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How to Present a PowerPoint Slideshow (w/ Shortcuts)

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• May 11, 2019

There are a variety of ways to start a PowerPoint presention, depending on:

• Where you start your presentation (from beginning or from current)
• Which PowerPoint view you prefer to present in (Slide Show view or Presenter view)
• How comfortable you are with keyboard shortcuts

Why would Microsoft include so many ways to present a presentation? My guess is that everyone learns PowerPoint differently, and has personal presentation styles.  The more options you have, the easier your life will be as there will always be a way to start your presentation the way you want to (or jump back into it when you need to).

See all the options below and find the method that works best for you and let the slide show begin !

NOTE: If you are running two presentations side-by-side, each presentation needs to be started as it’s own slide show. To see how to set up two PowerPoint presentations to run side-by-side like this before you start your slide show, read my guide here .

Table of Contents

Start slide show from beginning.

To start a slideshow from the beginning of your presentation using the ribbon, simply.

• Navigate to the  Slide Show tab
• Select  From Beginning

Selecting  From Beginning  starts your presentation from the very first non-hidden slide in your presentation, regardless of which slide you are currently inside of your deck.

You can also start your slide from the beginning of your presentation by hitting the Slideshow From Beginning keyboard shortcut,  F5 .

Regardless of which method you use, this is the classic way to start your presentation in full screen from your first title slide (regardless of where you are in your slide deck).

Let the slide show begin!

NOTE: To expand your knowledge and learn how to use PowerPoint’s FREE and HIDDEN built-in laser pointer to point things out during your presentation, read my guide here .

Take your PPT skills to the next level

Start slide show from current.

To begin your slide show from the slide you are currently on using the ribbon, simply

• Navigate to the Slide Show tab
• Select  From Current Slide

Selecting From Current Slide starts your slide show from whatever slide you are currently on, even if the slide is hidden.

You can also start your slide from the current slide you are on by hitting the  Shift+F5  keyboard shortcut.

Because it’s often easiest to catch errors when building your slides in this full screen mode, I highly recommend learning the  Shift+F5  shortcut and using it frequently as you build your slides to spot them for errors.

If you don’t want to bother learning the From Current Slide shortcut, you can also start your slideshow by clicking the  Slide Show  icon at the bottom of your screen.

This is a fantastic way to spot check your slides as you are building them. On top of that, it’s a fast and uncomplicated way to re-start your presentation from where you left off after demoing something on screen.

Start a mini-slide show in PowerPoint

You can also use the following hidden PowerPoint shortcut to run a mini slide show over the top of your current deck.

To run a mini slide show, simply:

• Hold down the  Alt key  on your keyboard
• With your mouse, click the  Slide Show  icon

Doing so starts a small slide show of your presentation that you can see below, from the current slide you are on.

Presenter View

The Presenter View is an alternate way to run your presentation in PowerPoint. In this view, your slides are projected on screen, and the details of your presentation are displayed on your computer as pictured below.

The presenter view includes your next (non-hidden) slides that is coming up, your current slide projected on screen, how long you’ve been talking and your speaker notes.

To launch the  Presenter View  from the beginning of your presentation using your Ribbon, simply:

• Navigate to the  Slide Show  tab
• Hold down the  Alt key on  your keyboard
• Click  From Beginning

Holding down the  Alt key  and clicking  From Beginning , the Presenter View will launch from the very first (non-hidden) slide in your presentation.

You can also launch the presenter view from the beginning of your presentation at any time by clicking Alt + F5  on your keyboard.

Start Presenter View in PowerPoint From Current Slide

Did you know that you can access different views in PowerPoint by adding keys as you click commands in the PowerPoint ribbon?

To start the Presenter view from your current slide using your Ribbon, simply:

• Hold down the Alt key on your keyboard
• Click  From Current Slide

Holding the Alt key and clicking From Current Slide launches the Presenter View from your current slide. So, this is another way you can quickly practice your presentation, see your speaker notes and see what’s coming up next.

You can also launch the Presenter View from the beginning of your presentation at any time by hitting Alt+F5 on your keyboard.

Showing and Hiding Presenter View

Regardless of which view you start your PowerPoint slide show; you can switch between the two different slide show views without exiting presentation.

To switch between the two slideshow views (while giving your presentation), simply:

• Right-click your slide in whichever presentation view you are currently in
• Select either Show Presenter View or Hide Presenter View

When would you use a feature like this during a presentation? One example is if you want to view your notes without leaving the slide show mode.

