powerpoint presentation in excel

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How to link or embed an excel worksheet in a powerpoint presentation.

Sometimes, you want to include the data on an Excel spreadsheet in a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation.

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What's the difference between linking and embedding, how to link or embed an excel worksheet in microsoft powerpoint.

Sometimes, you want to include the data on an Excel spreadsheet in a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation. There are a couple of ways to do this, depending on whether or not you want to maintain a connection with the source Excel sheet. Let's take a look.

You actually have three options for including a spreadsheet in a PowerPoint presentation. The first is by simply copying that data from the spreadsheet, and then pasting it into the target document. This works okay, but all it really does is convert the data to a simple table in PowerPoint. You can use PowerPoint's basic table formatting tools on it, but you can't use any of Excel's features after the conversion.

While that can be useful sometimes, your other two options---linking and embedding---are much more powerful, and are what we're going to show you how to do in this article. Both are pretty similar, in that you end up inserting an actual Excel spreadsheet in your target presentation. It will look like an Excel sheet, and you can use Excel's tools to manipulate it. The difference comes in how these two options treat their connection to that original Excel spreadsheet:

• If you link an Excel worksheet in a presentation, the target presentation and the original Excel sheet maintain a connection. If you update the Excel file, those updates get automatically reflected in the target presentation.
• If you embed an Excel worksheet in a presentation, that connection is broken. Updating the original Excel sheet does not automatically update the data in the target presentation.

There are advantages to both methods, of course. One advantage of linking a document (other than maintaining the connection) is that it keeps your PowerPoint presentation's file size down, because the data is mostly still stored in the Excel sheet and only displayed in PowerPoint. One disadvantage is that the original spreadsheet file needs to stay in the same location. If it doesn't, you'll have to link it again. And since it relies on the link to the original spreadsheet, it's not so useful if you need to distribute the presentation to people who don't have access to that location.

Embedding that data, on the other hand, increases the size of presentation, because all that Excel data is actually embedded into the PowerPoint file. There are some distinct advantages to embedding, though. For example, if you're distributing that presentation to people who might not have access to the original Excel sheet, or if the presentation needs to show that Excel sheet at a specific point in time (rather than getting updated), embedding (and breaking the connection to the original sheet) makes more sense.

So, with all that in mind, let's take a look at how to link and embed an Excel Sheet in Microsoft PowerPoint.

Linking or embedding an Excel worksheet into a PowerPoint presentation is actually pretty straightforward, and the process for doing either is almost identical. Start by opening both the Excel worksheet and the PowerPoint presentation you want to edit at the same time.

In Excel, select the cells you want to link or embed. If you would like to link or embed the entire worksheet, click on the box at the juncture of the rows and columns in the top left-hand corner to select the whole sheet.

Copy those cells by pressing CTRL+C in Windows or Command+C in macOS. You can also right-click any selected cell, and then choose the "Copy" option on the context menu.

Now, switch to your PowerPoint presentation and click to place the insertion point where you would like the linked or embedded material to go. On Home tab of the Ribbon, click the down arrow beneath the "Paste" button, and then choose the "Paste Special" command from the dropdown menu.

This opens the Paste Special window. And it's here where you'll find the only functional different in the processes of linking or embedding a file.

If you want to embed your spreadsheet, choose the "Paste" option over on the left. If you want to link your spreadsheet, choose the "Paste Link" option instead. Seriously, that's it. This process is otherwise identical.

Whichever option you choose, you'll next select the "Microsoft Excel Worksheet Object" in the box to the right, and then click the "OK" button.

And you'll see your Excel sheet (or the cells you selected) in your PowerPoint presentation.

If you linked the Excel data, you can't edit it directly in PowerPoint, but you can double-click anywhere on it to open the original spreadsheet file. And any updates you make to that original spreadsheet are then reflected in your PowerPoint presentation.

