Use keyboard shortcuts to create your presentation

Ms PowerPoint

This article describes what Key Tips are and how you can use them to access the ribbon in PowerPoint. It also contains Ctrl and ALT combination shortcut keys, function keys, and some other common shortcut keys for PowerPoint 2013 desktop.

To use other keyboard shortcuts in PowerPoint, see:

Use the keyboard to access the ribbon

The information in this section can help you understand the ribbon's keyboard shortcut model. The PowerPoint 2013 ribbon comes with new shortcuts, called Key Tips.

To show the Key Tip labels in the ribbon, press Alt.

To display a tab on the ribbon, press the key for the tab—for example, press F to open the File tab; H to open theHome tab; N to open the Insert tab, and so on.

All the Key Tip labels for that tab's features will appear so just press the key for the feature you want.

Will my old shortcuts still work?

Keyboard shortcuts that begin with Ctrl will still work in PowerPoint 2013. For example, Ctrl+C still copies to the clipboard, and Ctrl+V still pastes from the clipboard.

Most of the old Alt+ menu shortcuts still work, too. However, you need to know the full shortcut from memory — there are no screen reminders of what letters to press. For example, try pressing Alt, and then press one of the old menu keys E (Edit), V (View), I (Insert), and so on. A box pops up saying you're using an access key from an earlier version of Microsoft Office. If you know the entire key sequence, go ahead and initiate the command. If you don't know the sequence, press Esc and use Key Tip badges instead.

Common tasks in PowerPoint

Moving between panes

To do this	Press
Move clockwise amongst panes in Normal view.	F6
Move counterclockwise amongst panes in Normal view.	SHIFT+F6
Switch between the Thumbnail pane and the Outline View pane.	CTRL+SHIFT+TAB

Work in an outline

To do this	Press
Promote a paragraph.	ALT+SHIFT+LEFT ARROW
Demote a paragraph.	ALT+SHIFT+RIGHT ARROW
Move selected paragraphs up.	ALT+SHIFT+UP ARROW
Move selected paragraphs down.	ALT+SHIFT+DOWN ARROW
Show heading level 1.	ALT+SHIFT+1
Expand text below a heading.	ALT+SHIFT+PLUS SIGN
Collapse text below a heading.	ALT+SHIFT+MINUS SIGN

Work with shapes, pictures, boxes, objects, and WordArt

Insert a shape

1. Press and release ALT, then N, S, and H to select Shapes.
2. Use the arrow keys to move through the categories of shapes, and select the shape you want.
3. Press CTRL+ENTER to insert the shape.

Insert a text box

1. Press and release ALT, then N, and X.
2. Press CTRL+ENTER to insert the text box.

Insert an object

1. Press and release ALT, then N, and J to select Object.
2. Use the arrow keys to move through the objects.
3. Press CTRL+ENTER to insert the object.

Insert WordArt

1. Press and release ALT, then N, and W to select WordArt.
2. Use the arrow keys to select the WordArt style you want, and press ENTER.
3. Type your text.

Select a shape

NOTE   If your cursor is within text, press ESC.

• To select a single shape, press the TAB key to cycle forward (or SHIFT+TAB to cycle backward) through the objects until sizing handles appear on the object you want.
• To select multiple items, use the selection pane.

Group or ungroup shapes, pictures, and WordArt objects

• To group shapes, pictures, or WordArt objects, select the items that you want to group, and press CTRL+G.
• To ungroup a group, selectthe group, and press CTRL+SHIFT+G.

Show or hide a grid or guides

To do this	Press
Show or hide the grid.	SHIFT+F9
Show or hide guides.	ALT+F9

Copy the attributes of a shape

1. Select the shape with the attributes you want to copy.
   NOTE   If you select a shape with text, you copy the look and style of the text in addition to the attributes of the shape.
2. Press CTRL+SHIFT+C to copy the object attributes.
3. Press the TAB key or SHIFT+TAB to select the object you want to copy the attributes to.
4. Press CTRL+SHIFT+V.

