There's a reason that PowerPoint is a household name: it's the best software for creating presentations for work and home.

If you find yourself creating lots of presentations, you might be wondering if there's something you can do to speed up the process. The answer is yes, you just need to make use of all the handy shortcuts that PowerPoint offers.

We've put together a list of all the best PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts so that you can navigate, create, and present your presentations with ease.

FREE DOWNLOAD: This cheat sheet is available as a downloadable PDF from our distribution partner, TradePub. You will have to complete a short form to access it for the first time only. Download the Microsoft PowerPoint Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows Cheat Sheet.

Microsoft PowerPoint Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows

Shortcut

Action

Creating presentations

Ctrl + N

New presentation

Ctrl + M

New slide

Ctrl + S

Save presentation

Alt + N, P

Insert picture

Alt + N, S, H

Insert shape

Alt + H, L

Slide layout

Page down

Next slide

Page up

Previous slide

Ctrl + Up

Move selected slide up

Ctrl + Down

Move selected slide down

Ctrl + Shift + Up

Move selected slide to the beginning

Ctrl + Shift + Down

Move selected slide to the end

Alt + H

Home tab

Alt + N

Insert tab

Ctrl + N

Add comment

Ctrl + R

Reply to comment

Ctrl + Q

Close PowerPoint

Ribbon

Alt + F

File

Alt + H

Home

Alt + N

Insert

Alt + G

Design

Alt + K

Transitions

Alt + A

Animations

Alt + S

Slide Show

Alt + R

Review

Alt + W

View

Alt + Y

Help

Presenting

F5

Start presentation from beginning

Shift + F5

Start presentation from current slide

Alt + F5

Start the presentation in Presenter View

N

Next animation/slide

P

Previous animation/slide

B

Display black slide

W

Display white slide

S

Stop/restart an automatic presentation

Number, then Enter

Go to the slide number specified

Home

To the first slide

End

To the last slide

T

Set timings

R

Record narration and timing

Alt + P

Play/pause media

Alt + Q

Stop media

Alt + Up

Increase volume

Alt + Down

Decrease volume

Alt + U

Mute

Tab

Cycle hotspot

Shift + F10

Context menu

Ctrl + T

Show taskbar

Esc

End presentation

Present PowerPoint Like a Professional

Now you know all the shortcuts for creating and navigating in PowerPoint, it's time to make your presentation as professional as possible. That's why we've collated all the tips you need for keeping your audience engaged when using PowerPoint.