Productivity Reference

Keyboard Shortcuts

A keyboard shortcut is a combination of keys that performs a specific action. The shortcuts typically involve one or more modifier keys such as Ctrl, Alt, or Command combined with another key usually a letter, number, or punctuation symbol. By using keyboard shortcuts, you can bypass navigating through menus and dialog boxes in software applications. Tasks that would normally require multiple clicks with a mouse can be accomplished swiftly using shortcuts, and you will be less relying on mouse movements. Professionals who use keyboard shortcuts efficiently perform repetitive actions more quickly. Most software allows customization of keyboard shortcuts. Users can assign their preferred shortcuts for specific functions. Additionally, each application often has its own unique set of shortcuts. We have crafted shortcuts for most commonly used applications across multiple platforms.

Practical Notes

Shortcut Learning Strategy

Keyboard shortcuts are easiest to adopt when you focus on repeated actions instead of trying to memorize an entire application at once.

Start with frequent tasks

Learn the commands you use every hour: search, save, switch tabs, copy, paste, undo, and open command menus.

Mind the platform

The same action may use Ctrl on Windows or Linux and Command on macOS.

Practice in context

Shortcuts stick faster when you use them during real work instead of reading a list once.

Shortcut	Application	Action
`Alt`+`Shift`+`1`	MS Powerpoint	Show Outline View level 1 headings
`F1`	MS Powerpoint	Show the help menu
`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`F10`	MS Powerpoint	Show the tooltip for the ribbon element currently in focus
`Enter`	MS Powerpoint	Start a new paragraph
`F5`	MS Powerpoint	Start the slide show
`Shift`+`F3`	MS Powerpoint	Switch between sentence case, lowercase, or uppercase
`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`Tab`	MS Powerpoint	Switch between the Thumbnail pane and the Outline View pane
`Tab`or`Shift`+`Tab`	MS Powerpoint	Switch the keyboard focus within the Selection pane between tree view and the Show All and Hide All buttons
`Ctrl`+`F1`	MS Powerpoint	Switch to full screen (hide menus)
`Alt`+`F5`	MS Powerpoint	Switch to Presenter view
`F5`	MS Powerpoint	Switch to Slide Show
`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`Tab`	MS Powerpoint	Toggle between Outline and Thumbnail views
`Ctrl`+`Z`	MS Powerpoint	Undo the last action
`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`G`	MS Powerpoint	Ungroup the selected group
`↓`	MS Powerpoint	When a menu or submenu is open, move to the next command
`Tab`or`Shift`+`Tab`	MS Powerpoint	When a task pane option has focus, move to the next or previous option in the task pane
`Ctrl`+`+`	MS Powerpoint	Zoom in
`Ctrl`+`-`	MS Powerpoint	Zoom out
`Ctrl`+`Alt`+`O`	MS Powerpoint	Zoom to fit
`0192`	MS Outlook (New)	À
`0224`	MS Outlook (New)	à
`0193`	MS Outlook (New)	Á
`0194`	MS Outlook (New)	Â
`0226`	MS Outlook (New)	â
`0195`	MS Outlook (New)	Ã
`0227`	MS Outlook (New)	ã
`0196`	MS Outlook (New)	Ä
`0228`	MS Outlook (New)	ä
`Ctrl`+`B`	MS Outlook (New)	Apply bold formatting.
`Ctrl`+`I`	MS Outlook (New)	Apply italic formatting.
`0149`	MS Outlook (New)	Bullet •
`Esc`	MS Outlook (New)	Cancel a search.
`0162`	MS Outlook (New)	Cent symbol ¢
`Esc`	MS Outlook (New)	Close a new message.
`←`	MS Outlook (New)	Collapse the selected section.
`Ctrl`+`C`	MS Outlook (New)	Copy your selection to the clipboard.
`0169`	MS Outlook (New)	Copyright symbol ©
`Ctrl`+`L`	MS Outlook (New)	Create a contact list.
`Ctrl`+`N`	MS Outlook (New)	Create a contact.
`Ctrl`+`N`	MS Outlook (New)	Create a new calendar item.
`Ctrl`+`N`	MS Outlook (New)	Create a new message or calendar event.
`Ctrl`+`N`	MS Outlook (New)	Create a new message.
`0164`	MS Outlook (New)	Currency sign ¤
`Ctrl`+`X`	MS Outlook (New)	Cut text you selected.
`0134`	MS Outlook (New)	Dagger symbol †
`Del`or`Ctrl`+`D`	MS Outlook (New)	Delete a contact or contact list.
`Del`	MS Outlook (New)	Delete message or item.
`Del`	MS Outlook (New)	Delete selected message.
`Backspace`	MS Outlook (New)	Delete selected text or characters to the left of the cursor.
`Del`	MS Outlook (New)	Delete the selected item.

Shortcut Learning Strategy

Start with frequent tasks

Mind the platform

Practice in context

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