Home·Keyboard shortcuts

PowerPoint · Switch between the outline and the thumbnails

Slides

Windows · Linux

Ctrl+Shift+Tab

Mac

Ctrl+Shift+Tab

Both systems use the same combination.

Swaps the left pane between the thumbnails and the outline; in the outline you type titles and bullets as plain text, which is the fastest way to rough out a deck.

Group
Slides
Keys held
3

Half of PowerPoint's shortcuts only listen while the show is running — blanking the screen with B, the laser on Ctrl+L — and in edit view those same keys do something else entirely.

Reading the key names

  • Keys joined by + are pressed together: Ctrl+Shift+P means hold Ctrl and Shift, then P.
  • On a Mac, Cmd is ⌘, Option is ⌥ (labelled Alt on some keyboards), Control is ⌃ and Shift is ⇧.
  • Windows Ctrl usually becomes Cmd on a Mac, but not always — this reference lists both combinations separately.
  • With a Korean, Japanese or Chinese input method active, shortcuts built on letter keys may not fire. Switch to Latin input and try again.
  • When a combination does nothing, another program has often claimed it as a global shortcut first.

Common questions

Q. What is the shortcut for Switch between the outline and the thumbnails in PowerPoint?

Swaps the left pane between the thumbnails and the outline; in the outline you type titles and bullets as plain text, which is the fastest way to rough out a deck. It is Ctrl+Shift+Tab on Windows and Ctrl+Shift+Tab on a Mac.

Q. Is it the same on Windows and Mac?

Yes, Ctrl+Shift+Tab on both.

Q. How many keys is that?

3 pressed together. The combination sits under Slides in PowerPoint.

Shortcuts nearby