Shortcuts to be used during Presentation mode

Shortcut Keys	Description
F5	For beginning the slideshow
Shift+F5	Starts slideshow from the slide you are on i.e. the current slide
Slide Number + Enter	Takes you to the specific slide you wanted to go to
S	Stop/Restart the presentation through this key
Ctrl + P/E	Displays pen cursor/Erase drawing for the purpose of highlighting
B	Changes the background into Black colour
W	Changes the background into White colour
E	Erases all the highlighting done in the slide

Apart from the general shortcuts which come handy in all three Microsoft Office applications, and the ones we discussed in our previous articles, there are few specific ones which can be used during delivering presentations. These shortcuts allow for swift navigation and editing even during a running presentation. 

1. F5 - Hitting this key will start the slideshow. It doesn't matter if you are on first, last or any other slide in between. Just press F5 and the presentation would begin from the very first slide. 

2. Shift + F5 - This shortcut will start the slideshow from the slide you are on.This allows you to introduce any change in the current slide and then resume the presentation from that same slide. 

3. Slide Number & Enter - It allows you to go to any specific slide in between a running presentation. Please note that the slide number and Enter keys are not be used concurrently but subsequently. First input the number and then hit enter. All you need to do is remember the slide number you want to jump to. 

4. S - This key is used to stop or restart a presentation in an 'Automatic' mode. This key won't work in manual mode. 

5. Ctrl + P/E - A pen cursor is a handy tool used for highlighting specific points in a running presentation. It can be introduced by pressing Ctrl and P. The highlighted part can be brought to the original form by erasing all the changes done by the pen cursor. The eraser is introduced through Ctrl and E. 

6. B/W - The background of a particular slide can be converted into black or white colour as per the need by pressing these keys during a presentation. 

7. E - You can easily remove all the highlighting that you have done in the current slide by simply pressing E.

Note - CTRL + E and E, both are used for erasing purpose with a slight difference. The former is used for selective erasing of the highlighted portions, while the use of latter is in complete erasing. 

How to view and edit a presentation simultaneously in MS PowerPoint

One action that many of us do frequently on MS PowerPoint is going for slideshow to check how the slides look after some editing/modifications. This consumes time and is equally irritating. But you will be delighted to know that MS PowerPoint has a wonderful feature in place which allows us to view and edit a slide simultaneously. This is how it is to be used.

1.      Open the presentation and select the slide you want to edit

2.      Press CTRL tab and click on the slideshow button. Don’t release the tab while doing this.

3.     A medium sized window will open in the top left corner displaying  the particular slide.

4.   Any modification in the original slide will be displayed in the window as well. You can switch between the two easily through ALT + Tab keys.

There are a couple of points worth noting here

a) Don’t use the combination of CTRL + F5. It will just change the window size of the presentation. Click on the slideshow button instead after pressing CTRL.

b) Due to the small size of the view window, one can only have an overall view of the slide. Any text editing will be hardly visible unless the font size is large.

Shortcuts for editing object in MS PowerPoint (Changing dimension, positioning and orientation)

Shortcut Keys	Description
Shift + Arrow keys	Changes the dimensions of the object
Shift + Mouse/Keypad	Changes the dimensions of an object without distorting it.
Ctrl + Arrow keys	Used for nudging of the object in the same row or same column
Ctrl + Mouse/keypad	Allows replication of the selected object
Ctrl + Alt + Left / Right	Allows rotating the object to the desired degree
Enter	Adds a new slide

An object in PowerPoint may refer to a text box, a picture, a table, a shape or any such thing. Mostly our slides are composed of a lot of objects and so there is a constant need of editing them in terms of their dimensions, orientation or positioning. The above mentioned shortcuts help us do that efficiently. 

1. Shift + Arrow keys - You can change the dimensions of the object easily through it without even using your mouse/keyboard. 

2. Shift + Mouse/Keypad - The use of this shortcut ensures that the change in the dimensions of the object is uniform in all respects. 