NOTE: The letter r  for both  Show Presenter View  and  Hide Presenter View  is underlined. This means that it is a keyboard shortcut. So, if you want to quickly flip between these two presentation views, you can simply right-click your slide and hit the letter r on your keyboard. Doing so automatically switches the view you are in.

Controlling how your presentation runs

Another way to control how your presentation runs (including the default laser pointer and pen color), is the Set Up Slide Show dialog box.

To open the  Set Up Slide Show  dialog box, simply:

• Select the  Set Up Slide Show  command

Doing so, opens all your PowerPoint slide show settings and options as pictured below.

Inside the slide show settings dialog box, you can select:

• How your presentation runs (full screen, window or in kiosk mode).
• Your default pen and laser pointer color options ( see our laser pointer article here ).
• Which slide you want start from, or which slides you want to show. You can also setup a custom show here.
• How your slides progress (manually or using slide timings).
• Which of your computer monitors (or screens) your slide show runs on.

The  Set Up Slide Show dialog box is also the secret to running multiple presentations at the same time in PowerPoint. To expand your knowledge and learn how to set this up, read our guide here .

Setup Slide Show SECRET Shortcut

To use the SECRET shortcut to open the Set Up Slide Show dialog box, simply:

• Hold down the Shift key on your keyboard
• With your mouse, click the Reading View icon at the bottom of your screen

This is useful when you need to quickly cycle through lots of PowerPoint presentations and change how those presentations run. Instead of wasting time clicking through the Ribbon, simply hold the Shift key and click the  Reading View icon. This is also a friendly conversation starter with a fellow PowerPoint enthusiast at Happy Hour.

NOTE: The color of your Reading View icon might be different than in the picture above, as it is dependent on the Office Theme you selected for PowerPoint.

How to exit a PowerPoint presentation early?

Regardless of how you start your full screen presentation, you can end your presentation at any time by hitting the Esc key on your keyboard.

Hitting  Esc  immediately takes you out of the   PowerPoint presentation mode and back to the normal editing view of your slides, on whatever slide you were last presenting.

Here is how you can use a combination of all the different keyboard shortcuts to spot check and practice your presentation in full screen before you finalize your presentation.

• Hit  F5  on your keyboard to   start your presentation in full screen from the very first slide in your presentation. You can then use your arrow keys to advance, spot checking your slides for errors.
• When you find an error, simply hit  Esc  key to return to the normal PowerPoint editing view to fix your slide.
• When you are done, hit  Shift + F5  to return the full screen presentation mode from the slide you just updated. You can then continue spot checking your presentation (without having to start over from the beginning).

In this way you can quickly work your way through your slides and practice your presentation, fixing and adjusting your content as you go.

Understanding how to run your presentations is CRITICAL to the success of your presentation. Not only in presenting them live, but also in knowing how to spot check your slides as you build them.

I personally find it easiest to spot check your slides and quickly fix errors by running your presentation in slide show mode (or full screen). The last place you want to discover an error is during your presentation.

Using the commands and shortcuts above, you can quickly start, exit and step back into your slide show. Once you have these commands and features down, you will also look like a whiz during your presentations.

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How to Use the Presenter View in Google Slides

Google Slides, like PowerPoint, has different presentation modes that can come in handy when you’re presenting and you want your slideshow to look smooth. Whether you’re looking for slides only, speaker notes or the Q&A feature, in this new Google Slides tutorial, you’ll learn about these and their respective settings. Ready? Then let’s explore the presenter view! 

Types of presentation modes in Google Slides

Presenter view, start from beginning, present on another screen.

There are three presentation modes in Google Slides. 

If you click the “Slideshow” button or press Ctrl/Cmd + F5, your presentation will start directly without any speaker notes. This is the most widely used and the simplest option.

Next to the “Slideshow” button, there’s a drop-down arrow. Click on it to see the different presentation modes:

In this mode, you’ll be able to see the speaker notes, check the timer and adjust other settings, such as questions from the audience. For more information about the speaker notes, please refer to this  Google Slides tutorial .

To view the different tools, after clicking “Presenter View”, move your mouse to the lower left-hand corner of the screen. You’ll see the slide number, previous and next slide arrows and three dots. Click on the dots and here are your options:

Open speaker notes

This enables the speaker notes and makes them visible. If you click this button, you might exit fullscreen mode. To go back to fullscreen, press Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + F or click the “Fullscreen” button. For more information, please refer to this  Google Slides tutorial .

