How to Make Text Superscript and Subscript in PowerPoint

Ever had to insert a superscript in PowerPoint? You may find yourself using superscripts and subscripts in PowerPoint if you deal with a lot of mathematical and chemistry formulas. Here’s how you can add superscripts and subscripts in PowerPoint.

List of contents:
How to add a superscript and subscript in PowerPoint using keyboard shortcuts
– For Windows
– How to add superscripts or subscripts in PowerPoint using keyboard shortcuts (Windows)
– How to undo superscript/subscript formatting
– How to adjust the position of superscripts and subscripts in PowerPoint
– How to add superscript or subscript symbols to your PowerPoint presentations
– For macOS:
– Using keyboard shortcuts
– How to add superscript/subscript formatting to text in PowerPoint on macOS
– How to undo superscript/subscript formatting in PowerPoint (MacOS)
– Inserting superscript symbols in PowerPoint (MacOS)
– For Web
What are Subscript and Superscript Text?
When do we use superscript or subscript?
Conclusion

How to add a superscript and subscript in PowerPoint using keyboard shortcuts

For Windows:

How to add superscript or subscript in PowerPoint using keyboard shortcuts

The easiest way to do this is to highlight the text you want to change and press the keyboard shortcuts.

Superscript: Ctrl + Shift + Plus
Subscript: Ctrl + Plus

How to undo superscript/subscript formatting

If you want to undo any superscript or subscript formatting, simply press Ctrl + Spacebar.

Alternate method:

There’s an alternate method to add superscripts and subscripts to your text in PowerPoint. Select the text you want to change to superscript or subscript.

In the toolbar, under the Home tab, find the area where you can change the font. On the lower right side of this section, there will be a tiny button. Clicking on it will open a Font dialogue box. Under Effects, select Superscript or Subscript and click on OK.

You can find other formatting options here as well, including the ability to adjust the position of your superscripts and subscripts.

How to adjust the position of superscripts and subscripts in PowerPoint

If you need to adjust the position of your superscript or subscript in PowerPoint, you can use the Font Dialog Box Launcher mentioned above. This is usually done when you’re using a different font, or if you’re creating an infographic.

• Select the superscript or subscript that you want to adjust the position of
• Navigate to the Home tab and find the Font section
• Click on the tiny arrow in the lower-right corner of the section to open the Font Dialog Box
• In the Font section, under the Effects section, you can find Offset. Adjust the offset value to change the position of the superscript or subscript.

A positive offset value raises the text, and a negative value lowers it.

How to add superscript or subscript symbols to your PowerPoint presentations

You might need to add certain symbols to your PowerPoint slides that appear as superscripts and subscripts. If you want to add a superscript symbol to a piece of text on a slide, follow these steps:

• Navigate to Insert on the toolbar
• Click on Symbol
• When the Symbol dialog box pops up, keep Font as (normal text), and from Subset choose Superscripts and Subscripts.
• Select the symbol you want to add and click on Insert.
• You have successfully added the symbol as superscript/subscript into your piece of text in your PowerPoint slide.

For macOS:

Using keyboard shortcuts

If you’re using macOS, you can add superscripts and subscripts in PowerPoint easily with keyboard shortcuts.

First, select the character that you want to change into a superscript or subscript. Then use the following keyboard shortcuts:

For superscript press cmd + Shift + Plus sign.

If you’re using PowerPoint version 2016, to format text as a subscript, the keyboard shortcut is cmd + Equal sign.

For PowerPoint version 2011, for subscript, use cmd + Shift + Minus sign (-).

Note: If you use PowerPoint 2011 and earlier versions you might have to use Cmd + Shift + Minus to make the text subscript.

How to add superscript/subscript formatting to text in PowerPoint on macOS

There’s another way to format text as superscript or subscript on MacOS.

• Select the character that you want to change to superscript or subscript.
• Under the Home tab, in the Font section, you can use the Superscript or Subscript icons to format the character.

How to undo superscript/subscript formatting in PowerPoint (MacOS)

You can easily undo any superscript or subscript formatting by using Ctrl + Spacebar.

Inserting superscript symbols in PowerPoint (MacOS)

Sometimes you might need to add special symbols as superscripts. This can be easily done by clicking on the Insert tab and then clicking Symbol. Select Letterlike Symbols, and choose the symbol you want to insert.

For Web

If you’re using PowerPoint web, you’ll need to take a slightly different approach to add superscripts and subscripts to your slides.

• Select the character you want to change to superscript or subscript
• In the Home tab, select the dropdown near the Font
• Select Subscript or Superscript as per your need.

To sum up, here’s a summary of all keyboard shortcuts you need while changing text to superscript or subscript:

What are Subscript and Superscript Text?

There’s a super simple (and maybe silly) way to remember what a superscript and subscript are. When you think of superscript, think of Superman who’s hovering above the text. Similarly, for subscript, imagine a submarine under the text.

When do we use superscript or subscript?

Superscripts and subscripts are most commonly used for writing chemical and mathematical formulas, as you can see from the example above. It is also used in other places like dates (19^th March) and for ordinal numbers like 2^nd, 3^rd, etc. Here are some use cases of superscripts and subscripts in detail:

• Dates: We use superscripts sometimes to denote dates, especially in British English. Example: 2^nd January, 27^th of May, etc.
• Trademark (and other symbols): We use the trademark symbol^™ as a superscript.
• Footnotes and author affiliations: Footnotes are marked using superscript numbers to the end of the text like this¹. Another common practice is visible in scientific papers where you might have to distinguish between author affiliations with superscript numbers and symbols.

Conclusion

So, there you have it, all the possible ways of changing text to superscript or subscript in PowerPoint for Windows, macOS, and the web version. I hope this article has helped you, and that it was easy to follow.

Okay now for some self-promotion. Check out our website if you’re ever in the need of PowerPoint templates. We really think you’d find what you’re looking for. That’s all for now, happy presenting!