How to link charts from excel to word (or powerpoint) so that changes made in excel are reflected in word.
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Link charts from Excel to Word
One of the benefits of working with Microsoft products is their ability to talk to each other. So in Excel if you created a graph like this, it is simple enough to put this graph into, for example, a Word document. There are a number of ways you can do it. The first way, and I think the way most people use, click on the graph, copy it – perhaps you go to your document and over here we are going to paste it. You’ll see I say Paste Special and that pastes it as a picture. I’ll say Enhanced Meta file and you’ll see it comes through like that. The problem with this, is if we go back in here, for example that number changes to 100, the graph has changed but your document hasn’t changed because it is a static picture. I’ll just get back to what we had here.
So another option, I am just going to delete that, is to use something called the Paste Link. The process is very similar, click on the graph, I am just going to copy it – we go to the Word document or it could be a PowerPoint document and where we go to Paste Special, you’ll see on the left hand side here there is something called Paste link. If I click on it, you’ll see I have got a couple of options. But I am going to have it as a Microsoft Office Excel Chart Object. When I say OK – you get the same thing – you have got the graph here- but here is the difference. If we now go back to our Excel file and change that again – so this graph is changed, you’ll see that you have got the updated chart here as well. If this hasn’t updated itself, you simply click on the picture, right click and you’ll see you have an Update Link option and if you click on it it will go to this spreadsheet, see what the graph looks like and bring it through here. You don’t have to use a Microsoft Office Excel Chart Object – let’s just delete that – go back to this spreadsheet, we are going to copy it again – take it to our Word document and in this case I am going to go Paste, Paste Special, Paste Link, but I am going to use the Picture (Windows Metafile). When I say OK, you’ll see it comes through as a picture. Let’s go back here – change that again to 600 – see on the graph the red line is the highest, go back here. At the moment it hasn’t changed, but remember you can click on the picture – right click and say Update Link- you’ll see the graph updates itself.
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