Inserting Excel Data into PowerPoint That You Can Update
by Avantix Learning Team | Updated March 15, 2021
Applies to: Microsoft® PowerPoint® 2013, 2016, 2019 and 365, (Windows)
You can insert Excel worksheet data into PowerPoint as an object or a table. Objects can be linked or unlinked. If you insert worksheet data as a PowerPoint table, it cannot be linked but can be formatted in the presentation.
Recommended article: How to Group or Ungroup Objects in PowerPoint (with Shortcuts)
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Inserting Excel worksheet data as objects (linked or unlinked)
To insert Excel data from a workbook into PowerPoint:
- Open the Excel workbook with the data you want to insert into PowerPoint.
- Select the cells you want to copy.
- Right-click and choose Copy or press Ctrl + C.
- Open the PowerPoint presentation.
- In Normal View, display the slide where you want to insert the Excel data.
- Click the Home tab in the Ribbon.
- Click the arrow beside Layouts and select the Title Only layout (or a similar layout) from the drop-down menu. You can also click the edge of a body placeholder and press Delete to delete it.
- Click in a blank area on the slide.
- On the Home tab, click the arrow below Paste and select Paste Special from the drop-down menu. A dialog box appears.
- Select Paste Link if you want to link to the source data.
- Select Microsoft Excel Worksheet object.
- Click OK.
The Paste Special dialog box offers options to link or not link:
When you use this method, a worksheet object will be inserted onto the slide.
If you insert linked worksheet data into a PowerPoint presentation, it’s common to want to break, update or change the links at some point.
If you don’t want to link to the Excel file, you can simply copy and paste Excel data into a blank area on the slide (Ctrl + C to copy and Ctrl + V to paste). PowerPoint will paste the data as a table and you will be able to format it in PowerPoint.
Updating links
An easy way to update a linked worksheet object is to simply right-click the object and select Update Link from the drop-down menu.
For other ways to update and manage links, check out the article How to Break, Update or Change Links to Excel Charts or Worksheets in PowerPoint.
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More resources
How to Insert an Excel Chart or Graph into PowerPoint (Linked or Unlinked)
How to Reduce PowerPoint File Size (10 Ways to Compress PowerPoint Decks)
How to Remove the Background of an Image in PowerPoint
10 Ways to Compress PowerPoint Presentations to Reduce File Size
Related courses
Microsoft PowerPoint: Intermediate / Advanced
Microsoft PowerPoint: Design for Non-Designers
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