The Complete PowerPoint 2024 Keyboard Shortcuts

This article is republished from the original at Microsoft.com.
Note: This list of keyboard shortcuts is for Microsoft PowerPoint 2016, PowerPoint 2019, PowerPoint 2021, PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 and later versions.
Operating System: Windows

Shortcut Matters

Frequently Used Shortcuts

The following table itemizes the most frequently used shortcuts in PowerPoint.

To do this	Press
Create new presentation.	Ctrl+N
Add a new slide.	Ctrl+M
Apply bold formatting to the selected text.	Ctrl+B
Open the Font dialog box.	Ctrl+T
Cut selected text, object, or slide.	Ctrl+X
Copy selected text, object, or slide.	Ctrl+C
Paste cut or copied text, object, or slide.	Ctrl+V
Insert a hyperlink.	Ctrl+K
Insert a new comment.	Ctrl+Alt+M
Undo the last action.	Ctrl+Z
Redo the last action.	Ctrl+Y
Go to the next slide.	Page down
Go to the previous slide.	Page up
Start the slide show.	F5
End the slide show.	Esc
Print a presentation.	Ctrl+P
Save the presentation.	Ctrl+S
Close PowerPoint.	Ctrl+Q

Work with Presentations and Slides

To do this	Press
Insert a new slide.	Ctrl+M
Go to the next slide.	Page down
Go to the previous slide.	Page up
Zoom out.	Ctrl+Minus sign (-)
Zoom in.	Ctrl+Plus sign (+)
Zoom to fit.	Ctrl+Alt+O
Make a copy of the selected slide.	Ctrl+Shift+D
Open a presentation.	Ctrl+O
Close a presentation.	Ctrl+D
Save a presentation with a different name, location, or file format.	Ctrl+Shift+S
Cancel a command, such as Save As.	Esc
Open a recent file.	Ctrl+O

Work with Objects and Text

Copy Objects and Text

To do this	Press
Cut selected object or text.	Ctrl+X
Copy selected object or text.	Ctrl+C
Paste cut or copied object or text.	Ctrl+V
Duplicate selected objects.	Ctrl+D or Ctrl+Drag the mouseOffice 2010 and Office 2007: Not available
Copy the formatting of the selected object or text.	Ctrl+Shift+C
Paste copied formatting to the selected object or text.	Ctrl+Shift+V
Copy animation painter.	Alt+Shift+COffice 2010 and Office 2007: Not available
Paste animation painter.	Alt+Shift+VOffice 2010 and Office 2007: Not available
Open the Paste Special dialog box.	Ctrl+Alt+V

Work in Objects and Text

To do this	Press
Move the focus to the first floating shape, such as an image or a text box.	Ctrl+Alt+5
Select another object when one object is selected.	Tab key or Shift+Tab until the object you want is selected
Send object back one position.	Ctrl+Left bracket ([)Office 2010 and Office 2007: Not available
Send object forward one position.	Ctrl+Right bracket (])Office 2010 and Office 2007: Not available
Send object to back.	Ctrl+Shift+Left bracket ([)Office 2010 and Office 2007: Not available
Send object to front.	Ctrl+Shift+Right bracket (])Office 2010 and Office 2007: Not available
Select all objects on a slide.	Ctrl+A
Group the selected objects.	Ctrl+G
Ungroup the selected group.	Ctrl+Shift+G
Regroup the selected objects.	Ctrl+Shift+J
Rotate the selected object clockwise 15 degrees.	Alt+Right arrow key
Rotate the selected object counterclockwise 15 degrees.	Alt+Left arrow key
Play or pause media.	Ctrl+Spacebar
Insert a hyperlink.	Ctrl+K
Insert a new comment.	Ctrl+Alt+M
Insert equation.	Alt+Equal sign ( = )
Edit a linked or embedded object.	Shift+F10 or the Windows Menu key (to open the context menu), then O, Enter, E

Tip: To select multiple objects with the keyboard, use the Selection Pane. 

