The Best Keyboard Shortcuts to Master PowerPoint – Guiding Tech

By Sandeep Agarwal Published May 9, 2014

What’s the secret of a good presentation or a good presenter? Usually, a good presentation is low on words and high on pictures (could be animations, tables and charts too). It also depends on how well the presenter is able to put his point across through his oratory skills and making use of intelligent highlighting on the slideshow. So, even though it may not be a necessity, having proficiency in using the presentation tool helps.

Mastering the keyboard shortcuts is one way to gain that proficiency. Today we shall take up the best keyboard shortcuts for Microsoft PowerPoint (Windows), the undoubted leader in the world of presentation tools.

Note: These shortcuts are for PowerPoint 2013. However, most of them will work on lower versions as well.

Slide Shortcuts

These shortcuts will help you quickly navigate across slides when the presentation is on.

To Perform this Action	Press this Key
Start Slideshow	F5, Shift + F5
Go to next slide/animation	N, Enter, Page Down, Right Arrow, Down Arrow, Spacebar, Mouse Click
Return to previous slide/animation	P, Page Up, Left Arrow, Up Arrow, Backspace
Go to specific slide	(Slide) Number + Enter
End slideshow	ESC
Stop/Restart automatic presentation	S
Go to next hidden slide	H

Pen and Pointer Shortcuts

You can use the mouse pointer and different presentation pointer tools. These will help you make your presentation more interactive.

To Enable/Disable Pointer Type	Press this Key
Change to Pen	Ctrl + P
Change to Laser	Ctrl + L
Change to Arrow	Ctrl + A
Hide Pointer	Ctrl + H
Change to highlighter	Ctrl + I
Change to Eraser	Ctrl + E

Link Shortcuts

Your presentation might contain links to websites. Here are the quickest ways to play with them without the use of mouse.

To Perform this Action	Press this Key
Go to first/next link	TAB
Go to last/previous link	SHIFT + TAB
Mouse Click equivalent when link is selected	Enter
Mouse Over equivalent when link is selected	SHIFT + ENTER

Zoom Shortcuts

Who does not need to zoom in and zoom out at times on audience demand. Now, you can do it easily.

To Perform this Action	Press this Key
Zoom out of a slide	Ctrl + ‘-‘ or –
Zoom in to a slide	Ctrl + ‘+’ or +

Screen Blackout Shortcuts

Sometimes you need to hide the presentation so the the focus of the audience is on the speaker and not on the presentation. Here’s how to do it.

To Perform this Action	Press this Key
Display blank black slide	B or Period (.)
Display blank white slide	W or Comma (,)

Other Shortcuts

To Perform this Action	Press this Key
Toggle show/hide Windows taskbar	Ctrl + T
Display the shortcut menu	Shift + F10
Show all slides dialog box	Ctrl + S

Media Shortcuts

Does your presentation has media embedded onto it? These controls will make the handling easier.

To Perform this Media Action	Press this Key
Play/Pause Media	Alt + P
Stop Playback	Alt + Q
Go to next	Alt + End
Go to previous	Alt + Home
Increase volume	Alt + Up Arrow
Decrease volume	Alt + Down Arrow
Fast Forward/Backward	Alt + Shift + Right/Left Arrow
Mute/Unmute media	Alt + U

Bonus: Touch Gestures

Are you using a touch device? If yes, you will find these gestures really helpful and easy to use.

To Perform this Action	Press this Key
Go to next slide/animation	Swipe Forward
Return to previous slide/animation	Swipe Backward
Zoom out of a slide	Pinch
Zoom in a slide	Stretch
Show/Hide navigation buttons	Tap
Zoom in/out of a slide	Double-Tap

Conclusion

Will these shortcuts help you present more productively? They definitely helped me. At times, my colleagues started to wonder about the way I used the keyboard during my presentations. It’s your turn to make an impression now.

Photo Credit: .faramarz

Last updated on 02 February, 2022

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