Occasionally, when displaying a chart or graph in a PowerPoint presentation, you may need to elaborate or expand on the information by providing a look at the data in an Excel spreadsheet. Although you could copy-and-paste data from Excel into a table on your slides, PowerPoint actually offers a way to embed an Excel spreadsheet into your slide as a linked object.
Why Embed an Excel Spreadsheet into PowerPoint
The advantage of embeding your Excel file into PowerPoint instead of copying-and-pasting its contents is that if the data ever changes in the spreadsheet, the data in PowerPoint will automatically update as well.
How to Embed an Excel Spreadsheet into PowerPoint
To embed an excel file into PowerPoint, start by selecting the slide in your presentation into which you want to embed the Excel file. Under the Insert tab, click Object.
In the Insert Object window that opens, select Create from File, and then browse to find your Excel file.
Once you’ve selected your file, make sure you click the Link checkbox here. If you don’t check Link, the Excel file will still be embedded, but changes made to the Excel file won’t update the data in PowerPoint.
Click OK. The data from your spreadsheet now appears on your slide as an object. You’re free to resize and style the object as you like. Be aware that if your Excel workbook has multiple spreadsheets, the top most spreadsheet tab is the one that will show up in PowerPoint.
If you later need to change some of data in the spreadsheet, simply open it in Excel, make your changes and save the file.
When you next open your PowerPoint, you’ll see the updated data on your slide. That's why – and how – to embed an Excel Spreadsheet into PowerPoint.
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Topics: Productivity tips
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