PowerPoint has a keyboard shortcut for a lot of what you click every day. Here are 45 that work on Windows, grouped by what you’re trying to do.
We checked every one against Microsoft Support: Use keyboard shortcuts to create PowerPoint presentations on October 21, 2026.
Files and Editing
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + N | Create a new presentation |
| Ctrl + O | Open a presentation |
| Ctrl + S | Save the presentation |
| Ctrl + P | Print the presentation |
| Ctrl + Q | Close PowerPoint |
| Ctrl + C | Copy the selected text, object or slide |
| Ctrl + X | Cut the selected text, object or slide |
| Ctrl + V | Paste |
| Ctrl + Z | Undo the last action |
| Ctrl + Y | Redo the last action |
| Ctrl + A | Select all objects on the slide |
| Ctrl + F | Open the Find dialog |
| Ctrl + H | Open the Replace dialog |
| Ctrl + K | Insert a hyperlink |
Slides
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + M | Add a new slide |
| Ctrl + Shift + D | Make a copy of the selected slide |
| Ctrl + Up Arrow | Move the selected slide up one place |
| Ctrl + Down Arrow | Move the selected slide down one place |
| Ctrl + Shift + Up Arrow | Move the selected slide to the beginning |
| Ctrl + Shift + Down Arrow | Move the selected slide to the end |
Text Formatting
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + B | Bold |
| Ctrl + I | Italic |
| Ctrl + U | Underline |
| Ctrl + Shift + > | Increase the font size |
| Ctrl + Shift + < | Decrease the font size |
| Ctrl + T | Open the Font dialog |
| Ctrl + E | Center the paragraph |
| Ctrl + L | Align the paragraph left |
| Ctrl + R | Align the paragraph right |
| Ctrl + J | Justify the paragraph |
Objects
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + D | Duplicate the selected objects |
| Ctrl + G | Group the selected objects |
| Ctrl + Shift + G | Ungroup the selected group |
Slide Show
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| F5 | Start the slide show from the beginning |
| Shift + F5 | Start the slide show from the current slide |
| Alt + F5 | Start the show in Presenter view |
| N | Go to the next slide |
| P | Go to the previous slide |
| Slide number, then Enter | Jump to that slide |
| B | Black out the screen, or bring it back |
| W | White out the screen, or bring it back |
| Ctrl + P | Turn the pointer into a pen |
| Ctrl + L | Turn the pointer into a laser pointer |
| E | Erase your on-screen drawings |
| Esc | End the slide show |
Good to know: Slide Show keys work only while a slide show is running, so Ctrl + P is the pen there and Print everywhere else.
Get the Excel and PDF Version
Everything above is free. Bookmark this page and use it anytime.
If you’d rather have it on your desk, the download below is a sortable Excel file plus a printable one-page PDF of all 45 shortcuts, for $0.99.
Want One Key to Do More?
Built-in shortcuts only work while PowerPoint is the active window, and you can’t add new ones. These tools let you pick your own hotkeys:
- Prompt Assistant: paste your standard closing slide text or speaker notes, like your contact details, with a hotkey
- Image Converter: turn WEBP or AVIF images into PNG or JPG before you drop them into a slide
- Course Creator Tools: more of our picks for building lessons and slide decks
