How-to · PowerPoint for Mac
How to use Presenter View in PowerPoint on Mac: step by step for Microsoft 365
To use Presenter View in PowerPoint on Mac, open your deck in desktop PowerPoint and choose Slide Show > Presenter View. With a second display connected and the desktop extended, your notes and timer stay on your screen while the audience sees only the slides.
Quick answer
- Start it with Slide Show > Presenter View, or press ⌥ Return to begin in Presenter View.
- Extend the desktop first. Clear Mirror Displays on the Arrangement tab so the second screen can show its own view.
- Press ⌘ Return to start from the current slide, or ⌘ ⇧ Return to start from the beginning.
- Click Use Slide Show to put the show on both screens, and Swap Displays if the screens are reversed.
- The shortcuts need macOS 10.15 or later and keyboard navigation turned on. The web version has no Presenter View.
What you need
- PowerPoint for Microsoft 365, 2024 or 2021 for Mac, opened as the desktop app
- macOS 10.15 or later for the Presenter View keyboard shortcuts
- A second display or projector connected, if the room needs its own screen
- Keyboard navigation turned on for the shortcuts
How to Use Presenter View in PowerPoint on Mac in PowerPoint on a Mac
Extend the desktop to your second display
Open the Apple menu and choose System Preferences, then Displays. Click the Arrangement tab. Clear the Mirror Displays check box so the second screen shows its own area of the desktop.
Tip: Current macOS puts the same panel under System Settings. Look for Displays, then the Arrangement tab.
Open the deck in desktop PowerPoint
Open the presentation in the PowerPoint app on your Mac, not in a browser tab. Scroll through the slides and check the notes, embedded videos and any linked files before the audience arrives.
Tip: The web version of PowerPoint does not offer Presenter View, so the Mac app is the only route.
Start Presenter View from the Slide Show tab
⌥ Return
Click the Slide Show tab in the ribbon, then choose Presenter View. Your presenter screen opens with the current slide, the next slide, your notes and the timer.
Tip: Press ⌥ Return instead if you want to skip the menu.
Start from the slide you are on
⌘ Return
Select the slide you want to begin with in the thumbnail pane, then press ⌘ Return. The show starts at that slide.
Tip: Press ⌘ ⇧ Return to start from the beginning instead.
Put the show on both screens if you need to
During the show, click Use Slide Show at the top of the Presenter View window. Both screens then display the slide show, so the room and you see the same slide.
Tip: Use it when you want both screens to show the slides.
Swap the displays if they are reversed
Click Swap Displays at the top left of Presenter View. The controls move to the other screen, so check the layout before you start talking.
Tip: Check it with the projector on, not after you have started.
Turn on Keep Slides Updated
Before you present, open the Slide Show tab and select Keep Slides Updated. During the show, you can also use the three-dot More slide show options menu in Presenter View.
Tip: Turn it on before the talk so it is already set when you need it.
Black out the screen when you need silence
B
Press b to black out the screen. Press b again to bring the slide back. Use this when a discussion runs long and the audience does not need to watch the slides.
Tip: The same key brings the slide back, so you do not need to find the menu.
Mark up slides with the pen or laser
⌘ P
Press ⌘ P for the pen, ⌘ L for the laser pointer, or ⌘ A for the arrow. Press ⌘ I to hide the pointer, and ⇧ E to erase your annotations.
Tip: Press Esc to turn off the pen, laser or highlighter before you go back to slides.
End the show cleanly
Esc
Press Esc, the hyphen key or ⌘ Period to end the show. Check the last slide of the deck before you close the file, so the next speaker does not inherit your markup.
Tip: If an annotation is still on screen, press ⇧ E first to erase it.
Presenter View is a second screen that only you see. It shows the slide on screen, the next slide, your speaker notes and a timer. The audience sees only the slide show. That split is the point. You can read your notes without the room seeing them.
What you need before you present
Check the setup the day before the talk, not five minutes before it starts. Microsoft's Mac help page covers PowerPoint for Microsoft 365, PowerPoint 2024 and PowerPoint 2021 for Mac. It does not list 2019 or 2016 for Mac, so test those on your own machine first. The page also gives no minimum macOS version for Presenter View itself.
- PowerPoint for Microsoft 365, 2024 or 2021 for Mac, opened as the desktop app.
- macOS 10.15 or later if you want to use the Presenter View keyboard shortcuts.
- A second display or projector, if the room needs its own screen.
- Keyboard navigation turned on, which the shortcuts also depend on.
How to set up Presenter View on a second monitor
Presenter View needs its own screen, so your desktop has to be extended, not mirrored. Mirroring copies one screen onto the other, so both screens show the same thing. On Microsoft's older naming, open Apple menu > System Preferences > Displays, then the Arrangement tab. Current macOS calls the same panel System Settings, so look for Displays there.
