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Keynote User Guide for Mac

• Intro to Keynote
• Intro to images, charts, and other objects
• Create your first presentation
• Choose how to navigate your presentation
• Open or close a presentation
• Save and name a presentation
• Find a presentation
• Print a presentation
• Undo or redo changes
• Show or hide sidebars
• Quick navigation
• Change the working view
• Expand and zoom your workspace
• Customize the Keynote toolbar
• Change Keynote settings on Mac
• Touch Bar for Keynote
• Create a presentation using VoiceOver
• Add or delete slides
• Reorder slides
• Group or ungroup slides
• Skip or unskip a slide
• Change the slide size
• Change a slide background
• Add a border around a slide
• Show or hide text placeholders
• Show or hide slide numbers
• Apply a slide layout
• Add and edit slide layouts
• Change a theme
• Add an image
• Add an image gallery
• Edit an image
• Add and edit a shape
• Combine or break apart shapes
• Draw a shape
• Save a shape to the shapes library
• Add and align text inside a shape
• Add lines and arrows
• Animate, share, or save drawings
• Add video and audio
• Record audio
• Edit video and audio
• Add live video
• Set movie and image formats
• Position and align objects
• Use alignment guides
• Place objects inside a text box or shape
• Layer, group, and lock objects
• Change object transparency
• Fill objects with color or an image
• Add a border to an object
• Add a caption or title
• Add a reflection or shadow
• Use object styles
• Resize, rotate, and flip objects
• Move and edit objects using the object list
• Add linked objects to make your presentation interactive
• Select text and place the insertion point
• Copy and paste text
• Use dictation to enter text
• Use accents and special characters
• Format a presentation for another language
• Use phonetic guides
• Use bidirectional text
• Use vertical text
• Change the font or font size
• Add bold, italic, underline, or strikethrough to text
• Change the color of text
• Change text capitalization
• Add a shadow or outline to text
• Intro to paragraph styles
• Apply a paragraph style
• Create, rename, or delete paragraph styles
• Update or revert a paragraph style
• Use a keyboard shortcut to apply a style
• Adjust character spacing
• Add drop caps
• Raise and lower characters and text
• Format fractions automatically
• Create and use character styles
• Format dashes and quotation marks
• Format Chinese, Japanese, or Korean text
• Set tab stops
• Format text into columns
• Adjust line spacing
• Format lists
• Add a highlight effect to text
• Add mathematical equations
• Add rules (lines) to separate text
• Add or delete a table
• Select tables, cells, rows, and columns
• Add or remove rows and columns
• Move rows and columns
• Resize rows and columns
• Merge or unmerge cells
• Change the look of table text
• Show, hide, or edit a table title
• Change table gridlines and colors
• Use table styles
• Resize, move, or lock a table
• Add and edit cell content
• Format dates, currency, and more
• Create a custom cell format
• Highlight cells conditionally
• Format tables for bidirectional text
• Alphabetize or sort table data
• Calculate values using data in table cells
• Use the Formulas and Functions Help
• Add or delete a chart
• Change a chart from one type to another
• Modify chart data
• Move, resize, and rotate a chart
• Change the look of data series
• Add a legend, gridlines, and other markings
• Change the look of chart text and labels
• Add a chart border and background
• Use chart styles
• Animate objects onto and off a slide
• Animate objects on a slide
• Change build order and timing
• Add transitions
• Present on your Mac
• Present on a separate display
• Present on a Mac over the internet
• Use a remote
• Make a presentation advance automatically
• Play a slideshow with multiple presenters
• Add and view presenter notes
• Rehearse on your Mac
• Record presentations
• Check spelling
• Look up words
• Find and replace text
• Replace text automatically
• Set author name and comment color
• Highlight text
• Add and print comments
• Send a presentation
• Intro to collaboration
• Invite others to collaborate
• Collaborate on a shared presentation
• Follow activity in a shared presentation
• Change a shared presentation’s settings
• Stop sharing a presentation
• Shared folders and collaboration
• Use Box to collaborate
• Create an animated GIF
• Post your presentation in a blog
• Use iCloud Drive with Keynote
• Export to PowerPoint or another file format
• Reduce the presentation file size
• Save a large presentation as a package file
• Restore an earlier version of a presentation
• Move a presentation
• Delete a presentation
• Password-protect a presentation
• Lock a presentation
• Create and manage custom themes
• Transfer files with AirDrop
• Transfer presentations with Handoff
• Transfer presentations with the Finder
• Keyboard shortcuts
• Keyboard shortcut symbols

Create your first presentation in Keynote on Mac

To create a Keynote presentation, you first choose a theme , which is a collection of predesigned slide layouts you use as a starting point. Each slide layout includes placeholder images and text styled as titles and body content. To add your own content, you replace the placeholder content with your own.

