How to Format Superscript or Subscript Text in Word or PowerPoint

Superscript and subscript text formatting allows you to place text above or below the normal line of text. This is useful for writing mathematical or chemical formulas, adding footnote citations, displaying temperatures, and more.

In this blog post, I’ll provide step-by-step instructions on how to format superscript and subscript text in both Microsoft Word and PowerPoint.

Benefits of Using Superscript and Subscript

Here are some of the main benefits of using superscript and subscript text formatting:

• Clearly convey mathematical and chemical formulas
• Add footnote citations without disrupting text flow
• Display temperatures and other measurements cleanly
• Save space by formatting exponents and other characters smaller
• Improve readability of technical and scientific content

How to Format Superscript/Subscript Text in Word

Using the Ribbon

1. Select the text you want to format
2. Go to the Home tab
3. Click the Superscript or Subscript button in the Font group
4. The selected text will change to superscript or subscript formatting
5. Click the button again to revert to normal text

Using Keyboard Shortcuts

• For Superscript: Ctrl + Shift + +
• For Subscript: Ctrl + =

1. Select the text
2. Press the keyboard shortcut
3. Text will change to superscript or subscript formatting
4. Press Ctrl + Spacebar to revert to normal text

Using the Font Dialog Box

1. Select the text
2. Go to Home > Font Dialog Box Launcher
3. Go to the Font tab > Effects group
4. Check the Superscript or Subscript box
5. Click OK
6. Text will change to superscript or subscript formatting
7. Uncheck the box and click OK to revert to normal text

How to Format Superscript/Subscript Text in PowerPoint

Using the Ribbon

1. Select the text
2. Go to the Home tab
3. Click the Superscript or Subscript button in the Font group
4. The selected text will change to superscript or subscript formatting
5. Click the button again to revert to normal text

Using Keyboard Shortcuts

• For Superscript: Ctrl + Shift + +
• For Subscript: Ctrl + =

1. Select the text
2. Press the keyboard shortcut
3. Text will change to superscript or subscript formatting
4. Press Ctrl + Spacebar to revert to normal text

Using the Font Dialog Box

1. Right-click on the text and select Font
2. Go to the Font tab > Effects group
3. Check the Superscript or Subscript box
4. Click OK
5. Text will change to superscript or subscript formatting
6. Uncheck the box and click OK to revert to normal text

Tips for Using Superscript and Subscript

• Be consistent with formatting within a document or presentation
• Use subscript for chemical formulas (H2O)
• Use superscript for exponents and footnotes
• Adjust offset percentage to optimize text size
• Make sure font supports superscript/subscript formatting

Using superscript and subscript text formatting properly can greatly improve the readability of scientific, technical, and mathematical content. Follow the instructions in this post to add superscripts and subscripts to your Word documents and PowerPoint presentations.