Let's see how Shift + Mouse/keypad is a better tool to change the dimensions of an object as compared to dragging using mouse or keypad alone. We have an object (a picture) whose dimensions we want to change. But we need to ensure that it is not distorted in this process. 

Now, when we drag the picture using mouse or keypad, we might end up with any of the figures given below if we don't pay complete attention to the direction in which we are dragging. 

But you needn't worry about the distortion at all when you go for shift key with dragging as the former don't allow change in the direction. We get the following result upon using shift with mouse or keyboard.  

3. Ctrl + Arrow keys - Sometimes there is a need to bring a very minor change in the position of the object. This shortcut accomplishes that task as it allows you to 'nudge' the object horizontally or vertically. 

4. Ctrl + Mouse/keypad - Control key with mouse/keypad is used for the replication of an object. An example will make it more clear to you. 

There is an object that you want to replicate. Just select the object and put the cursor over it. Now when you press the CTRL key, you will notice a small + at the right side of the arrow of the cursor. It is an indication that now the object can be replicated. All you need to do now is to drag the object with CTRL key firmly pressed. You will see another object emerging from the source object, as show below. 

5. Ctrl + Alt + Left / Right - This shortcut allows you to rotate the object to a desired degree. For example, just look at the screenshot given below. 

6. Enter - This isn't exactly a shortcut for editing object, but has a handy utility nonetheless. To add a new slide, just select the slide following which you need the new one and Enter. 

Shortcuts for editing content in the text box in MS PowerPoint

Shortcut Keys	Description
F2	Selects the whole text within a selected text box
Alt + Shift + up/down arrow	Selected bullet point or paragraph can be moved up or down
Shift + Left/Right Key	Selects the text character by character towards left or right
Ctrl + Shift + Left/Right Key	Selects the text word by word towards left or right i.e. JUMPING WORDS
Ctrl + Shift + >/<	Increases/decreases the font size of the selected text
Shift + F3	Changes the case of the selected text from lowercase to titlecase to uppercase and vice-versa when keys pressed in succession.

Unlike MS Word, you can’t write anywhere on a PowerPoint slide just by double - clicking and typing. You can only write inside a text box and to add content on a specific point of a slide you first need to insert a text box there. There can be several text boxes on a single slide. To edit the content inside a text box quickly, you need to have a good knowledge of various shortcuts. Here we have highlighted the six most important ones.

1. F2 - It is the quickest way of selecting the whole text within a text box. Kindly note that if you have clicked inside the text box for editing, then you will need to press F2 twice to perform the same action. 

2. Alt + Shift + up/down arrow - This shortcut is very useful for quickly moving the lines/paragraphs within a text box. 

The following example shows the application of the shortcut used for moving lines/paragraph up or down.

3. Shift + Left/Right Key - This shortcut is helpful in selective editing. So if there are just few letters you want to edit then go for this shortcut. 

4. Ctrl + Shift + Left/Right Key - It allows greater flexibility as you can edit the whole words using this shortcut. 

5. Ctrl + Shift + >/< - This is the quickest way of changing the font size of the selected text. The size increases/decreases by 2 everytime you use the shortcut. 

6. Shift + F3 - The easiest way of changing the case of the text is to use this shortcut. The folliwng example shows how it is used. 

New window utility in MS Office

Sometimes our task requires constantly moving between two ends of the same Excel sheet or between two separate sheets of the workbook. It is time consuming and downright irritating. However, MS Excel has already provided us with amazing feature called New Window to deal with this.

So how this utility helps us? Clicking on new window will open the same workbook in a different window. This will allow us to refer to the sheets in our workbook from a separate window and excuse us from navigating the same sheet. This new window is actually just another view of the current file. It’s not a different version of the current file. So, any changes made in the current window will be reflected in the new window as well and vice-versa. You don’t need to save changes made in the new window separately! And MS Excel doesn't ask you to save separately also.