Create a presentation from a theme

To open Keynote, click the Keynote icon in the Dock, Launchpad, or the Applications folder.

If the theme chooser (shown below) doesn’t appear, click New Document in the bottom-left corner of the dialog. You can also choose File > New (from the File menu at the top of your screen).

Note: If you’d like the ability to format table and chart data using the conventions of another language, choose the language in the bottom-left corner before choosing a theme. See Format a presentation for another language .

In the theme chooser, browse themes by category or click All Themes, then double-click a theme to open it.

Some themes aren’t downloaded to your computer until you choose them or open a presentation that uses one. If your connection is slow or you’re offline when this happens, placeholder images and slide backgrounds in the presentation may appear at a lower resolution until you’re online again or the theme finishes downloading.

Each slide layout offers a different arrangement of text and images that you use as a starting point for your content.

To add your own content to the presentation, do any of the following:

Add text: Double-click placeholder text and type your own.

Choose File > Save, enter a name, choose a location, then click Save.

If iCloud Drive is set up on your Mac, Keynote saves the presentation to iCloud Drive by default. You can change the name of the presentation or change where it’s saved at any time.

To end the presentation, press the Esc (Escape) key. For more ways to show a presentation, see Play a presentation on your Mac .

To close the presentation when you’re finished working, click the red close button in the top-left corner of the window.

Keynote automatically saves your changes, so you won’t lose any of your work.

Select a default theme for new presentations

You can set Keynote to always open a new presentation in a particular theme instead of from the theme chooser.

Choose Keynote > Settings (from the Keynote menu at the top of your screen).

Click General at the top of the window, then select “Use theme” in the For New Presentations controls.

The name that appears after “Use theme” is the currently selected theme.

Click the Change Theme button, select a theme, then click Choose.

To close the window, click the red close button in the upper-left corner.

After you change this setting, you can still open a new presentation with a different theme. Hold down the Option key, then choose File > New from Theme Chooser (from the File menu at the top of your screen).

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10 Expert Tips to Create and Deliver a Killer Keynote Presentation

So you’ve got a keynote presentation coming up, and you’re hitting the books to make sure you’re armed with the best plan possible. Besides taking notes from all the greats on TED, you’re reading up about a message structure that works, and looking for the perfect template.

While it seems like you’ve got your bases covered, like all things in life, there’s always a way to streamline the planning process.

According to Aaron Weyenberg , the UX Lead for TED and a self-professed “master of slide decks,” and the wizards behind Apple’s presentation slides , there are a number of tricks of the trade that you can rely on to create a rocking keynote presentation .

Below are some of our favorites. And to easily create a professional-looking presentation , sign up for Piktochart . It’s free and it allows you to make beautiful visuals without being a graphic designer.

1. Do your slides last

While most keynote speakers will typically build their presentation around the structure of a template, Weyenberg says that “building your slides should be the tail end of developing your presentation.” Before working on your slides, you should put together your main message, structure, supporting points – then practice and time your presentation. The reason for this, he says, is that the presentation needs to be strong enough to stand on its own. Approaching a keynote like this requires a shift in thinking.

While a beautiful set of slides is imperative to your presentation, it should not be central to it.

Weyenberg said it best: “The slides are just something you layer over [the presentation] to enhance the listener experience.”

Observe these 2017 Google I/O keynotes, especially CEO Sundar Pichai’s – the role of the slides are to support what the speaker is saying – not the other way around.

2. Get creative with photos

Often times, presenters will be far too literal or cheesy with their image choice. Weyenberg suggests to use images that are simple, yet punchy – and pairs nicely with your spoken words. He says to look for photos that are:

• Related to your keynote’s concept
• Are not complex in terms of composition

3. Simplify charts and graphs

While most presenters will simply drop an image of their charts and graphs into their deck, Weyenberg points out that it might be a bit “unsightly.” If you need to use data to back a point that you’re making, you should make the extra effort to make it more attractive – and this can be done by recreating it in your presentation app.

There are a couple benefits to doing this:

• It will make your presentation seem consistent and well-thought out
• You’ll have control over colors, typography, and more.

4. One theme per slide

According to the designers of Apple presentation slides, less is certainly more. Trying to cram too many ideas on one slide can only work to your detriment. Beyond ideas, the same goes for statistics.

Let’s play a little game: For the following idea, how many slides would you use? “The developer program is incredibly vibrant. We have over six million registered developers. Demand for this show has never been greater. We sold out in just over a minute [71 seconds].”

While the average person might think that 6 million and 71 seconds would belong on the same slide and be short and sweet enough, let’s compare it with what Apple’s CEO Tim Cook did.

He only leveraged two slides: The first said “6 million,” and the second: “71 seconds. Sold out.”