If you embedded the Excel data, you can edit it directly in PowerPoint. Double-click anywhere in the spreadsheet and you'll stay in the same PowerPoint window, but the PowerPoint Ribbon gets replaced by the Excel Ribbon and you can access all the Excel functionality. It's kind of cool.

And when you want to stop editing the spreadsheet and go back to your PowerPoint controls, just click anywhere outside the spreadsheet.

How to Link Excel Data to Your PowerPoint Presentation

You can easily update your PowerPoint file by linking your Excel spreadsheet data to your presentation. Here's how to do it.

You always want to have the latest data available if you're making a presentation. That way, you can ensure that your slides are accurate and reflect the realities on the ground.

However, there are times when you have to create a presentation as your colleagues are still compiling data. How can you ensure that any change they make in your Excel database reflects in your PowerPoint slide?

This is where the Paste link function comes in. Here's how to use it to ensure you always have the latest database and chart info on your presentation.

Linking Your Excel Data to PowerPoint

To link your Excel table to your presentation, it first must exist. If your colleagues haven't created it yet, you can create a placeholder table you can select and copy and then have your teammates update its content. Once you've made the initial data, follow the steps outlined below.

• Select the table you want to copy over to your presentation.
• Click on Copy or press Ctrl + C ( Command + C for Mac users).
• Open Microsoft Powerpoint .
• Open the file presentation you're working on if you already have one; otherwise, click on Blank Presentation .
• On a blank slide, go to the Home menu ribbon .
• Click on the down arrow under the paste icon .
• Choose Paste Special…
• In the Paste Special window, choose the Paste link radio button.
• Choose Microsoft Excel Worksheet Object .

Once done, you'll see the table you copied from Excel appear on your PowerPoint presentation.

However, you need to access the source Excel file to edit the content or formatting of the table you added. To do so, you can open the file where you saved it; or, you could double-click the table, and it will automatically open the source file.

Related: How to Organize Your Spreadsheets in Excel

Creating a Dynamic Chart

One of the easiest ways to visualize, compare, and analyze data and trends is to use charts. However, if you want to create a chart from the linked Excel table you just created, you must do it from its source file first. Once you've made the chart, you can copy and link it to your PowerPoint file. Here's how to do it.

• Select the chart you create in Excel.
• Go to the slide where you want to place the chart you just copied.
• On the Home menu ribbon , click on the down arrow under the paste icon .
• In the Paste Options , you can either choose Use Destination Theme & Link Data (L) or Keep Source Formatting & Link Data (F) . These are the third and fourth icons, respectively. The first option lets you use the theme you're using for your presentation, while the second one retains the look and feel of your source Excel file.
• Once you've pasted your chart, you can move it around to suit your needs.

Related: How to Create Powerful Graphs and Charts in Microsoft Excel

Updating Your Chart

Unfortunately, if you need to make changes to your chart, you'll have to open its source data in Excel. If you have access to the Excel file, you can just make changes directly, and it should automatically reflect on the PowerPoint chart.

If you don't have the Excel file open, you can right-click on the PowerPoint chart, then choose Edit Data > Edit Data in Excel in the context menu. You can also select Edit Data > Edit Data to open a small window if you only need to make minor changes.

In case the changes you make don't automatically reflect on the PowerPoint chart, you can manually update it. To do so, click on your chart, go to the Chart Design menu ribbon , then click on Refresh Data . This will pull in the latest information from the linked Excel file and update the information displayed on your PowerPoint chart.

Formatting Your Excel-Linked PowerPoint Chart

Unlike your Excel data table, any changes you make to the chart design in Excel will not affect your chart in PowerPoint. For this reason, you have to finalize the design and feel of the chart you're copying from in Excel before copying it over to your presentation.

Alternatively, you can make design changes to your PowerPoint chart independently. That means you can change how your presentation chart looks without affecting the chart you copied from Excel.

To make those changes, click on your chart, then go to the Chart Design menu ribbon . You can choose how the chart feels under Chart Styles . If you think that the current chart type doesn't fit well with your presentation, you can even change it.

Click on Change Chart Type to open a new window. From there, you can pick out any chart type you like in the left column.

