Reference · updated 19 October 2026

PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts for consultants: Mac, Windows and Google Slides.

Every shortcut SlideShortcuts adds to PowerPoint on Mac and Windows, and to Google Slides in Chrome, with PowerPoint's own keys that consultants use most. 84 PowerPoint rows and 35 Google Slides rows, Windows keys beside Mac keys.

These keys come with SlideShortcuts: PowerPoint and Google Slides don't have most of them on their own. Rows marked as PowerPoint's own work without it.

Timed: the same slide by mouse and by keys

The Stopwatch races each task twice, same slide, same person: once with the mouse and the ribbon, once with the shortcuts. Real seconds.

App	Task	By mouse	By keys	Shortcuts used
PowerPoint	Tidy five boxes: same size, tops on one line, even gaps	11.1 s, 8 clicks	3.0 s	Make same size ⌥Z · Alt+Z, Align top ⌃⌘↑ · Ctrl+Alt+↑, Distribute horizontally ⌥⇧H · Alt+Shift+H
PowerPoint	Put a box in the same spot on four slides	36.3 s, 26 clicks	12.8 s	Copy position ⌘1 · Ctrl+1, Paste position ⌘2 · Ctrl+2
PowerPoint	Add a source line and a sticky to a chart slide	27.0 s, 14 clicks	9.5 s	Insert source footer ⌘⌥F · Ctrl+Alt+F, Insert yellow sticky ⌘0 · Ctrl+0
PowerPoint	Add a three-series legend to a chart	45.6 s, 27 clicks and 6 drags	8.3 s	Insert legend ⌃⌥L · Ctrl+Alt+L
PowerPoint	Format a table	96.0 s	42.8 s	Several, from the tables below
PowerPoint	Build a next-steps page	50.7 s	29.9 s	Several, from the tables below
Google Slides	Tidy five boxes	29.9 s	4.3 s	Same size / width / height, Align top / bottom, Distribute H / V
Google Slides	Four agenda rows: same width, left-aligned, evenly spaced	21.0 s, 14 clicks	4.1 s	Same size / width / height, Align left / right, Distribute H / V
Google Slides	Join three text boxes into one list	11.5 s	3.0 s	Split / join text boxes

Watch the races on the shortcuts by task pages and the homepage.

PowerPoint for Windows and Mac

Align & distribute

Command	Windows	Mac
Align left	`CtrlAlt←`	`⌃⌘←`
Align center	`CtrlAltC`	`⌃⌘C`
Align right	`CtrlAlt→`	`⌃⌘→`
Align top	`CtrlAlt↑`	`⌃⌘↑`
Align middle	`CtrlAltM`	`⌃⌘M`
Align bottom	`CtrlAlt↓`	`⌃⌘↓`
Distribute horizontally	`AltShiftH`	`⌥⇧H`
Distribute vertically	`AltShiftV`	`⌥⇧V`
Close gaps	`CtrlAltG`	`⌃⌥G`
Set gap	`AltShiftG`	`⌥⇧G`
Reference: by position or first selected	`CtrlAltA`	`⌃⌥A`
Straighten lines	`AltShiftL`	`⌥⇧L`

Size & position

Command	Windows	Mac
Make same size	`AltZ`	`⌥Z`
Make same width	`CtrlAltE`	`⌘⌥E`
Make same height	`CtrlShiftE`	`⌘⇧E`
Do not resize	`CtrlShift8`	`⌘⇧8`
Copy position	`Ctrl1`	`⌘1`
Paste position	`Ctrl2`	`⌘2`
Paste size	`CtrlShift2`	`⌃⇧2`
Stretch to fill	`AltShiftF`	`⌥⇧F`

Group, layer & navigate

Command	Windows	Mac
Group	`CtrlG`	`⌘⌥G`
Ungroup	`CtrlShiftG`	`⌘⌥⇧G`
Align and group	`AltG`	`⌥G`
Bring forward	`Alt]`	`⌥⇧⌘F`
Send backward	`Alt[`	`⌥⇧⌘B`
Bring to front	`AltShift]`	`⌘⇧F`
Send to back	`AltShift[`	`⌘⇧B`
Jump to shape left	`Alt←`	`⌥←`
Jump to shape right	`Alt→`	`⌥→`
Jump to shape above	`Alt↑`	`⌥↑`
Jump to shape below	`Alt↓`	`⌥↓`