Start Presenter View from the Slide Show tab
Once the displays are extended, open the deck and go to the Slide Show tab. Presenter View is the option that puts your controls on one screen and the slides on the other. Start there the first time, so you see how the two screens behave before anyone is watching. Run a short test with a few slides before you open the real deck.
Turn off automatic Presenter View
Newer versions of PowerPoint for Mac can detect a second display and turn on Presenter View by themselves, according to Indezine. That is handy when you want the full setup. It gets in the way when you plug into a TV to show a plain slide show. The setting lives in PowerPoint > Preferences > Output and Sharing > Slide Show. Clear Always start Presenter View with 2 displays to stop the automatic start. You can switch it back on the same way.
Presenter View keyboard shortcuts on Mac
Shortcuts are faster than the ribbon once you know them. Microsoft lists them on its keyboard shortcut page. The Presenter View shortcuts need macOS 10.15 (Catalina) or later, and they only work when keyboard navigation is turned on. To turn that on, go to System Preferences > Keyboard > Shortcuts, then select Use keyboard navigation to move focus between controls.
| Keys | What it does |
|---|---|
| ⌥ Return | Start the show in Presenter View |
| ⌘ Return | Start from the current slide |
| ⌘ ⇧ Return | Start from the beginning |
| ⌘ L | Turn on the laser pointer |
| ⌘ P | Turn on the pen |
| ⌘ A | Turn on the arrow pointer |
| ⌘ I | Hide the pointer |
| ⇧ E | Erase your on-screen annotations |
| Esc | End the show |
Inside Presenter View, Tab and Shift+Tab move focus between controls, and Spacebar activates the control in focus. Control+Tab moves focus to the next control in the Notes pane. These keys only behave this way with keyboard navigation turned on, so set that first.
10.15
Lowest macOS version Microsoft lists for the Presenter View keyboard shortcuts
Use keyboard shortcuts to deliver PowerPoint presentations (Microsoft Support)16.114.3
Latest PowerPoint for Mac version in Microsoft's release notes, dated Oct 27 2026
Release notes for Office for Mac (Microsoft Learn)Nov 2026
Planned general availability for the modernized Mac Presenter View, status In development
RM577179, PowerPoint: Present with ease using a modernized Presenter ViewPen and laser pointer during a show
Pressing b blacks out the screen. Press it again to bring the slide back. That is the quickest way to hand the room to a discussion without losing your place. The pen, laser and highlighter are the tools you reach for while you talk, and Esc turns them off. Esc also ends the show, so check which tool is active before you press it.
Use Slide Show and Swap Displays
Sometimes the room needs both screens to show the slides. Click Use Slide Show at the top of the Presenter View window, and both screens switch to the slide show. Use Swap Displays at the top left when the screens sit the wrong way round, for example when a projector is to the left of your laptop. Swap Displays moves Presenter View to the other screen, so you can reach your controls without turning around.
Keep Slides Updated for last-minute edits
Keep Slides Updated makes the show follow changes you make in the deck while it runs. Turn it on from the Slide Show tab before you present. You can also turn it on during the show from the three-dot More slide show options menu in Presenter View. Set it before the talk if you expect last-minute changes, since you will not want to hunt for a menu on stage.
Presenter View on a single screen
If you only have a laptop screen, Presenter View still exists, but you have to find it. Indezine's guide says to hover near the bottom-left of the slide, click the fourth icon, then choose Use Presenter View. That path comes from a third-party site, not Microsoft. Microsoft's page describes the two-display setup, so check the one-screen path on your own copy before the talk.
Common mistakes with Presenter View
- Leaving the displays mirrored, then wondering why Presenter View never appears.
- Opening the deck in the web version, which has no Presenter View.
- Testing on one screen, then presenting on two with a different adapter.
- Assuming the shortcuts work with keyboard navigation turned off.
- Showing a slide that no longer matches the deck because Keep Slides Updated was off.
Presenter View on the web and older Mac versions
Microsoft says you need desktop PowerPoint to use Presenter View. The web version runs a slide show in a full-screen browser window, and setting up monitors is not available there. If you only have the web app, download the Mac app before the talk. For older versions, Microsoft's Mac page covers Microsoft 365, 2024 and 2021 only, so check 2019 and 2016 on your own machine.
What is changing in Presenter View in 2026
Microsoft has a roadmap item called PowerPoint: Present with ease using a modernized Presenter View. It was published Oct 22 2026, it is listed for Mac only, and general availability is planned for November of calendar 2026. Its status still reads In development.