Let's try to understand this using an example. We are working on an excel file in which data is given on two different sheets, as shown below

So we have file named 'eg' in which we have data sets on two different sheets. I need to use the data from sheet 2 in sheet 1 and to make the whole work simple, I will make use of New Window feature. 

When I click on VIEW > NEW WINDOW, something like this happens

A new window opens up. The original file is renamed 'eg1' while the new file in the new window is named 'eg2'. So, the workbook name is followed by a number, making it easier to access them. 

So have you noticed? You can now bypass a series of CTRL + Page Up or Page Down keystrokes by using this tool! All you need to press is ALT + Tab or CTRL + Tab to shuffle between the two windows!

We can easily perform functions like data comparison or movement of data through the new window.

You can create multiple new windows of a file, however, we recommend current window and one new window to avoid confusion.

For best results, you can use this tool with the View Side by Side (or Arrange all (Horizontally or vertically) as shown below

Different Cell Editing Modes in MS Excel

Do you often face problem 

while editing a large formula in Excel?

                     or

dealing with values in different cells while preparing charts?

The above two problems might look little different, but their solution lies in knowing one very important feature of MS Excel that few have an idea about - Cell editing modes. 

Have you ever noticed a word written on the bottom left corner of the Excel workbook when you open it for the first time? Or when you start writing in a cell? If you haven't done so, try it now. You will be seeing the words 'Ready' and 'Enter' as shown in the screenshots below. 

They show the particular mode the cell is in. 

One beautiful aspect of MS Excel is that it allows users to have a lot of flexibility when it comes to editing and navigating. Now let’s explore how different cell modes help us in editing the data effectively.

Any excel cell can be in one of the three modes – Ready, Edit and Enter & Point. By default an excel cell is always in ready mode. It allows you to enter any data in any cell. This is the first cell mode. Pressing F2 once will change the mode to Edit and doing so twice will lead to the third mode i.e. Enter & Point. Now let us try to understand these modes with the help of an example.

We have a set of data as shown below

We are in the Ready mode and that has allowed us to input the data in various cells.  Now I wish to edit the formula cell (7.9 %). So I click on that cell and then press F2. 

Now we are in the Edit mode and can make any modifications inside the cell. Remember that pressing arrow key won’t take you to the next cell now. Instead, the cursor will keep moving in the same cell. 

Please note that when you are in Edit or Entry mode, most of the tabs and buttons will be disabled. You can use them only when you go back to Ready mode

Now I want to add the value of one more cell in the formula, but I can’t do it in Edit mode as my movement is restricted to the selected cell only. So I will press F2 once more to move to Enter & Point mode. 

Often, while entering a large formula, we need to navigate the whole sheet to add different values. The third mode, Enter & Point, comes handy in situations like these. Now we are ready to navigate the sheet to add the desired value in the formula. 

As I begin to navigate the sheet, the mode changes to Point from Enter. In this mode the particular data cell that you have ‘pointed to’ is shown in dotted lines. For instance in the above example I wish to insert the value of 8 % in the formula and so I have pointed to that cell. 

There are few important points worth noting here. Remember that many keyboard shortcuts don’t work in edit mode. You need to go back to Ready mode for that to happen. Also, you can return to the default mode of Ready from any mode by hitting Esc key. 

In the next article we will learn about new window utlity

How Quick Access Toolbar makes even shortcuts shorter

Now let’s see how Quick Access Toolbar can make some shortcuts redundant with the help of an example. 

In a workplace we often end up getting a file that has been poorly drafted. Before we move on with our work, it becomes necessary to do a bit of formatting and editing on the file. For example, consider the following –

It is clear from the screenshot that we need to adjust the column width to give the data a clean and proper look. Now this can be done in two ways –

a) Adjusting the width by dragging the boundary of the concerned column.

b) Using the following shortcut – ALT > H > O > I

Any of the above will do the job. But you will have to repeat it every time the column or row entries needed adjustment. This is where the quick access toolbar comes handy. All you need to do is add ‘Autofit Column Width’ from the list of commands on the toolbar. 

