjoyed this in-depth post and want to learn more about our PowerPoint Speed Training courses and other resources,  visit us here .

What’s next?

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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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PowerPoint presentation shortcut keys

Use keyboard shortcuts to deliver PowerPoint presentations for good audience experience

Pranab Bala • March 14, 2020

Preparing good PowerPoint slides is the first thing for delivering an excellent presentation. Keyboard shortcuts comes very handy while delivering Presentations without stumbling or worrying about whats next. This article will cover the Keyboard Shortcuts to make presenter's life at ease. These are very easy to memorize if you practice once or twice. You may bookmark the page and use for quick reference before you start a new presentation

You may wish to Jump to:

Start presentation from current slide, start presentation from beginning, exit presentation mode, go to the first slide, go to the last slide, go to a specific slide, view all slides dialog showing list of titles, show context menu to choose action from, hide pointers, laser pointer, change pointer to arrow, change pointer to pen for annotation or freehand, hide annotation markup, change pointer to annotation eraser, delete or clear all on-screen annotation, display a blank black slide and back.

• Display a blank white slide and back
• Summary of Curated list of PowerPoint Keyboard shortcuts

Switch between Presentation and Normal Mode

Normal mode is the where we do all the editing. Sometime, we may need to come out of the presentation mode, quickly update it and jump back to the presentation mode.

Shift + F5 - If you are in editing mode (Normal Mode), you can start presenting right from that slide by pressing Shift and F5 key together. You may need to switch between the modes during preparation of the slides or to make some adjustment while presenting

F5 - Irrespective of what slide you are currently in, pressing F5 will start the presentation from the beginning

Esc - Anytime during presentation, pressing Esc key will stop presentation and take you to the Normal mode. It will show the slide that you were just before Esc. If you are using previous versions of PowerPoint, please try hyphen ( - )

Moving between slides while presenting

While presenting the slides, sometime, we need to jump around slides instead of sequences. This section covers most of the keyboard shortcuts used in navigation in slide show mode

Home - While presenting, if you need to start-over, pressing Home Button takes you to the very first slide

End - pressing End button anytime during the presentation, takes you to the last slide of the PowerPoint, while in presentation mode

Type the number and Press Enter - Sometimes you need to navigate to backup slides or appendixes. If you remember the slide number, you just need to type that number and press enter. You will not see the numbers on screen, while you type. But the trick will happen when you press enter. To come back to the current slide, you need to type the current slide number and press Enter or you can use Ctrl +S to see "Last Slide Viewed" as mentioned in View All Slides Dialog showing list of titles

Ctrl + S - While in presentation mode if you want to jump forward or backward and do not know the slide number then simply press Ctrl and S . This will show a list of slides that you can choose from. Alternatively, you can select a slide and click on Go To. Remembering this shortcut will save you in difficult times, when you forget any other shortcuts.

Shift+F10 - All actions on slides can be done using mouse after you see the context menu using this keyboard shortcut. This one is my favorite keyboard shortcut . When you forget all the shortcuts, remembering this one will stop you from failing. Though the pop-up on the screen might feel little less intuitive. But, it helps you to get back to your previous slide, start annotating on screen or make it blank

Annotations and pointers (arrow, Pen or Laser)

Pointers play an important role in presentation to glue audiences to the section of the slide where you need their attention. There various option to suit your need. You can also hide any pointers

Ctrl + H - This will hide pointer from the slide show. To bring back pointer you can use Ctrl + A or any of the keyboard shortcuts mentioned in the following sections

Ctrl + L - Pressing Ctrl and L change the pointer to Laser.

This is how it looks.

This tiny little Laser is the right pointer to draw attention of the audiences to particular part of screen

💡 Remember L for L aser

Ctrl + A - Arrow is the default pointer. Anytime, you want to change it back to Arrow use Ctrl + A

💡 Remember A for Arrow

Ctrl + P - This change the pointer to Pen with default color. You can start annotating or write on top of the presentation. When you stop presenting, you will get a popup on whether you want to save your scribble in the PPT. It saves the annotation as image objects and can be adjusted or deleted afterwards

💡 Remember P for P en

If you want to change pen color one option is to hover your mouse at the bottom left corner of the screen and you will notice very light panel floating. Click on the pen sign and it will pop-up the color panel. You can change color from there.

Sometimes, you might prefer a blank screen to draw or illustrate, rather than on the present slide. You can make your screen blank

You may Jump to the section for Black or white for annotation

Ctrl +M - This keyboard shortcut simply hide the the annotation that you have made. but do not delete those. anytime during presentation you can un-hide them again by pressing same Ctrl + M for the same slide

Ctrl + E - Pressing this keyboard shortcut sequences changes the pointer to Eraser. Please note that the eraser erases annotation when you press on top of the annotation one at a time.

💡 Remember E for E raser

E - Pressing E erases all annotations. This is irreversible. You cannot get back the annotation that you have erased

💡 Remember E for E rasing

Making screen Blank for Annotation

Sometimes, during presentation, you might need audience's attention and do not want them to look at the screen or you want to do annotation on a white or Black board. you can blank your screen

B - Pressing B in presentation mode makes the screen Black.

. or Period can be used to get back your slide on screen

💡 B for B lack slide

Display a blank White slide and back

W - Pressing W in presentation mode makes the screen Black.

, or comma can be used to return to the presentation from a blank white slide.