The redesign groups the presenter tools, slide navigation and the timer into one control bar. You can collapse the thumbnail pane and the Next Slide and Notes panes. The latest Mac release notes list version 16.114.3 from Oct 27 2026, and they do not mention the change. Treat these steps as current until the update lands, then check the screen again before your next talk.
Where to go next after setup
Write your notes before you rehearse, because Presenter View shows them on your screen. The guide on adding speaker notes in PowerPoint on Mac walks through that step. If you plan to share the talk as a video, recording a slide show in PowerPoint on Mac covers narration and video.
PowerPoint shortcuts for this on Mac
| To do this | Press |
|---|---|
| Start the show in Presenter View | ⌥ Return |
| Start from the current slide | ⌘ Return |
| Start from the beginning | ⌘⇧ Return |
| Turn on the laser pointer | ⌘ L |
| Turn on the pen | ⌘ P |
| Turn on the arrow pointer | ⌘ A |
| Hide the pointer | ⌘ I |
| Erase your on-screen annotations | ⇧ E |
| End the show | Esc |
If it does not work
- Presenter View does not appear on the second display.
- Clear Mirror Displays on the Arrangement tab. Reconnect the cable or adapter, then start again from Slide Show > Presenter View.
- Presenter View is on the wrong screen.
- Click Swap Displays at the top left of the Presenter View window. Then check that the room screen shows the slides.
- The Presenter View keyboard shortcuts do nothing.
- Confirm you are on macOS 10.15 or later. Then select Use keyboard navigation to move focus between controls under System Preferences > Keyboard > Shortcuts, and try again.
- PowerPoint starts Presenter View on its own when I want a plain slide show.
- Clear Always start Presenter View with 2 displays under PowerPoint > Preferences > Output and Sharing > Slide Show.
- The slides do not match the deck after an edit.
- Turn on Keep Slides Updated from the Slide Show tab, or from the three-dot More slide show options menu in Presenter View.
- The web version of PowerPoint has no Presenter View.
- Open the deck in the desktop app for Mac. Microsoft says desktop PowerPoint is required for Presenter View.
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Questions people ask
Can I use Presenter View with only one screen on a Mac?
Yes. Indezine's guide says to hover near the bottom-left of the slide, click the fourth icon, then choose Use Presenter View. That path comes from a third-party site, not Microsoft, so test it on your own copy before you need it.
Why does Presenter View not show up when I start my slide show?
First check that the desktop is extended, not mirrored, on the Arrangement tab. Then check the Always start Presenter View with 2 displays setting in Preferences. To confirm, start it by hand from Slide Show > Presenter View.
Can I make Presenter View a small window instead of full screen?
Community answers in a Microsoft Q&A thread say Presenter View on Mac is always full screen and cannot be resized. A volunteer moderator confirmed it, and Microsoft staff have not answered in that thread. Plan for full screen.
Does Presenter View work in PowerPoint for the web?
No. Microsoft says you need desktop PowerPoint to use Presenter View. The web version runs a full-screen slide show and does not offer monitor setup, so open the deck in the Mac app for the talk.
Which PowerPoint versions for Mac include Presenter View?
Microsoft's Mac help page applies to PowerPoint for Microsoft 365, PowerPoint 2024 and PowerPoint 2021 for Mac. It does not list 2019 or 2016, so check those yourself before you rely on them.
Will the 2026 redesign change these steps?
It may. Microsoft's roadmap item RM577179 says a modernized Presenter View is in development for Mac, with general availability planned for November of calendar 2026. It does not confirm the final layout yet, so recheck the menus after you update.
Do the Presenter View keyboard shortcuts work on older macOS?
Microsoft says the Presenter View shortcuts need macOS 10.15 (Catalina) or later, and keyboard navigation must be turned on. Its page does not cover older macOS versions, so test on your own Mac before you rely on them.
Does pressing Esc end the show?
Yes. Esc ends the show, and it also turns off an active pen, laser pointer or highlighter. If you only want to stop the show, Command+Period or the hyphen key also ends it.
Sources
- Use Presenter view in PowerPoint for Mac · Microsoft Support · checked 2026-11-08
- Use keyboard shortcuts to deliver PowerPoint presentations · Microsoft Support · checked 2026-11-08
- How certain features behave in web-based PowerPoint · Microsoft Support · checked 2026-11-08
- RM577179, PowerPoint: Present with ease using a modernized Presenter View · Microsoft 365 Message Center (mirror) · checked 2026-11-08
- Release notes for Office for Mac · Microsoft Learn · checked 2026-11-08
- PowerPoint on Mac does not allow windowed presenter view · Microsoft Q&A · checked 2026-11-08
- Presenter View in PowerPoint 365 for Mac · Indezine · checked 2026-11-08
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