Insert & paste

Command	Windows	Mac
Insert textbox	`AltQ`	`⌃Q`
Insert legend	`CtrlAltL`	`⌃⌥L`
Insert source footer	`CtrlAltF`	`⌘⌥F`
Insert yellow sticky	`Ctrl0`	`⌘0`
New slide	`CtrlM`	`⌘⇧N`
Paste unformatted	`CtrlAltT`	`⌃⌥T`
Smart paste from Excel	`CtrlV`	`⌘⌥⇧V`
Insert sticker	`CtrlAltS`	`⌃⌥S`
Insert country flag	`Ctrl6`	`⌘6`

Text & formatting

Command	Windows	Mac
Word wrap	`Ctrl7`	`⌘7`
No word wrap	`CtrlShift7`	`⌘⇧7`
Resize to fit text	`Ctrl8`	`⌘8`
Shape to text box	`CtrlShiftW`	`⌘⇧W`
Text box to shape	`AltShiftZ`	`⌥⇧Z`
Change font size	`CtrlShiftO`	`⌘T`
Paragraph options	`CtrlShiftL`	`⌘⇧L`
Pickup style	`CtrlShiftC`	`⌘⇧C`
Apply style	`CtrlShiftV`	`⌘⇧V`
Toggle fill	`CtrlT`	`⌃T`
Cycle accent colors	`AltShiftA`	`⌥⇧A`
Default text format	`CtrlSpace`	`⌃⌥Space`
Split / join textboxes	`CtrlAltJ`	`⌃⌥J`
Cycle harvey ball	`AltShiftB`	`⌥⇧B`
Cycle text case	`CtrlShiftT`	`⌘⇧T`
Slide background (PowerPoint's own)	Mac only	`⇧⌘2`

Quick actions

Command	Windows	Mac
Swap objects	`Alt5`	`⌘⌥5`
Select similar	`Alt6`	`⌘⌥6`
Group horizontal	`Alt7`	`⌘⌥7`
Group vertical	`Alt8`	`⌘⌥8`
Convert to dots	`Alt9`	`⌘⌥⇧D`
Export to Excel	`AltShiftX`	`⌥⇧⌘X`

Views & print

Command	Windows	Mac
Normal view	`Ctrl3`	`⌘3`
Slide sorter view	`Ctrl4`	`⌘4`
Fit to window	`Ctrl5`	`⌘5`
New window	`CtrlShiftN`	`⌥⌘N`
Print	`CtrlP`	`⌘P`
Show or hide the panel	Mac only	`⌥⌘``
Print black and white	`CtrlAltP`	Windows only
Print handouts, 2 per page	`CtrlAlt2`	Windows only
Print handouts, 4 per page	`CtrlAlt4`	Windows only

Tables

Command	Windows	Mac
Table to text boxes and back	`CtrlAltShiftT`	`⌃⌥⇧T`
Even column widths	`CtrlAltShiftE`	`⌃⌥⇧E`
Harvey balls in cells	`CtrlAltShiftH`	`⌃⌥⇧H`

Deck clean-up

Command	Windows	Mac
Pre-flight check	`CtrlAltShiftK`	`⌃⌥⇧K`
Fonts to theme	`CtrlAltShiftF`	`⌃⌥⇧F`
Draft stamp	`CtrlAltD`	`⌃⌥D`
Stamp labels	`CtrlAltShiftD`	`⌃⌥⇧D`
Remove speaker notes	`CtrlAltN`	`⌃⌥N`
Reset footer positions	`CtrlAltR`	`⌃⌥R`
Scrub deck	`CtrlAltX`	`⌃⌥X`
Deep scrub	`CtrlAltShiftX`	`⌃⌥⇧X`
Send slides (PDF or PowerPoint copy)	Mac only	`⌃⌥⇧M`
License and sign out	`CtrlAltShiftL`	Windows only

Google Slides (Chrome extension)

The same chords as PowerPoint where Slides allows them. Keys shown as "Alt+9 then W" are two steps: press Alt+9 (⌥9 on a Mac), let go, then press the letter.

