Bring an object to the front in Keynote
02/04/2012
In Keynote, select an object on a slide then press Shift-Command-F to bring it to the front.
Constrain the aspect ratio when resizing an object in Keynote
01/25/2012
In Keynote, to constrain the aspect ratio when resizing an object, hold Shift while dragging its resize handle.
Move to the first slide when editing in Keynote
01/22/2012
In Keynote, in slide navigator or light table view, press Command-Up Arrow to move to the first slide in the presentation.
Adjust the size of an image, text box, chart, or shape in Keynote
12/01/2011
In Keynote on a Mac with a Multi-Touch trackpad, to increase or decrease the size of an image, text box, chart, or shape, select it then pinch open or closed.
Select non-continuous blocks of text on a Keynote slide
11/13/2011
In Keynote, to select words or phrases that are not next to each other in the same text box on a slide, press and hold the Command key while selecting them.
See a preview of builds on a slide in Keynote
11/06/2011
In Keynote, after adding a build to a slide, click the slide's thumbnail in the Build Inspector window to see a preview of how the build will look.
Group or ungroup multiple objects on a slide in Keynote
10/27/2011
In Keynote, after selecting multiple objects on a slide, press Option-Command-G to group them, or press Option-Shift-Command-G to ungroup them.
Quickly show a black screen in Keynote
10/08/2011
In Keynote, press “b” on your keyboard while delivering a presentation to pause the presentation and show a black screen.
Play a slideshow from the beginning in Keynote
09/03/2011
In Keynote, to play a slideshow from the very beginning, even if another slide is currently selected, Option-click the Play button in the toolbar.
Change the size of selected text in Keynote
07/31/2011
In Keynote on a Mac with a Multi-Touch trackpad, select text on a slide then pinch open or closed to quickly increase or decrease its size.
Save a custom theme in Keynote
07/21/2011
In Keynote, to save a custom theme, creating a brand new theme with any master slide changes made to the current one, do File> Save Theme.
Show the slide switcher when scrolling in Keynote
07/15/2011
In Keynote, to have the slide switcher appear when you scroll during a slideshow, do Keynote> Preferences> Slideshow> Show slide switcher when scrolling.
Quickly make slides from photos in Keynote
07/05/2011
In Keynote, drag and drop photos from the Photos Media Browser into the Navigator or Light Table to quickly make new slides centered with each photo.
Send an object to the back in Keynote
06/26/2011
In Keynote, select an object on a slide then press Shift-Command-B to send it to the back.
Always save media files into slideshows in Keynote
06/20/2011
In Keynote, to always save media files into slideshows when saved, do Keynote> Preferences> General> Saving> Copy audio and movies into document.
Jump to the beginning or end of a QuickTime movie in Keynote
06/03/2011
In Keynote, when playing a QuickTime movie in a slideshow, press "I" to jump back to the beginning of the movie, or press "O" to jump to the end.
Jump to the first or last slide in a Keynote presentation
05/19/2011
In Keynote, when delivering a slideshow, press Fn-Left Arrow to jump to your first slide or press Fn-Right Arrow to jump to your last.
Automatically backup presentations when saving in Keynote
05/03/2011
In Keynote, to automatically backup the last saved version of a presentation, do Keynote> Preferences> General and select "Back up previous version".
Add a soundtrack to a Keynote slideshow
04/20/2011
In Keynote, to play a song throughout a slideshow, do View> Show Inspector> Document inspector> Audio, then drag a song into the Soundtrack well.
Select items on a slide in Keynote
04/05/2011
In Keynote, after selecting an item on a slide's canvas, press Tab or Shift-Tab to automatically select the next or previous item on the slide.
Edit a shape placed on a slide in Keynote
03/27/2011
In Keynote, after placing a shape on a slide, to edit it, select the shape and choose Format> Shape> Make Editable, then drag the red points to reshape it.
Auto-shrink placeholder text in a theme in Keynote
03/19/2011
In Keynote, to make placeholder text in a theme automatically shrink to match the size of its text box, Control-click the text box and choose "Auto-shrink Text".
Rotate an object in 45-degree increments in Keynote
03/12/2011
In Keynote, when rotating an object on a slide, press the Shift key to rotate the object in fixed, 45-degree increments.
Scale slides up during playback in Keynote
03/05/2011
In Keynote, to scale slides up to fit the resolution of the projector during playback, do Keynote> Preferences> Slideshow> Scale slides up to fit display.
Rotate an object in Keynote
02/26/2011
When using Keynote on a Mac with a Multi-Touch trackpad, select an object and do a two-finger rotate, to rotate it around the center.
See a preview of a slide transition in Keynote
02/15/2011
In Keynote, after adding a transition to a slide, click the slide's thumbnail in the Inspector window to see a preview of how the transition will look.
Reduce the file size of images in Keynote
02/05/2011
In Keynote, to reduce the file size of an individual image placed on a slide, click the image to select it, then do Format> Image> Reduce Image File Size.
Swap cell values within a table in Keynote
01/05/2011
In Keynote, to swap cell values within a table, select a cell (or several adjacent cells) then drag and drop the selection to the destination cell.
Insert a new slide after the selected slide in Keynote
12/27/2010
In the navigator or light table view in Keynote, select a slide and press Return to insert one new slide after the selected slide.
Put a picture frame around an object on a slide in Keynote
12/08/2010
In Keynote, to put a picture frame around an image, text box or shape on a slide, select it, then do View> Show Inspector> Graphic> Stroke> Picture Frame.
