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Apple Keynote Keyboard Shortcuts for iPad

Keyboard shortcuts for Apple Keynote on iPad. Navigate slides, edit objects, and control presentations using an external keyboard on iPad.
Key label style

General

Create a new presentation (open the theme chooser)
Cmd+N
Open the document manager
Cmd+O
Play a presentation
Cmd+Opt+P
Show or hide presenter notes
Cmd+Shift+P
Enter or exit Edit Slide Layout view
Cmd+Shift+E
Add a new slide layout (from Edit Slide Layout view)
Cmd+Shift+N
Copy
Cmd+C
Paste
Cmd+V
Paste and match the style of the destination text
Cmd+Opt+Shift+V
Undo
Cmd+Z
Redo
Cmd+Shift+Z
Zoom in
Cmd+Shift+.
Zoom out
Cmd+Shift+,
Add a comment
Cmd+Shift+K
Save a comment
Cmd+Return
Show the Find window
Cmd+F
Select the text in the Find field (while in the Find window)
Cmd+F
Find next (while in the Find window)
Cmd+G
Find previous (while in the Find window)
Cmd+Shift+G
Jump to a selection in a presentation
Cmd+J
Show or hide outline view
Cmd+Shift+O
Show or hide animation options
Cmd+Opt+A

Use the slide navigator

Add a new slide
Cmd+Shift+N
Duplicate the selected slide
Cmd+D
or
Opt+Drag
Indent the selected slide to the right
Tab
Move the indented slide to the left
Shift+Tab
Skip the slide so it doesn’t show in a presentation, or show a slide that’s skipped
Cmd+Shift+H

Play a presentation

Play a presentation
Cmd+Opt+P
Advance to the next slide or build
DownRight
Go to previous slide
UpLeft
Advance to the next build or slide without animation
Shift+Right
Advance to the next slide without builds and animations
Shift+DownPg Dn
Show or hide presenter notes
Cmd+Shift+P
Go back to previous build
Shift+LeftPg Up
Go back through previously viewed slides
Z
Pause the presentation
F
Pause the presentation and show a black screen
B
Pause the presentation and show a white screen
W
Quit presentation mode
Esc
or
Q

Format text

Increase text size
Cmd+=
Decrease text size
Cmd+-
Apply boldface to selected text
Cmd+B
Apply italic to selected text
Cmd+I
Apply underline to selected text
Cmd+U
Make the text superscript
Cmd+Ctrl+=
Make the text subscript
Cmd+Ctrl+-
Turn text or an object into a link
Cmd+K
Decrease the indent level of a block of text or a list item
Cmd+[
Increase the indent level of a block of text or a list item
Cmd+]
Copy the paragraph or object style
Cmd+Opt+C
Paste the paragraph or object style
Cmd+Opt+V
Insert a tab in text or a formula
Opt+Tab

Move, group, and layer objects

Group the selected objects
Cmd+Opt+G
Ungroup the selected objects
Cmd+Opt+Shift+G
Lock the selected object
Cmd+L
Unlock the selected object
Cmd+Opt+L
Duplicate the selected object
Cmd+D
or
Opt+Drag
or
Opt+UpDownLeftRight
Move the selected object one point
UpDownLeftRight
Move the selected object ten points
Shift+UpDownLeftRight
Move the selected object to the back
Cmd+Shift+B
Move the selected object to the front
Cmd+Shift+F
Move the selected object backward
Cmd+Opt+Shift+B
Move the selected object forward
Cmd+Opt+Shift+F

Work with charts and tables

Insert a paragraph break when editing text in a cell
Return
Insert a tab in text or a formula
Opt+Tab
Specify absolute and relative attributes of selected cell referencesPress to move forward or backward through options.
Cmd+K
or
Cmd+Shift+K
Open the Chart Data Editor
Cmd+Shift+D
Insert an equation
Cmd+Opt+E
Add or remove the top table border
Cmd+Ctrl+Opt+Up
Add or remove the bottom table border
Cmd+Ctrl+Opt+Down
Add or remove the right table border
Cmd+Ctrl+Opt+Right
Add or remove the left table border
Cmd+Ctrl+Opt+Left
In a table, add rows above the selected cells
Opt+Up
In a table, add rows below the selected cells
Opt+Down
In a table, add columns to the right of the selected cells
Opt+Right
In a table, add columns to the left of the selected cells
Opt+Left
In a table, select the first populated cell in the current row
Cmd+Opt+Left
In a table, select the last populated cell in the current row
Cmd+Opt+Right
In a table, select the first populated cell in the current column
Cmd+Opt+Up
In a table, select the last populated cell in the current column
Cmd+Opt+Down
Delete selected rows
Cmd+Opt+Del
Delete selected columns
Cmd+Ctrl+Del
Select the table name
Shift+Tab
Select the first cell in a selected table
Return
In a table, expand the current selection to include the first populated cell in the current row
Cmd+Opt+Shift+Left
In a table, expand the current selection to include the last populated cell in the current row
Cmd+Opt+Shift+Right
In a table, expand the current selection to include the first populated cell in the current column
Cmd+Opt+Shift+Up
In a table, expand the current selection to include the last populated cell in the current column
Cmd+Opt+Shift+Down
In a table, merge selected cells
Cmd+Ctrl+M
In a table, unmerge selected cells
Cmd+Ctrl+Shift+M

Use Light Table view

Show or hide the light table
Cmd+Shift+L
Move to the next slide
Right
Move to the previous slide
Left
Duplicate the selected slide
Cmd+D
or
Opt+Drag
Extend the selection to the next slide
Shift+Right
Extend the selection to the previous slide
Shift+Left
Extend the selection to the first slide
Cmd+Shift+Up
Extend the selection to the last slide
Cmd+Shift+Down
Select the first slide
Cmd+Up
Select the last slide
Cmd+Down

Intro

Keynote on iPad has broader keyboard shortcut support than on iPhone, reflecting that iPad is a more practical presentation device. With a Magic Keyboard, Smart Keyboard Folio, or Bluetooth keyboard attached, the core Keynote workflow, building slides, editing objects, and delivering presentations, is accessible without switching to touch.

iPad-specific shortcut notes

External keyboard required. Keynote's keyboard shortcuts on iPad activate with a physical keyboard connected. Apple's Magic Keyboard for iPad (with trackpad) and Smart Keyboard Folio are the most common choices; any Bluetooth keyboard also works.

Command modifier. Keynote on iPad uses Command (⌘) as its primary modifier, following iPadOS keyboard conventions.

Slide navigation and management. Moving between slides, creating new slides, and reordering them in the navigator are keyboard-accessible on iPad.

Object editing. Selecting, moving, and adjusting objects on a slide using keyboard shortcuts. The available object editing shortcut set on iPad is a subset of the Mac version, the most common operations are covered.

Presentation delivery. Starting the slideshow, advancing through slides and animations, going back, and ending the presentation are all keyboard-accessible on iPad. This makes iPad a practical presentation device when connected to an external display.

Stage Manager. iPadOS 16 and later supports Stage Manager for multitasking with multiple windows. Stage Manager keyboard shortcuts are handled at the iPadOS system level rather than within Keynote itself, the [macOS 26 Tahoe shortcuts →] page notes the system-level context for these kinds of multitasking shortcuts.

Discovering shortcuts. Holding Command on a connected keyboard in Keynote for iPad shows the available shortcuts overlay for the current context.

Printable PDF

The Keynote iPad shortcut list is available as a printable PDF. The presentation delivery shortcuts are worth reviewing before using iPad as your presentation device.

FAQ

Need more than shortcuts?
Visit the Apple Keynote app page for an overview and helpful links.

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