Align & distribute

Command	Windows	Mac
Align left / right	`Ctrl` `Alt` `←→`	`⌃` `⌘` `←→`
Align top / bottom	`Ctrl` `Alt` `↑↓`	`⌃` `⌘` `↑↓`
Align center / middle	`Ctrl` `Alt` `C / M`	`⌃` `⌘` `C / M`
Distribute H / V	`Alt` `Shift` `H / V`	`⌥` `⇧` `H / V`

Size

Command	Windows	Mac
Wider / narrower (10%)	`Shift` `→ / ←`	`⇧` `→ / ←`
Taller / shorter (10%)	`Shift` `↑ / ↓`	`⇧` `↑ / ↓`
Fine resize (1%)	`Ctrl` `Shift` `arrows`	`⌃` `⇧` `arrows`

Order & group

Command	Windows	Mac
Bring forward / send backward	`Alt` `] / [`	`⌥` `] / [`
Bring to front / send to back	`Alt` `Shift` `] / [`	`⌥` `⇧` `] / [`
Group / ungroup	`Ctrl` `(Shift) G`	`⌘` `(⇧) G`

Insert & text

Command	Windows	Mac
Insert text box	`Alt` `Q`	`⌥` `Q`
Center / justify text	`Ctrl` `E / J`	`⌘` `E / J`
Paste unformatted	`Ctrl` `Alt` `T`	`⌘` `⌥` `T`
Autofit: resize shape to fit / don’t	`Alt+9` then `8 / 0`	`⌥9` then `8 / 0`

Format & color

Command	Windows	Mac
Paint format	`Alt` `Shift` `8`	`⌥` `⇧` `8`
Font size box	`Alt` `Shift` `7`	`⌥` `⇧` `7`
Fill / border / text color	`Alt+9` then `F / B / T`	`⌥9` then `F / B / T`
Border weight / dash	`Alt+9` then `L / D`	`⌥9` then `L / D`
Line & paragraph spacing	`Alt` `Shift` `6`	`⌥` `⇧` `6`
Cycle fill / accent color (with the add-on)	`Alt+Shift` `T / A`	`⌥⇧` `T / A`

Selection engine

Command	Windows	Mac
Same size / width / height	`Alt+9` then `S / W / H`	`⌥9` then `S / W / H`
Copy / paste position	`Alt+9` then `C / V`	`⌥9` then `C / V`
Swap objects / select similar	`Alt+9` then `O / E`	`⌥9` then `O / E`
Group rows / columns	`Alt+9` then `G / U`	`⌥9` then `G / U`
Convert to dots	`Alt+9` then `.`	`⌥9` then `.`
Split / join text boxes	`Alt+9` then `J`	`⌥9` then `J`
Shape to text box	`Alt+9` then `X`	`⌥9` then `X`
Sticky / source / legend	`Alt+9` then `Y / R / M`	`⌥9` then `Y / R / M`
Toggle draft stamp	`Alt+9` then `K`	`⌥9` then `K`
Remove speaker notes	`Alt+9` then `P`	`⌥9` then `P`

Rotate & views

Command	Windows	Mac
Flip horizontal / vertical	`Alt+Shift` `1 / 2`	`⌥⇧` `1 / 2`
Rotate 90°	`Alt` `Shift` `3`	`⌥` `⇧` `3`
Format options sidebar	`Alt` `Shift` `4`	`⌥` `⇧` `4`
Fit to window	`Alt` `Shift` `9`	`⌥` `⇧` `9`
New window	`Alt+9` then `N`	`⌃⇧N`

Other shortcut add-ins

Deckary, an AI add-in, also adds keyboard shortcuts: 21 fixed ones for aligning, distributing, matching sizes and inserts, which need PowerPoint for Windows 2601 or later or PowerPoint for Mac 16.105.2 or later (its shortcuts page, checked 20 October 2026). SlideShortcuts adds 70+ shortcuts and commands on Mac and Windows, follows the Firm's chords on a Mac, and works in Google Slides too. For the other add-ins consultants ask about, see PowerPoint add-ins for consultants.

Try every key

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