{"id":166,"date":"2013-03-31T01:00:08","date_gmt":"2013-03-31T06:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/?p=166"},"modified":"2025-04-29T10:08:28","modified_gmt":"2025-04-29T15:08:28","slug":"tips-from-a-consultant-some-not-so-obvious-powerpoint-shortcuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/tips-from-a-consultant-some-not-so-obvious-powerpoint-shortcuts\/","title":{"rendered":"Tips from a Consultant: Some Not-so-Obvious PowerPoint Shortcuts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Creating PowerPoint slides can be a very time consuming process. \u00a0When I first started working in consulting, some slides would take me several hours to create. \u00a0Hundreds of slides later, I can produce the same quality and complexity of slides in a matter of minutes.<\/p>\n

\"powerpoint_shortcuts\"<\/a><\/p>\n

How do we become much more productive? \u00a0Partly, it’s just from knowing your shortcuts. \u00a0In this article, I’ve compiled a short list of “not-so-obvious” PowerPoint shortcuts. \u00a0These are also very useful shortcuts–ones that I find myself using the most often.<\/p>\n

Font Shortcuts<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Ctrl + [<\/strong>
\nCtrl + ]<\/strong><\/td>\n		Decrease font size
\nIncrease font size<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ctrl + Shift + G<\/strong><\/td>\nJump to the “Font Face” dropdown menu<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ctrl + Shift + H<\/strong><\/td>\nJump to the “Font Size” dropdown menu<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Shift + F3<\/strong><\/td>\nToggle among various capitalization formats: all lower case, capitalize first letters of words, all upper case<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ctrl + Alt + right arrow [->]<\/strong>
\n Ctrl + Alt + left arrow [<-]<\/strong><\/td>\n		Increase indent of a bullet by one level
\nDecrease indent of a bullet by one level<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

AutoShape\/Object Shortcuts<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Ctrl + arrow key<\/strong><\/td>\nMoves objects pixel by pixel (invaluable for positioning objects to the exact pixel you need)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Shift + while changing size of an object<\/strong><\/td>\nMaintains ratio of dimensions (e.g. if your AutoShape is a square, holding down the “Shift” key while resizing will keep the shape as a square–and not a rectangle)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PowerPoint 2003<\/span>
\nCtrl + Shift + G <\/strong>
\nCtrl + Shift + H<\/strong><\/td>\n		PowerPoint 2003<\/span>
\nGroup objects together
\nUngroup objects<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PowerPoint 2007+<\/span>
\nCtrl + G <\/strong>
\nCtrl + Shift + G<\/strong><\/td>\n		PowerPoint 2007+<\/span>
\nGroup objects together
\nUngroup objects<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ctrl + click and move object with cursor<\/strong><\/td>\nCreates duplicate copy of the object<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Use a shortcut that’s missing from our list? \u00a0<\/strong>Please share in the comments section below.<\/p>\n

Speed Things Up through Automation<\/strong>
\nIf you use PowerPoint a lot, take a look at our free PowerPoint plugin<\/a>, Flevy Tools<\/a>. \u00a0Flevy Tools allows you to quickly create common business diagrams, such as Harvey\/Booz Ball diagrams, Gantt charts, and Step Box charts. \u00a0It’s been compared to similar plugins developed in-house at top-tier consulting firms and said to be better.<\/div>\n

Of course, another huge driver to increased productivity is just having a large collection of slides that can be re-positioned and reused.<\/p>\n

You can find tons of of customizable PowerPoint templates, diagrams, and slides here on Flevy<\/a>. \u00a0Here are some specific PowerPoint templates and collections to get you started:<\/p>\n