Running a Slideshow

PowerPoint offers an enormous—even overwhelming—variety of options to help you run a slideshow. One piece of advice rises above all others: If you’re not sure what to do next during a presentation, right-click the screen. Don’t press Escape. Right-click.

The right-click context menu available from the presentation screen gives you instant access to nearly every option you’ll ever need to run a slideshow. For example, you can jump to any slide if you know the title, move backward, blank the screen, or perform a dozen other important gyrations—even if you don’t remember the shortcut key for a particular obscure option. Unless you need to create a new slide in the middle of your presentation (it happens), right-click to steer your way out of trouble.