💡 W for W hite slide

Summary of Curated list of PowerPoint Keyboard shortcuts for presentation

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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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PowerPoint Keyboard Shortcuts to Play and Control Video During a Slide Show

Use These PowerPoint Keyboard Shortcuts to Play, Pause and Control Videos During a Presentation

by Avantix Learning Team | Updated September 14, 2023

Applies to: Microsoft ® PowerPoint ® 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021 and 365 (Windows)

You can use these useful PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts when you are running a slide show to play, pause, restart and control videos during a slide show.

Recommended article: 50 PowerPoint Slide Show Shortcuts

Do you want to learn more about PowerPoint?  Check out our virtual classroom or live classroom  PowerPoint courses >

Run a slide show

In Normal View or Slide Sorter View, to start a slide show from the beginning, press F5. To start a slide show from the current slide, press Shift + F5.

Play a video during a slide show

To start a video (assuming it is not set to start automatically), press Alt + P or Ctrl + spacebar.

Pause or stop a video during a slide show

To stop video playback, press Alt + Q.

To toggle between play and pause, press Alt + P.

Jump to a bookmark in a video during a slide show

To go to the next bookmark in a video, press Alt + End.

To go to the previous bookmark in a video, press Alt + Home.

Seek forward or backward

To seek forward 3 seconds, press Alt + Shift + Page down.

To seek backward 3 seconds, press Alt + Shift + Page up.

To seek forward 0.25 seconds, then pause, press Alt + Shift + right arrow

To seek backward 0.25 seconds, then pause, press Alt + Shift + left arrow

Control the volume of a video during a slide show

To increase the volume, press Alt + up arrow.

To decrease the volume, press Alt + down arrow.

To mute the sound, press Alt + U.

Show or hide the audio and subtitles menu

To toggle the audio and subtitles menu, press Alt + J.

You can show or hide the audio and subtitles menu for videos that have multiple audio tracks and/or subtitle tracks in supported formats.

Be sure to practice these shortcuts before running the presentation for a seamless show.

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How to Embed a YouTube Video in PowerPoint

How to Insert Video in PowerPoint (from a File on Your PC or a Shared Drive)

A Beginner's Guide to Video Formats in PowerPoint

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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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How-To Geek

What your function keys do in microsoft powerpoint.

The function keys on keyboards don’t get the love they used to, but depending on the app you’re running, they can still be quite handy.

Quick Links

The function keys on keyboards don’t get the love they used to, but depending on the app you’re running, they can still be quite handy. Microsoft PowerPoint has some interesting features tucked away behind your function keys. Here’s what they do.

• F1:  When you're in editing mode, pressing F1 displays the help menu. When you're in slideshow mode, pressing F1 reveals the slideshow's controls so you can do things like moving forward or backward in your presentation.
• Ctrl+F1:  Close and reopen the current task pane.
• F2:  When you have an object that contains text (like a text box or other shape), pressing F2 cycles between selecting the text for editing and selecting the object itself for moving or formatting.
• Ctrl+F2:  Open the Print window, where you can preview and print your document.
• Alt+F2: Open the Save As window.
• Alt+Shift+F2:  Save the active presentation that you're working on. This will not save all open presentations.
• Shift+F3:  Change the case of selected text. Pressing this combo repeatedly cycles through the following case styles: Initial Letter Case, ALL CAPS CASE, and lower case.
• F4:  Repeat your last action.
• Shift+F4:  Repeat the last “Find” action. This one’s handy because you can use it to browse search results without having the Find and Replace window open.
• Ctrl+F4:  Close the presentation window.
• Alt+F4:  Quit Microsoft Powerpoint. This closes all open presentations (giving you the chance to save changes first) and exits Powerpoint.
• F5:  Begin a slideshow with your active presentation from the first slide.
• Shift+F5:  Begin a slideshow from your current slide. This is handy when testing how the presentation view will look.
• Ctrl+F5:  Restore the size of your presentation window.
• F6: Move between the Ribbon, worksheet, tabs, and status bar.
• Shift+F6:  Move in reverse order between the Ribbon, worksheet, tabs, and status bar.
• Ctrl+F6: Switch to the next presentation window when more than one presentation window is open.
• Ctrl+Shift+F6: Switch to the previous presentation window when more than one presentation window is open.
• F7:  Open the Editor pane and starts a spelling and grammar check.
• Ctrl+F7: Move the presentation window (when it isn't maximized).
• Shift+F7:  Open the thesaurus. If you have a word selected when you press this combo, Excel opens the thesaurus and looks up the selected word.
• Alt+F8: Display the Macros dialog box.
• Ctrl+F8: Resize the presentation window (when it isn't maximized)
• Shift+F9: Show or hide a grid that aids you in aligning objects.
• Ctrl+F9: Minimize the active presentation window.
• Alt+F9: Show or hide movable guidelines that aid you in aligning objects.
• F10: Turn key tips on or off. Key tips display shortcut letters on menus that you can press to navigate menus and activate commands.
• Shift+F10: Display a context menu. This works just like right-clicking.
• Ctrl+F10: Maximize or restore the active presentation window.
• Alt+F10:  Maximize the program window.
• Alt+Shift+F10: Display the menu or message for a smart tag (If more than one smart tag is present, switches to the next smart tag and displays its menu or message).
• Alt+F11:  Switch between the Visual Basic Editor and the previously active window.
• Alt+Shift+F11: Open the Microsoft Script Editor.
• F12:  Open the Save As window.
• Shift+F12:  Save your presentation.
• Ctrl+F12:  Open the Open window.
• Ctrl+Shift+F12:  Open the Print window.