Related: How to Make a Line Graph in Excel

Finding Linked Files

Sometimes, you cannot remember if the tables and charts in your presentation are linked to an Excel file. Or it might be the case that you linked your PowerPoint data to a spreadsheet but can't remember where you saved it.

You can check the PowerPoint file directly if it's linked to any file and where these files are. To do so, click on File in the menu ribbon . In the full-screen menu that opens, go to Info on the left-hand column .

Under the Info window, on the right-hand column, go to Related Documents . Click on Open File Location to see where the linked files are saved.

If you moved the linked Excel files, click on Edit Links to Files . A Links window will appear showing each linked object and the file's location attached to it. The window gives you four choices:

• Update now : Update the object's data to the latest changes in the linked file.
• Open Source : Opens the linked Excel file.
• Change Source… : Opens a File Explorer window to change the linked file.
• Break Link : Removes the link from your presentation.

Always Stay Updated

This nifty feature first appeared in Microsoft Office 2010 and has since been available to all Office users. So, whenever you're making a presentation based on incomplete data, you no longer have to worry about updating it manually in the future.

By copying the Excel information and then pasting it into your presentation as a linked item, you're guaranteed to have the latest data updated into your PowerPoint file automatically.

Automatically Create PowerPoint Slides from Excel (3 Easy Ways)

Microsoft Excel is indeed an extremely effective software. We may perform countless operations on a given dataset using Excel’s tools and features. We frequently need to make PowerPoint slides from Excel files. When we have to do it repeatedly, copying information from Excel and making PowerPoint slides is very time-consuming. This article will discuss three unique and easy ways to create PowerPoint slides from Excel files automatically. Therefore, you should go through these 3 easy ways to Automatically Create PowerPoint Slides from Excel.

How to Automatically Create PowerPoint Slides from Excel: 3 Easy Ways

As an illustration, we will explore a sample dataset. The following dataset, for example, has sales representative Names and Areas. We are going to show the Excel data in PowerPoint slides using all 3 of the approaches. Moreover, I will go through the benefits and drawbacks of using these strategies. In addition, I have yet to mention that I have been using the Microsoft Excel 365 version for this article; You are free to choose any other edition that you find most convenient.

1. Automatically Create Slides Using Insert Command in PowerPoint

The Insert command is the simplest method. Using this Insert Command, slides are kept up to date immediately after any modifications are made to the Excel file. The issue is that we need to utilize the insert command for each slide. We will insert the Excel object using PowerPoint’s Insert command to automate the procedure. To complete the work, please follow the instructions below.

• First, launch PowerPoint.
• Then, select the Insert  tab.
• Next, click Text , and later on the Object  option.

• As a result, a new dialog box will pop up at this time, and you must click on Create from file .
• After that, click on Browse to find the Excel document you want to add to your slides.

• Consequently, the Insert Object dialog box pops up again, allowing you to check the Link box and click OK .
• Hence, as demonstrated below, it will yield the desired output in MS PowerPoint.

Read More: How to Insert an Excel File into PowerPoint as an Icon

2. Apply Paste Special Feature to Generate Slides from Excel

Another interesting way is to use the Paste Special feature. We can make slides in PowerPoint with the specified and selected data from Excel through the paste feature. Here, as the data in the Excel file is updated, the PowerPoint slide is also updated. To do the procedure, follow these instructions.

• First, open Excel’s saved worksheet to insert data.

• Secondly, move the mouse over the portion of the data you wish to link to PowerPoint. Then click on Copy .
• Now, open PowerPoint and click on the slide where you wish to connect the Excel data. Later on, click Paste and Paste Special  feature.

• And a new dialog box appears. Choose the Paste link After that, click As Microsoft Excel Worksheet Object and hit OK .

• As a result, it will return the required output in the PowerPoint slides, as shown below.

