I don't use PPT, but in Word, in the analogous context, i.e., in a
table cell, you just hit ENTER to get a hard return. The soft return
is a completely different animal and has no analogue in Word or
Excel.
Don't you just love software that's consistant across
applications... <sigh>
In Excel, Ctrl-Enter saves the typed value in the cell, but doesn't
move to the next cell (as defined by the default action, down or
across). If the default move on ENTER is not defined, nothing
happens.
Shift-Enter reverses the default action 180 degrees, i.e., if you
define it to move right on ENTER, Shift-Enter moves LEFT, and if
you've defined it to move down, it moves UP.
In Word, Ctrl-Enter creates a page break. Alt-Enter does nothing.
So far as I can tell, in Access only Ctrl-Enter has a default
behavior.
Ctrl-Enter is certainly the logical choice to my way of thinking, as
Alt- by itself should be reserved for menu activation (in my
opinion), which means I see the Excel approach as completely wrong,
and Shift-Enter has no obvious meaning, as the only context in which
I've ever used it is in Word, and the context in which you use it
has no analogue in Word or Access.
Foolish consistency can be just as bad as inconsistency, and in this
case, it seems to me that the apps have been designed for the people
who are going to be using just the one app.
Of course, in Access, it's easy enough to redefine the behavior if
you'd like.