5. Create a visual experience with data

Taking a leaf again from Apple’s presentation book, once you’ve gotten the hang of having just one stat per slide – you should also make it as visual as possible.

One data point per slide, combined with it being visually interesting – is sure to be memorable.

6. Practice Really Makes Perfect

Imagine the late Steve Jobs, a legendary keynote presenter, still rehearsed for months before a presentation. According to Brent Schlender , one of the co-authors behind the Steve Jobs biography “Becoming Steve Jobs,” Jobs would rehearse and prepare “exhaustively” for all of his public appearances.

Despite being a natural on the stage, Jobs never would wing it, he came to the show well prepared.

“I once spent an entire day watching him run through multiple rehearsals of a single presentation, tweaking everything from the color and angle of certain spotlights, to editing and rearranging the order of the keynote presentation slides to improve his pacing,” remembers Schlender.

While you may not be a perfectionist like Jobs, you are likely also not nearly as good of a presenter as he is – so practice really makes perfect in this case.

7. Tell A Consistent Story

Circling back to Weyenberg’s tips – he suggests that in a good slide deck, every slide should feel “like part of the same story.” Think of your deck like a story – every slide should feel cohesive to the big picture message you’re trying to communicate – as opposed to random ideas juxtaposed together.

You can do this by:

• Using the same or similar typography, colors, and imagery across all slides
• Using templates can help with maintaining the same look and feel

8. Less is more

We explored the less is more concept earlier in the article by suggesting you keep to one idea per slide. The same can be applied to text.

When it comes to creating slides for your next keynote, the cardinal sin is a slide with ample text that is verbatim of your spoken presentation.

What this does is encourage people to keep their eyes on your slides instead of listening to you.

Weyenberg also points out that a text-heavy slide forces the brain to multitask between focusing on what it’s reading and hearing – which is quite difficult and will compromise your presentation.

9. Consider topic transitions

While you want to make your slides look like a cohesive unit, you want to also keep in mind that making every slide look the same may be boring. Weyenberg suggests to:

• Create one style for the slides that are the “meat” of the message
• Then create another style for the slides that are transitioning between topics

For example, if your overall slides have a dark background with light text, you can use transitional slides that have a light background with dark text. This way, they’ll still feel like they’re from the same presentation family without being completely uniform.

10. Tell a captivating story

It is fitting that our final tip comes from likely the greatest keynote presenter of all time. The late and great Steve Jobs had the ability to captivate and inspire his audience with his talks, and that’s because he was a very good storyteller. And that’s the golden leaf that you can take from Jobs’ book today.

Always aim to tell a captivating story.

One example is perhaps when he introduced the iPod: “In 2001, we introduced the first iPod. It didn’t just change the way we all listen to music. It changed the entire music industry.” Listen to Steve Jobs weave a story about the digital music revolution when unveiling the iPod.

Bonus Round: Tips From Piktochart Designers  

• Always remember that your audience is sitting far away . So ensure that your title font size is large enough to be seen from a distance, and that your body text is no smaller than 20px.
• Use only two colors for your entire presentation – a primary and secondary color. If you must use a large color palette, your maximum choice should be up to five colors.
• Make sure that there is enough white space throughout your presentation . This will give your content room to breathe. Less is definitely more in this case.
• Emphasize only one object per slide – whether it’s an image, statistic, quote. This will make sure your audience stays focused.

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15 Keynote Tutorials To Make Sublime Presentations [2022]

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By Nikolay Kaloyanov

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We have already mentioned Keynote as one of the best presentation software on the market for Mac users. It has everything needed for the success of your presentations – great practicality and a superior interface which is Apple’s trademark. On top of that, Keynote is free to use.

But how exactly should you make standout presentations? In this article, you will find out with the help of our 15 Apple Keynote tutorials .

1. Getting started with Keynote

Every software journey starts with a “manual” of how to use it, and in this Keynote tutorial, you will understand what Apple Keynote is, what this software package offers, and goes over some of the most used features available – such as the basic templates, the main menus, and the visual hierarchy of the app. What you will learn is how to replace images, add texts, and some other basic tasks which is quite helpful for someone inexperienced with the program.

2. How to create a presentation in Keynote?

Learning how to make a presentation in Keynote is crucial before you advance to the next stages. So, in this Keynote beginner tutorial, you will learn how to create a presentation from scratch. You will see how to add themes, change the background color, add a gradient, insert a slide number, and other cool stuff. It’s definitely worth checking it out, especially if you’re a complete newbie.

3. How to Format Text in Keynote?

Knowing how to format text is pivotal in any presentation software, and Keynote is no exception. In this Keynote text formatting tutorial, you will see how to align text, how to add a different color style, change the font, and play around with the font weight, font size, and other key patterns. Luckily, the app is very intuitive, and you’ll get used to modifying the fonts easily.