Turn off automatic downsampling of images in Keynote
11/28/2010
To stop Keynote from scaling down images when placed on slides, do Keynote> Preferences> General and uncheck "Reduce placed images to fit on slides".
Automatically underline hyperlinks in Keynote
11/17/2010
In Keynote, to automatically underline hyperlinks as they are created, do Keynote> Preferences> Auto-Correction> Underline text hyperlinks on creation.
Extract an image from a slide in Keynote
11/02/2010
To extract an image from a Keynote slide, click the image to select it, then go to Inspector> Metrics and drag the image's thumbnail icon to your desktop.
Open photos in iPhoto from within the Media Browser in Keynote
10/15/2010
When browsing photos using the Media Browser in Keynote, to open a photo in iPhoto, Control-click it and choose "Open in iPhoto" from the menu.
Edit individual objects within a group in Keynote
10/07/2010
When working with grouped objects on a slide in Keynote, double-click an individual object in the group to select it, resize it, move it, etc.
Scroll through your notes when delivering a Keynote slideshow
09/29/2010
When delivering a slideshow using the Presenter Display feature in Keynote, press "u" or "d" on your keyboard to scroll up or down through your notes.
Move to the last slide when editing in Keynote
09/22/2010
In Keynote, in slide navigator or light table view, press Command-Down Arrow to move to the last slide in the presentation.
Indent slides in the Keynote slide navigator
09/11/2010
In the Keynote slide navigator, select a slide then press the Tab key to indent it right or, to move an indented slide left, press Shift-Tab.
Go to the beginning or end of a QuickTime movie in Keynote
08/20/2010
When playing a QuickTime movie on a Keynote slide, press "i" on your keyboard to jump to the beginning of the movie or press "o" to jump to the end.
Hide or show the mouse pointer in a Keynote slideshow
08/03/2010
When playing a slideshow in Keynote, press the "C" key on your Mac's keyboard to hide or show the mouse pointer on the screen.
Record your voice delivering a Keynote presentation
07/24/2010
To record your voice delivering a Keynote presentation, do Play> Record Slideshow. Once recorded, to play it back, do Play> Play Slideshow.
Duplicate a slide in a Keynote slideshow
07/19/2010
To duplicate a slide in a Keynote slideshow, press and hold Option while dragging the slide's thumbnail in the Navigator, Outline or Light Table.
Reduce the file size of a Keynote slideshow document
07/13/2010
In Keynote '09, to make a slideshow document a smaller file, compress the media contained within it by doing File> Reduce File Size.
Swap the primary and presenter displays in Keynote
07/05/2010
While delivering a Keynote presentation with your Mac connected to, but not mirroring, an external display, type "X" to swap the primary and presenter screens.
Draw a line connecting two objects in Keynote
06/28/2010
In Keynote '09, to draw a line connecting two or more objects on a slide, select each object you want to connect, then do Insert > Connection Line.
Control a movie playing on a slide in Keynote
06/20/2010
In Keynote, when playing a QuickTime movie inserted on a slide, press "k" on your keyboard to pause the movie, "j" to rewind and "l" to fast forward.
Turn off the yellow alignment guides in Keynote
06/06/2010
In Keynote '09, press and hold the Command key while dragging an object to temporarily turn off the built-in yellow alignment guides.
Adjust the size of thumbnails in the Keynote Theme Chooser
05/25/2010
In the Theme Chooser in Keynote '09, to increase or decrease the size of the thumbnail preview, adjust the slider at the bottom of the window.
Show older animations in Keynote
05/19/2010
To make older animations such as "Confetti" and "Droplet" available in Keynote, do Preferences> General> Include obsolete animations.
Quickly show a white screen in Keynote
05/01/2010
In Keynote, press “w” on your keyboard while delivering a presentation to pause the presentation and show a white screen.
Quickly show (or hide) slide numbers on all slides in Keynote
04/17/2010
In Keynote '09, do Slide> Show Slide Numbers on All Slides to show (or hide) slide numbers on every slide in your presentation.
Quickly hide a running Keynote presentation
03/25/2010
When presenting with Keynote, hit "h" to hide your presentation and switch to the last app used. To resume your show, click the Keynote icon in your dock.
Set a Keynote presentation to automatically start playing
03/15/2010
To set a Keynote presentation to automatically start playing when it is opened, do Inspector > Document > Automatically play upon open.
Use your keyboard to move an object in Keynote
03/02/2010
To move an object (text, image, etc.) in Keynote by 1 pixel, select it, then press an arrow key on your keyboard. To move it by 10 pixels, do Shift + arrow.
Require password to exit a running Keynote presentation
02/19/2010
To require a password to exit a running Keynote presentation, do Inspector > Document > Require password to exit show.
Preview themes in Keynote '09
02/03/2010
When browsing themes with the new Theme Chooser in Keynote '09, hover your mouse over one to preview all slides in that theme.
Easily move objects in Keynote
01/31/2010
To move an object (text, image, etc.) in Keynote by 1 pixel, select it and hit an arrow. To move it 10 pixels, do Shift+arrow.
Add or delete rows or columns in a table in Keynote
01/27/2010
In Keynote, to add or delete rows or columns in a table, select any cell then Control-click the cell again and choose an option from the pop-up menu.
Turn font previews on or off in Keynote '09
01/22/2010
When using the Format Bar in Keynote '09 press the Option key then click the font list to toggle the font previews on or off.
