Clever Clogs tip # 705
23 June 2022


Keyboard shortcut to edit and format text in a shape (Microsoft PowerPoint) *

Following the recent shortcut of the week (F2) - inspired by Richard who brought his own laptop to our one-to-one Excel training session and had to get used to the fact that Rename wasn't listed in the right-click menu - I found out from comments on LinkedIn that you can also use F2 in PowerPoint to toggle between Shapes and Shapes text.

First of all, can I make sure you all know that you can easily add text to shapes, such as circles and squares... just start typing. No need to right-click the shape or add a Text Box inside the shape. But if you want to edit or format the text, simply use F2.

Here's how:

  1. Click the shape containing the text you want to edit or format.
  2. Press F2 and overtype the text or press one of the arrows on your keyboard to go into edit mode.
  3. Apply the formatting of your choice.
  4. Press F2 again to toggle back to the shape if you want to change its formatting.
  5. Press the Esc key twice to unselect the shape.

Related tips

Last week's CleverClogsTipTime on LinkedIn, in case you missed it:

K.

PS Looking for 1:1 training like Richard? Drop me a line! Just 90 pounds per hour.


* Unless stated otherwise this tip is written for Microsoft 365 desktop apps and Windows 10 users, but might also be useful in Office 2010, 2013 and 2016.