4. How to Add and Edit Images in Keynote?

As an Apple software, Keynote is perfectly optimized for editing images. In this Keynote tutorial, you’ll learn how to add images, change the background, align different images on the canvas, and so much more. While the video guide is considered old now (the video is published in 2010), the concept is still considered unique even today.

5. How to Add a Video in Keynote?

Adding videos is crucial if you want to grab the attention of your audience. In fact, it raises audience awareness a lot! In this Keynote tutorial, you will learn how to embed a YouTube video in Keynote within a couple of seconds and then check its size or even add a shape. So cool!

6. How to Make Charts in Keynote?

Creating charts in Keynote is not just possible, but it’s quite a lovely experience! In this Keynote chart tutorial, you will learn how to create a chart in Numbers (Apple’s version of Excel and Google Sheets), and then transfer it to the presentation software, where you can modify it in any style you like. You can pick between 2D and 3D, animated Keynote charts, and even make your chart colorful.

7. How to Create a GIF in Keynote?

Animated GIFs add value to your presentation and make it look more interactive. While adding GIFs to Keynote is possible and easy, there is something else you can do – create a GIF from Keynote. In this video tutorial, you will learn how to make a cool GIF using Keynote, and use it for your presentation or other designs.

8. How to Make Infographics in Keynote?

Keynote is a powerful presentation app because it has many functionalities but, more importantly, it focuses on great looks. In this Apple Keynote tutorial, you will learn how to manage proportion, pick the right size of the infographics, group objects, and some more useful techniques that you can apply to your works.

9. How to Use Presenter Notes in Keynote?

PowerPoint and Google Slides users know them as “Speaker notes,” but in Keynote, they’re known as Presenter Notes . In this Keynote tutorial, you will learn how to show presenter notes and add some while “on the go.” Topher Morrison will also give you some practical advice on how to use them correctly so you don’t forget your thoughts during the presentation.

10. Intermediate Keynote Tutorial

If you have stepped up your game, then it may be time for some of the more advanced Keynote tutorials. What you will learn from this video is how to create animations in Keynote, make transitions, and even remove backgrounds (which is very useful). You will also learn how to add links to slides and insert shapes to make flashy designs. Last but not least – you’ll see how to customize your Keynote toolbar.

11. How to Collaborate in Keynote?

We all have to admit that Keynote can’t rival Google Slides in terms of collaboration, but it doesn’t mean it’s impossible. In this Keynote tutorial, you will see how to make your presentation shareable and how to do it properly, so you can collaborate with your peers on Keynote presentations without issues. All the progress is saved in iCloud Drive, and you can check the changes in real-time.

Read more : Keynote vs Google Slides comparison

12. How to Create a Poster in Keynote?

Who would suppose you can create beautiful posters with Keynote? Well, we do! In this Keynote poster tutorial, you will learn how to quickly come up with a poster design without spending too much time. The guide itself is simple, but it will teach you how to make slides vertical and where to find icons. On top of that, you will also see how to align objects.

13. How to Make a Dynamic Background in Keynote?

That is arguably the most interesting Keynote tutorial on our list, as it will show you how to add a dynamic background. You can find a couple of different options, which you will learn to customize to get the results that you wish. We have to admit Jesse has been quite creative with his explanations, but the guide was very helpful, too!

14. Keynote for iPad Guide

We cannot make a Keynote article without mentioning iPads. It’s simply impossible. In this Keynote for iPad tutorial, you will learn all the basic (and not so basic) skills to operate well on the Apple tablet. You’ll learn how to change fonts, create transitions, and print your presentations, but also collaborate and AirDrop, create passwords, add soundtracks, and other useful things that you can do.

15. How to Present Keynote Slides in Zoom?

Learning how to stream a live presentation in Zoom has become a very crucial skill to acquire these days, so it’s no surprise that many presentation programs are adapting to use it. In this Keynote live streaming tutorial, you will learn how to pair it well with Zoom and present it in a virtual meeting.

Final words

Keynote is a great presentation software. It has an amazing UX design, and it can help you craft masterpieces. While some argue it’s not as feature-rich as PowerPoint, learning it can give you everything you need.

If you find our content useful, you can check some of the other articles:

• Keynote vs PowerPoint: Presentation Software from Different Worlds
• 30 Free Marketing Presentation Templates with Modern Design
• How to Start and End a Presentation: 10 Practical Tips to Grab Attention and Make an Impact

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Nikolay Kaloyanov

Nikolay is a copywriter with vast experience in Technology, Marketing, and Design. When he isn't playing with words and crafting texts, he watches sports and asks questions. He is a funny person...until you put him on a diet.

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