{"id":23353,"date":"2022-12-14T12:17:46","date_gmt":"2022-12-14T12:17:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/12\/14\/top-10-hacks-for-microsoft-powerpoint\/"},"modified":"2022-12-14T12:17:46","modified_gmt":"2022-12-14T12:17:46","slug":"top-10-hacks-for-microsoft-powerpoint","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/12\/14\/top-10-hacks-for-microsoft-powerpoint\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 10 Hacks for Microsoft PowerPoint"},"content":{"rendered":"

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For countless people working in business, education, and entertainment, the most commonly used tool to create a presentation is Microsoft’s PowerPoint. It’s easy to make something quickly and simply, and it doesn’t take long to get comfortable using it.<\/p>\n

But if you’re looking to really master it, and get the most out of the application, join us as we take a quick look at some of the top 10 shortcuts, tips, and hacks that will help you on your way to becoming a PowerPoint pro.<\/p>\n

All the tips and tricks listed are for the latest Windows version of the PowerPoint application — for macOS and web users some of the features might not be present or may look a tad different…<\/p>\n

1. Press F5 to quickly go live<\/h2>\n

To launch a presentation, don’t bother trying to click the tiny icon in the bottom right-hand part of the screen, or using the menu (Slide Show > From the beginning…). There’s a much simpler way to do this.<\/p>\n

Just press F5<\/strong> on your keyboard!<\/p>\n

By using a simple keypress, you’ll look like a total pro — especially if you’re having to use an old laptop, with no mouse or a wonky trackpad. Some machines, though, will need you to hold the Function key (Fn) before you hit F5.<\/p>\n

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Some keyboards need you to press or hold the Fn button before hitting F5<\/p>\n

If you need to start a presentation at any place in the list of slides, select the one you want to start from and press Shift + F5<\/strong>. Going live has never been easier.<\/p>\n

For macOS, it’s Cmd + Shift + Return<\/strong> instead of F5, or Command + Return<\/strong> for the equivalent of Shift + F5.<\/p>\n

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Of course, there are lots more keyboard shortcuts, one for almost every single operation in PowerPoint. There are way too many to list here. Microsoft has two important sets of shortcuts, though — ones for creating<\/a> presentations, and those for showing<\/a> them.<\/p>\n

But just as with all Microsoft\/Office applications, simply pressing ALT<\/strong> will display the keys you need to press for a certain function or process.<\/p>\n

2. Snap elements to a grid using guides, and rulers<\/h2>\n

For getting all elements in a slide lined up correctly, don’t waste time moving everything about the mouse or arrow keys. Instead, enable the Snap to Grid function.<\/p>\n

Head to the View<\/strong> menu and tick the boxes for the Ruler<\/strong>, Gridlines<\/strong>, and Guides<\/strong> — you should see lots of lines on your slides which helps with alignment and positioning. But if you then click the small menu icon, just below where you enabled the Guides, a new window will appear.<\/p>\n

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Here you can enable Snap objects to grid<\/strong>, which means when you now move objects about, they will automatically lock onto the nearest gridline. You can also set a custom number of gridlines per cm — the default is 6 but you change it by using the drop-down menu or changing the gridline spacing (as shown in cm).<\/p>\n

The smaller you make this number, the more gridlines you’ll get per cm.<\/p>\n

If you find that an object, even with snapping enabled, isn’t exactly where you want it to be, click on the object and then nudge it about by holding the CTRL<\/strong> button, while you press the arrow keys.<\/p>\n

3. Copycat the professional way<\/h2>\n

We’re all familiar with CTRL + C followed by CTRL + V to copy and paste text and objects in a PowerPoint slide. But when it comes to making multiple copies of the same shape to create a symmetrical pattern, there are some extra tricks worth knowing about.<\/p>\n

Normally, when you copy and then paste an object, the new one overlaps the original shape. Normally, you’d then go about moving it into the right position, using the mouse or keys. Here’s a much better way — click on the shape you want to copy, then hold the CTRL + Shift<\/strong> keys down while you click and hold the mouse button on the shape.<\/p>\n

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Slide the mouse to the side or up\/down, and you’ll notice a new copy is automatically made and it is precisely aligned with the previous one! No more trying to nudge shapes about to make them line up.<\/p>\n

Even better, once you have done this, just press CTRL + Y<\/strong> to repeat the process — the spacing and alignment gets copied across, making it a piece of cake to create a perfectly symmetrical collection of objects.<\/p>\n

4. Breaking smart for better art<\/h2>\n

There’s a good selection of default shapes that you can add to slides but there’s also a surprising lack of creative flair about them. If you want to use something better, but don’t want to go through the hassle of trying to make your own, then one solution is to break apart SmartArt shapes.<\/p>\n

Take the standard block arrows, for example — they are pretty boring to look at and you’re very limited in what you can do with them, so let’s fix that now.<\/p>\n

Go to Insert<\/strong> > SmartArt<\/strong> > Process<\/strong>. Now scroll down the menu and select the Upward Arrow<\/strong> option.<\/p>\n

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Once you’ve clicked on that, you’ll see a cool-looking arrow.<\/p>\n

However, it’s surrounded by lots of elements that you may not need.<\/p>\n

Right-click on any empty part of the newly inserted shape, go to the Group option in the menu and select Ungroup<\/strong>. Do this a second time and then press CTRL+A<\/strong>, to select everything in the slide — or drag a highlighting box around the arrow, if there are already lots of things in the slide.<\/p>\n

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Hold down CTRL<\/strong> and click on the arrow to deselect it, and then press Delete<\/strong> to remove all of the unwanted elements.<\/p>\n

You’ve now got a nicely curved arrow that you can resize or recolor to whatever you want. This trick works with many other SmartArt objects, so it’s worth exploring them all to see what new shapes you can pull out of them.<\/p>\n

5. Merging smart for even more art<\/h2>\n

Now, if you do fancy making your own shapes, then a useful alternative to just grouping objects together to make a new one, is to use PowerPoint’s Merge Shapes tool. Let’s say we want to have a square with a hole in the middle. Start by laying down a separate shape and circle, using the normal Insert<\/strong> > Shapes<\/strong> menu.<\/p>\n

We could make our desired object by making the circle white in color, placing it over the square, and then grouping the objects together. However, if your slides are going to have lots of complex shapes, then the file size for the whole PowerPoint can balloon in size because grouped objects remain as separate entities.<\/p>\n

The advantage of merging is that it all just becomes one object…<\/p>\n

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The obvious disadvantage is that if you want to correct or amend something, you can’t ungroup it and begin again — you’ll need to use the Undo<\/strong> function (CTRL + Z<\/strong>). Well, you can, but only with one of the merge options.<\/p>\n

To merge the shapes you want together, select them by dragging a highlighting box around them (click and hold the left mouse button) or hold down CTRL<\/strong> and click on the individual shapes you need to combine.<\/p>\n

There are five ways to merge shapes:<\/p>\n