Now select the concerned column as shown below

Click on the shortcut for Autofit Column Width on the quick access toolbar and voila! Your job is done in a single click. Isn't it wonderful?

Similarly you can shorten several long shortcuts to make your working on Excel even easier and faster.

In our next article we will be learning about different cell editing modes. 

Quick access toolbar utility in MS Office

Have you thought about making a keyboard shortcut shorter? Sounds funny? But it’s true. Quick Access Toolbar allows to you to do just this.

Saving time is one of our foremost objectives while using Microsoft Excel. There are a number of features in MS Excel 2007 and 2010 that help us achieve that. Quick access toolbar is one such wonderful feature.

Often we find that some actions need to be repeated frequently like saving, print preview, opening new file etc. Wouldn't it be better, then, to have the shortcuts to these features right in front of you where you can use them quickly and easily? This can be done through the Quick Access Toolbar.

The Quick Access Toolbar is a customizable toolbar that allows you to store the shortcuts of the commands on the top left corner of Excel workbook. By default you will have few commands on the toolbar. However, you can add more commands to the toolbar by following these easy steps –

1. Click on the down arrow given at the end of the Quick Access Toolbar. A drop-down menu will open. Choose the option ‘More Commands’ from the list

2. A dialog box called ‘Excel Options’ will appear in front of you. 

(Alternative way of opening it in MS Excel 2010 is File Tab >> Options >> Customize Quick Access Toolbar)

3. Click on ‘Customize’ in the left. Another drop down menu will emerge. Select ‘All Commands’ from the options. 

4. You will see a complete list of commands in front of you. You can browse this list tab-wise

5. Select the commands you want on the quick access toolbar and click on ‘Add’. Here we have selected Paste. 

6. Once all the needed commands have been added, click OK. 

7. Shortcuts of all the required commands will now be on toolbar where you can access them quickly. 

8. Note that the order followed here will result in shortcuts accordingly (i.e. ALT > 1, ALT > 2, ALT 3 etc)

In next article we will see how quick access toolbar can make even the use of shortcuts redundant in some case. 

10 important ALT based shortcuts in MS Excel

Shortcut Keys	Description
Alt > A > S	Opens the sort dialogue box
Alt > A > T	Applies filters on data or removes filters
Alt > A > G > G	Groups the data (in rows or columns)
Alt > M > P or Alt > M > D	Traces precedent cells or dependent cells of an active cell
Alt > W > VG	Removes the grid lines from active sheet
Alt >W > F	Freezes/unfreezes view panes.
Alt > H > I > R	Inserts a new row above the current one
Alt > H > O >I	Auto fits the column width to suit the length of text in your column
Alt > H > V > S	Opens the Paste Special dialogue box
Alt > H > 9 or Alt > H > 0	Reduces decimal places or increases decimal places respectively

All versions of MS Office applications have prompted users to use more of the keyboard. If you just press ALT in MS Office application, you will notice that all tabs get highlighted with an alphabet. If you then press any alphabet highlighting a tab, you are directed to that tab and all buttons in that tab now get highlighted with different alphabet or group of alphabets.

For example, if we now press H, we will be seeing the following highlighted tabs on the excel sheet

Just keep on following this path to reach your desired button (or tool) using ALT.

Please note that these shortcuts are not a combination of keys like the CTRL based shortcuts. They are a sequence of keys. i.e. there is no need to juggle around by simultaneously pressing 2 or 3 keys. Instead, after pressing ALT, keys are hit in a sequence(steps) to accomplish a particular function.

E.g. Just press ALT, [leave it], then press M to go to Formulas tab, [leave it]

Doesn't this make life much easier when using ALT shortcuts? Further, you don’t need to remember the shortcuts, as MS Office keeps on prompting you for the next step!! Like this, you can navigate and use all utilities and tools in MS Excel, MS Word or other MS Office applications

Note that with Office 2007 onward, you can create your own shortcuts for tools and buttons that you use frequently! This is possible by customizing the Quick Access Toolbar or Tabs. We’ll cover this in our next article.