I've recently moved from Powerpoint to Keynote. While I am overall satisfied with the transition, I feel that there is too much clicking to do simple things. For instance:
-
If I want to align objects after selecting them, I need to press the
Arrange
tab >Align
dropdown >Left
. In powerpoint I just clickAlign left
on theQuick access toolbar
. -
If I want to change the fill color or outline color of a shape, I need to press
Style
tab >Fill
. In powerpoint I simply have to click theFill
color in theQuick access toolbar
.
While this doesn't seem much, it is tedious to have to click on every single tab just to do something that would otherwise be done with a single click. This becomes worse if I am working with an animation and then need to work with a shape, adding 1 more click at the top to select Format
So my question is: is there such a thing as a "shortcut toolbar" or "quick access toolbar" in Keynote in the same way as there is in Powerpoint?
Best Answer
Simple answer: no. Apple removed the PPT-like quick format bar when iWork '09 was replaced by the current versions.
Anyway, here are my workarunds/best practices:
Question 1
a) You can keep the "Arrange" tools palette open for quick access to – well – the Arrange tools.
View menu -> Show Arrange Tools
b) Most Arrange menu items /Align, Distribute) don't have keyboard shortcuts by default. But you can set custom menu shortcuts for virtually any menu item function in a Mac application. Please refer to this guide from Apple for more info:
https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/create-keyboard-shortcuts-for-apps-mchlp2271/mac
Question 2
Again, you can enable the Arrange Tools palette and have the Format bar switched to the Style tab so you have both toolsets available at the same time.
Personally I try to work as much as possible with custom-defined Shape Styles (I usually delete all the default styles and then create my own)