Select text

To do this	Press
Select one character to the right.	Shift+Right arrow key
Select one character to the left.	Shift+Left arrow key
Select to the end of a word.	Ctrl+Shift+Right arrow key
Select to the beginning of a word.	Ctrl+Shift+Left arrow key
Select from the insertion point to the same point one line up.	Shift+Up arrow key
Select from the insertion point to the same point one line down.	Shift+Down arrow key
Select from the insertion point to the end of the paragraph.	Ctrl+Shift+Down  arrow key
Select from the insertion point to the beginning of the paragraph.	Ctrl+Shift+Up arrow key
Select text within an object (with an object selected).	Enter
Select an object when the text inside the object is selected.	Esc

Delete Text

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 (with the cursor between the words).	Ctrl+Delete

Move around in Text

To do this	Press
Move one character to the left.	Left arrow key
Move one character to the right.	Right arrow key
Move one line up.	Up arrow key
Move one line down.	Down arrow key
Move one word to the left.	Ctrl+Left arrow key
Move one word to the right.	Ctrl+Right arrow key
Move to the end of a line.	End
Move to the beginning of a line.	Home
Move up one paragraph.	Ctrl+Up arrow key
Move down one paragraph.	Ctrl+Down arrow key
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 action inserts a new slide with the same slide layout as the original slide.	Ctrl+Enter
Promote a paragraph.	Alt+Shift+Left arrow key
Demote a paragraph.	Alt+Shift+Right arrow key
Move selected paragraphs up.	Alt+Shift+Up arrow key
Move selected paragraphs down.	Alt+Shift+Down arrow key

Find and Replace Text

To do this	Press
Open the Find dialog box.	Ctrl+F
Open the Replace dialog box.	Ctrl+H
Repeat the last Find action.	Shift+F4

Format text

Before using these keyboard shortcuts, select the text you want to format.

To do this	Press
Open the Font dialog box.	Ctrl+T or Ctrl+Shift+F
Increase the font size.	Ctrl+Shift+Right angle bracket (>)
Decrease the font size.	Ctrl+Shift+Left angle bracket (<)
Switch between sentence case, lowercase, or uppercase.	Shift+F3
Apply bold formatting.	Ctrl+B
Apply underline formatting.	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
Center a paragraph.	Ctrl+E
Justify a paragraph.	Ctrl+J
Left align a paragraph.	Ctrl+L
Right align a paragraph.	Ctrl+R

Create a bulleted list using different styles

1. Do one of the following:
   • To create a list that uses filled round bullets, press the Asterisk sign (*).
   • To create a list that uses hyphens, press the Minus sign (-).
   • To create a list that uses arrow bullets, press the Right angle bracket (>).
   • To create a list that uses diamonds, press Left angle bracket (<) + Right angle bracket (>).
   • To create a list that uses arrows, press two minus signs (-) + Right angle bracket (>).
   • To create a list that uses double arrows, press the Equal sign ( = ) + Right angle bracket (>).
2. Press Spacebar.
3. Type the list item, and then press Enter.

Work with Tables

To do this	Press
Move to the next cell.	Tab key
Move to the preceding cell.	Shift+Tab
Move to the next row.	Down arrow key
Move to the preceding row.	Up arrow key
Insert a tab in a cell.	Ctrl+Tab
Start a new paragraph.	Enter
Add a new row at the bottom of the table with the cursor in the last cell of the last row.	Tab key

Move a Slide

To do this	Press
Move the selected slide or section up in order.	Ctrl+Up arrow key
Move the selected slide or section down in order.	Ctrl+Down arrow key
Move the selected slide or section to the beginning.	Ctrl+Shift+Up arrow key
Move the selected slide or section to the end.	Ctrl+Shift+Down arrow key

Work with views and panes

Work with the Selection pane

To do this	Press
Open the Selection pane.	Alt+F10Alt+H, S, L, POffice 2007: Alt+J, D, A, P
Cycle the focus through the different panes.	F6
Display the context menu.	Shift+F10 or the Windows Menu key
Move the focus to a single item or group.	Up or Down arrow key
Move the focus from an item in a group to its parent group.	Left arrow key
Move the focus from a group to the first item in that group.	Right arrow key
Expand a focused group and all its child groups.	Asterisk sign (*) (on numeric keypad only)
Expand a focused group.	Plus sign (+) (on numeric keypad only) or Right arrow key
Collapse a focused group.	Minus sign (-) (on numeric keypad only) or Left arrow key
Move the focus to an item and select it.	Shift+Up or Down arrow key
Select a focused item.	Spacebar or Enter
Cancel selection of a focused item.	Shift+Spacebar or Shift+Enter
Move a selected item forward.	Ctrl+Shift+F
Move a selected item backward.	Ctrl+Shift+B
Show or hide a focused item.	Ctrl+Shift+S
Rename a focused item.	F2
Switch the keyboard focus within the Selection pane between tree view and the Show All and Hide All buttons.	Tab key or Shift+Tab
Collapse all groups (with the focus in the tree view of the Selection pane).	Alt+Shift+1
Expand all groups.	Alt+Shift+9

