Do it faster…Do it better: PowerPoint Shortcuts
By Kevin Lerner, Exec. Director of The Presentation Team

The clock is counting down for that all-important presentation. Will you make the deadline?! Don't let PowerPoint slow you down and become the weak link of your project. Keyboard shortcuts are a great way to maximize your efficiency...which can translate to a better overall presentation.

Resist the temptation to use the drop-down menus to accomplish your tasks. Even though it may seem like a straightforward way to achieve your objective, it actually can be a hinderance to productivity. And even though it may seem like a lot more to memorize, the time investment will soon pay off.

Many people know the basic Control C (Copy) and Control V (Paste), but a host of other commands can help optimize your PowerPoint experience...and even carry over into other Windows or Mac programs. Here are some of my favorites:

And here's a list from Microsoft's website:

You can use the following shortcut keys (shortcut key: A function key or key combination, such as F5 or CTRL+A, that you use to carry out a menu command. In contrast, an access key is a key combination, such as ALT+F, that moves the focus to a menu, command, or control.) while running your slide show presentation in full-screen mode.

N, ENTER, PAGE DOWN, RIGHT ARROW, DOWN ARROW, or the SPACEBAR (or click the mouse)

Perform the next animation or advance to the next slide

P, PAGE UP, LEFT ARROW, UP ARROW, or BACKSPACE

Perform the previous animation or return to the previous slide

number+ENTER

Go to slide number

A or =

Show or hide arrow pointer

B or PERIOD

Display a black screen, or return to the slide show from a black screen

W or COMMA

Display a white screen, or return to the slide show from a white screen

S or PLUS SIGN

Stop or restart an automatic slide show

ESC, CTRL+BREAK, or HYPHEN

End a slide show

E

Erase on-screen annotations

H

Go to the next hidden slide

T

Set new timings while rehearsing

O

Use original timings while rehearsing

M

Use mouse-click to advance while rehearsing

1+ENTER (or press both mouse buttons for 2 seconds)

Return to the first slide

CTRL+P

Redisplay hidden pointer and/or change the pointer to a pen

CTRL+A

Redisplay hidden pointer and/or change the pointer to an arrow

CTRL+H

Hide the pointer and navigation button immediately

CTRL+M

Show or hide ink markup

CTRL+U

Hide the pointer and navigation button in 15 seconds

CTRL+T

View task bar

CTRL+S

All Slides dialog box

SHIFT+F10 (or right-click)

Display the shortcut menu (shortcut menu: A menu that shows a list of commands relevant to a particular item. To display a shortcut menu, right-click an item or press SHIFT+F10.)

TAB

Go to the first or next hyperlink (hyperlink: Colored and underlined text or a graphic that you click to go to a file, a location in a file, a Web page on the World Wide Web, or a Web page on an intranet. Hyperlinks can also go to newsgroups and to Gopher, Telnet, and FTP sites.) on a slide

SHIFT+TAB

Go to the last or previous hyperlink on a slide

ENTER while a hyperlink is selected

Perform the "mouse click" behavior of the selected hyperlink

SHIFT+ENTER while a hyperlink is selected

Perform the "mouse over" behavior of the selected hyperlink

With practice and focus, you'll soon be navigating through PowerPoint with the virtuousity of a concert pianist.

Get published with The Presentation Team! E-mail your article to Kevin@ presentationteam . com