Turn on the laser pointer

You’ll see a red dot on the screen, which you can move around to point out any element from your presentation.

Full screen

Click this button (or press Ctrl+Shift+F) to enter or exit fullscreen mode.

Click this button to finish the presentation or just press Esc.

If you click on “Auto-play,” more options will appear: Click “Play” and the slides will advance automatically (by default, every two seconds, but there are other options available. You can also choose to play the slideshow on a loop).

Captions preferences

If you have a mic set up, you can enable captions. Click the drop-down arrow to adjust the size of the text and its position on the screen.

If you click on “more”, you can enable the Audience Q&A panel by clicking on the first option that appears. For more information, please refer to this  Google Slides tutorial .

More: Downloads, printing, info and options

Under the “More” tab, you can also choose different download formats for your slideshow or print it out. This tab also contains a handy list of keyboard shortcuts (if you prefer handling keys to using your mouse) and the possibility to report problems. 

Your presentation will begin from the first slide (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + F5).

Your presentation will be shown on a different screen via a media display device, such as Chromecast. This option will be available only if there’s another screen available. 

Now you’ve mastered the presenter view in Google Slides, which, with a bit of practice, will be a game-changer! Not only will it make you look like a presentation pro, but it will also streamline the process of nailing those crucial talking points. So go out there and strut your stuff – with presenter view on your side, you are unstoppable!  And if you’ve found this tutorial helpful, check out more of them on   our blog !

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Present during a video meeting

Calling is available in the new Meet app. Get started with calling in Google Meet to stay connected with friends and family .

• When using Google Workspace, you can  hold large remote events .
• Workspace organizations with admin capabilities can switch this feature on or off for the entire organization.
• On your computer, when you click Present before you join a meeting, you join in Companion mode. When you use this option, your mic and speaker are unavailable.

Learn more about Google Meet settings for admins .

Join a Meet video meeting . At the bottom, click Present now . Select Your entire screen, A window , or A tab . If you present a Chrome tab, it shares that tab's audio by default. To present a different tab, select the tab you want to present, click Share this tab instead . If you present a Slides presentation through a tab, you can control it in Meet . Click Share. Optional: To unpin your presentation and view it as a tile, click Unpin . See how to un-pin a presentation in Google Meet using Google Workspace for business You can now see more participants while you present.

• If your camera is turned on, your video is active while you're presenting.
• For better presentations and to prevent mirroring, share a new window or a specific tab instead of the meeting window.
• To share your audio, you must select Share a Chrome tab or Share this tab.

Stop presenting

• In the Meet window, click Stop Presenting .

Present if someone else is already presenting

• At the bottom, click Present now .
• Select Your entire screen , A window, or Chrome Tab.
• Select Present instead .

Control Slides presentations in Google Meet

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If you’re using Google Meet on an eligible work or school account, you can control Google Slides presentations from within a Google Meet video meeting. You can also make other people in the video meeting co-presenters.

Important : To control a Google Slides presentation from a Google Meet video meeting, you must use a computer with a Chrome browser.

• In a Chrome tab or window, open the Slides file you want to present.
• In a different Chrome window, open Google Meet and join a video meeting.

• You can either present from the Google Meet tab, or present directly from the Slides tab .
• Select the tab with the Slides presentation, then click Share .
• Important: You can only control a presentation in Google Meet when you're in slideshow mode.
• Click to the next or previous slide with the arrow buttons.
• Jump to a specific slide by clicking the slide number, and choosing from the list of slides.

Present to Google Meet from Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides

Share files you present.

As you present, you can share access to the file when someone needs it. You can only share Docs, Sheets, or Slides files.

Important: To see share suggestions, you must use the Chrome or Edge browser and not be in Incognito mode.

• A sharing suggestion only appears if you select “Present a tab” as the sharing mode.
• You can grant access to the file and attach the file to the meeting’s Calendar event.
• You shared the file.
• The link is shared in the meeting’s chat.

Share during the presentation

• If all participants have access to the file, the link is shared in the Meet chat and attached to the Calendar event.
• If a participant doesn’t have access to the file, you’re notified with a pop-up. Click Share in Meet chat .
• The file is shared in the Meet chat and attached to the Calendar event.

Tip: To not attach a file to an event, in the pop-up, uncheck “Attach the file to the Calendar event.”

Share in Meet chat

• If all participants have access to the file, the link appears in the Meet chat.

• The file is shared in the Meet chat.

Need more help?

Try these next steps:.

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