Keyboard shortcuts for Microsoft PowerPoint on Mac

Along with keyboard shortcuts to do things faster in Microsoft Word and Excel, there are those you can use with PowerPoint on your Mac.

Whether putting together a slideshow or presenting one, these shortcuts for Microsoft PowerPoint certainly come in handy.

Microsoft Powerpoint logo on a dark brown background

Create a presentation

When you’re building a slideshow, you want to concentrate on the content and the way it’s presented. These shortcuts let you do that without fumbling for your mouse.

  • Create a slideshow: Command + N
  • Create a slideshow with a gallery template: Command + Shift + P
  • Insert a slide: Command + Shift + N
  • Copy a selected slide: Command + Shift + D
  • Open a slideshow: Command + O (capital letter “o”)
  • Open a recent file: Command + Shift + O (capital letter “o”)
  • Move through open slideshows: Command + Tilde (~)
  • Close a slideshow: Command + W
  • Save a slideshow: Command + S
  • Save a slideshow as: Command + Shift + S
  • Print a slideshow: Command + P

Change views in PowerPoint

Easily switch the view you’re using from outline to slide sorter to master slide view with these shortcuts.

Switch to:

  • Normal view: Command + 1
  • Slide Sorter view: Command + 2
  • Notes Page view: Command + 3
  • Outline view: Command + 4
  • Slide Master view: Command + Option + 1
  • Handout Master view: Command + Option + 2
  • Notes Master view: Command + Option + 3
  • Presenter view: Option + Return
  • Slide Show view: Command + Shift + Return
  • Full screen view: Command + Control + F

Present your slideshow

While presenting your slideshow, you can keep your focus on your audience better with these shortcuts to navigate the show.

  • Go to the next slide or animation: N, Page down, Right arrow, Down arrow, or Space bar
  • Go to the previous slide or animation: P, Page up, Left arrow, Up arrow, or Delete key
  • Go to a slide number: [Slide number] + Return
  • Play a show from the first slide: Command + Shift + Return
  • Play a show from the current slide: Command + Return
  • Display a black screen or return to the show: B, Period (.), or Shift + B
  • Display a white screen or return to the show: W, Comma (,), or Shift + W
  • Display the context menu: Control + Mouse click
  • End a slide show: Escape, Command + Period (.), or Hyphen (-)

There are plenty of additional keyboard shortcuts for PowerPoint that are specific to working with tables, drawings, and objects. For that, head to the Microsoft Office Support site for those tailored to your needs.

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