Work with the task pane

To do this	Press
Move to a task pane from another pane or area in the program window. (You might need to press F6 more than once.)	F6
When a task pane option has focus, move to the next or previous option in the task pane.	Tab key or Shift+Tab
Display the full set of commands on a task pane menu. You can access, for example, the Close, Move, or Size buttons of a task pane.	Ctrl+SpacebarOffice 2010: Ctrl+Down arrow key
Move to the next command on the task pane menu.	Up and Down arrow keys
Select the highlighted option on the task pane menu.	Enter
Move or resize the task pane after the corresponding command has been selected.	Arrow keys
Close a task pane.	Ctrl+Spacebar, C

Ribbon keyboard shortcuts

The ribbon groups related options on tabs. For example, on the Home tab, the Paragraph group includes the Bullets option. Press the Alt key to display the ribbon shortcuts, called Key Tips, as letters in small images next to the tabs and options.

You can combine the Key Tips letters with the Alt key to make shortcuts called Access Keys for the ribbon options. For example, press Alt+H to open the Home tab, and Alt+Q to move to the Tell me or Search field. Press Alt again to see KeyTips for the options on the selected tab.

In Office 2010, most of the old Alt key menu shortcuts still work, too. However, you need to know the full shortcut. For example, press Alt, and then press one of the old menu keys E (Edit), V (View), I (Insert), and so on. A notification pops up saying you’re using an access key from an earlier version of Microsoft 365. If you know the entire key sequence, go ahead and use it. If you don’t know the sequence, press Esc and use Key Tips instead.

Open the ribbon tabs

To go directly to a tab on the ribbon, press one of the following access keys. Additional tabs might appear depending on your selection in the presentation.

To do this	Press
Move to the Tell me or Search field on the ribbon and type a search term for assistance or Help content.	Alt+Q, then type the search term.
Open the File menu.	Alt+F
Open the Home tab and format slides, fonts, paragraphs, or drawings.	Alt+H
Open the Insert tab and insert slides, tables, images, illustrations, forms, links, text, symbols, or media.	Alt+N
Open the Draw tab and access the drawing tools.	Alt+J, I
Open the Design tab and apply themes and customize slides.	Alt+G
Open the Transitions tab and add transitions between slides.	Alt+K
Open the Animations tab and add animations to slides.	Alt+A
Open the Slide Show tab and set up and play the slide show.	Alt+S
Open the Review tab and check spelling and accessibility and add comments.	Alt+R
Open the View tab and preview presentation layouts, show and hide gridlines and guides, set zoom magnification, manage windows, and view macros.	Alt+W
Open the Recording tab and manage screen recordings, audio, and video in your presentation.	Alt+C
Open the Help tab and browse the PowerPoint, contact support, and leave feedback.	Alt+Y, 2

Note: Add-ins and other programs might add new tabs to the ribbon and might provide access keys for those tabs.

Work in the ribbon with the keyboard

To do this	Press
Select the active tab on the ribbon, and activate the access keys.	Alt or F10. To move to a different tab, use access keys or the arrow keys.
Move the focus to commands on the ribbon.	Tab key or Shift+Tab
Move down, up, left, or right, respectively, among the items on the ribbon.	Arrow keys
Show the tooltip for the ribbon element currently in focus.	Ctrl+Shift+F10
Activate a selected button or control.	Spacebar or Enter
Open the list for a selected command.	Down arrow key
Open the menu for a selected button.	Alt+Down arrow key
When a menu or submenu is open, move to the next command.	Down arrow key
Expand or collapse the ribbon.	Ctrl+F1
Open a context menu.	Shift+F10 or the Windows Menu key
Move to the submenu when a main menu is open or selected.	Left arrow key
Get help on the currently selected command or control on the ribbon.	F1

Other useful ribbon keyboard shortcuts

To do this	Press
Change the font size for selected text.	Alt+H, F, S
Open the Zoom dialog box.	Alt+W, Q
Print all slides in your presentation as full page slides using your default printer settings (when the Print dialog box is open).	Alt+P, P
Select a theme.	Alt+G, H
Select a slide layout.	Alt+H, L
Show or hide the Notes pane in the Normal view.	Alt+W, P, N
Open the clipboard.	Alt+H, F, O
Insert a text box.	Alt+N, X
Insert an embedded document or spreadsheet as an object.	Alt+N, J
Insert WordArt.	Alt+N, W
Insert a picture from your device.	Alt+N, P, D
Insert a shape.	Alt+N, S, H

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