Select text and objects

To do this	Press
Select one character to the right.	SHIFT+RIGHT ARROW
Select one character to the left.	SHIFT+LEFT ARROW
Select to the end of a word.	CTRL+SHIFT+RIGHT ARROW
Select to the beginning of a word.	CTRL+SHIFT+LEFT ARROW
Select one line up (with the cursor at the beginning of a line).	SHIFT+UP ARROW
Select one line down (with the cursor at the beginning of a line).	SHIFT+DOWN ARROW
Select an object (when the text inside the object is selected).	ESC
Select another object (when one object is selected).	TAB or SHIFT+TAB until the object you want is selected
Select text within an object (with an object selected).	ENTER
Select all objects.	CTRL+A (on the Slides tab)
Select all slides.	CTRL+A (in Slide Sorter view)
Select all text.	CTRL+A (on the Outline tab)

Delete and copy text and objects

To do this	Press
Delete one character to the left.	BACKSPACE
Delete one word to the left.	CTRL+BACKSPACE
Delete one character to the right.	DELETE
Delete one word to the right. NOTE   The cursor must be between words to do this.	CTRL+DELETE
Cut selected object or text.	CTRL+X
Copy selected object or text.	CTRL+C
Paste cut or copied object or text.	CTRL+V
Undo the last action.	CTRL+Z
Redo the last action.	CTRL+Y
Copy formatting only.	CTRL+SHIFT+C
Paste formatting only.	CTRL+SHIFT+V
Open Paste Special dialog box.	CTRL+ALT+V

Move around in text

To do this	Press
Move one character to the left.	LEFT ARROW
Move one character to the right.	RIGHT ARROW
Move one line up.	UP ARROW
Move one line down.	DOWN ARROW
Move one word to the left.	CTRL+LEFT ARROW
Move one word to the right.	CTRL+RIGHT ARROW
Move to the end of a line.	END
Move to the beginning of a line.	HOME
Move up one paragraph.	CTRL+UP ARROW
Move down one paragraph.	CTRL+DOWN ARROW
Move to the end of a text box.	CTRL+END
Move to the beginning of a text box.	CTRL+HOME
Move to the next title or body text placeholder. If it is the last placeholder on a slide, this will insert a new slide with the same slide layout as the original slide.	CTRL+ENTER
Move to repeat the last Find action.	SHIFT+F4

Move around in and work on tables

To do this	Press
Move to the next cell.	TAB
Move to the preceding cell.	SHIFT+TAB
Move to the next row.	DOWN ARROW
Move to the preceding row.	UP ARROW
Insert a tab in a cell.	CTRL+TAB
Start a new paragraph.	ENTER
Add a new row at the bottom of the table.	TAB in the bottom right table cell.

Edit a linked or embedded object

1. Press TAB OR SHIFT+TAB to select the object you want.
2. Press SHIFT+F10 for the shortcut menu.
3. Use the DOWN ARROW until Worksheet Object is selected, press the RIGHT ARROW to select Edit, and press ENTER.
   NOTE   The name of the command in the shortcut menu depends on the type of embedded or linked object. For example, an embedded Microsoft Office Excel worksheet has the command Worksheet Object, whereas an embedded Microsoft Office Visio Drawing has the command Visio Object.

Change or resize a font

NOTE   Select the text you want to change before using these keyboard shortcuts.

To do this	Press
Open the Font dialog box to change the font.	CTRL+SHIFT+F
Increase the font size.	CTRL+SHIFT+>
Decrease the font size.	CTRL+SHIFT+<

Apply character formatting

To do this	Press
Open the Font dialog box to change the formatting of characters.	CTRL+T
Change the case of letters between sentence, lowercase, or uppercase.	SHIFT+F3
Apply bold formatting.	CTRL+B
Apply an underline.	CTRL+U
Apply italic formatting.	CTRL+I
Apply subscript formatting (automatic spacing).	CTRL+EQUAL SIGN
Apply superscript formatting (automatic spacing).	CTRL+SHIFT+PLUS SIGN
Remove manual character formatting, such as subscript and superscript.	CTRL+SPACEBAR
Insert a hyperlink.	CTRL+K

Copy text formatting

To do this	Press
Copy formats.	CTRL+SHIFT+C
Paste formats.	CTRL+SHIFT+V

Align paragraphs

To do this	Press
Center a paragraph.	CTRL+E
Justify a paragraph.	CTRL+J
Left align a paragraph.	CTRL+L
Right align a paragraph.	CTRL+R

To assign custom keyboard shortcuts to menu items, recorded macros, and Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) code in PowerPoint, you must use a third-party add-in, such as Shortcut Manager for PowerPoint, which is available fromOfficeOne Add-Ins for PowerPoint.

Applies To: PowerPoint 2013