Read More: How to Copy Chart from Excel to PowerPoint Without Link

3. Create PowerPoint Slides from Excel Through VBA

There is a unique way of creating PowerPoint Slides automatically using Excel VBA. The only difference between previous methods is that slides are not updated as we change the Excel file. To use the Excel VBA Code, we must add the Microsoft PowerPoint 16.0 Object Library. However, since we are using this approach, we don’t need to create a VBA code for each presentation. Through modification of the code, we can generate dozens of slides.

• First of all, select the active sheet of the workbook to begin.

• Secondly, navigate to Developer and then Visual Basic .
• Later on, select Insert and now click on Module .

• Next, put the following code into the Module box. Remember to change the cell’s range.

• Finally, click the Run button or press F5 .
• So, this is where the output will go.

To overcome the error, follow these:

Step 1 : Hover over Tools => You will see the References option => Click on References .

As a result, the References – VBAProject window will open.

Step 2 : Check Microsoft PowerPoint 16.0 Object Library => You will see the OK button in the top right corner => Hit OK to resolve the error.

Download Practice Workbook

You can get a free copy of the example workbook that was used during the discussion which was just below here.

You can automatically create PowerPoint slides from Excel from this point forward by using the procedures that we just discussed. Keep using them, and let us know if you come up with any other strategies to get the work done or if you have any new ideas. Remember to post questions, comments, or recommendations in the section below.

Related Articles

• How to Perform Excel to PowerPoint Automation
• How to Link Excel Sheets to PowerPoint
• How to Update Charts in PowerPoint from Excel Automatically
• How to Link Excel Data to PowerPoint Chart
• How to Embed an Excel File in PowerPoint
• [Fixed!] Problems with Embedded Excel Files in PowerPoint
• [Solved] Embedded Excel in PowerPoint Not Showing All Data
• How to Link Powerpoint to Excel for Dynamic Data Updates
• How to Insert Excel Chart into PowerPoint
• How to Copy Table from Excel to Powerpoint with Formatting

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Tags: Excel to PowerPoint

Lutfor Rahman Shimanto, BSc, Information Technology, Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh, has worked with the ExcelDemy project for over a year. He has written 50+ articles and provided solutions of 100+ comments for ExcelDemy. Currently, he works as an Excel & VBA Developer and provides support and solutions in the ExcelDemy Forum. He has solved 100+ ExcelDemy Forum problems. His work and learning interests are in developing various Excel & VBA and Desktop applications. Outside of work, he enjoys Chess... Read Full Bio

Hi and thanks for your post data;

When I use your VBA code I got this error:”user defined type not defined” How can I fix it?

Best Regards

Thanks for reaching out and posting your comment. You are right about the raised error. If you do not add the Microsoft PowerPoint 16.0 Object Library , you must see the User-Defined Type not defined error.

To solve the issue, follow these: Step 1 : Hover over Tools => You will see the References option.

Step 2 : Click on References => In the References – VBAProject window, check Microsoft PowerPoint 16.0 Object Library , and you will see the OK button in the top right corner.

Step 3 : After clicking OK , you will be able to run the code like the following GIF .

Hopefully, the solution will help you overcome your situation. Good luck.

Regards Lutfor Rahman Shimanto

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How to Convert Excel to PowerPoint

Last Updated: June 9, 2023

This article was co-authored by wikiHow Staff . Our trained team of editors and researchers validate articles for accuracy and comprehensiveness. wikiHow's Content Management Team carefully monitors the work from our editorial staff to ensure that each article is backed by trusted research and meets our high quality standards. This article has been viewed 232,250 times. Learn more...

If you want to take data from an Excel spreadsheet and put it into a PowerPoint presentation, you can do so with built-in controls available in both programs. This wikiHow shows you how to put Excel data into PowerPoint slides using these features.

Copying and Pasting Excel Data into PowerPoint

Inserting an Excel Object into PowerPoint

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Excel tips and tutorials

PowerPoint Slides From Excel List

If you have a list of names or topics in Excel, here’s how you can quickly create PowerPoint slides from that list. Unlike most of my macros, these run in PowerPoint, to pull the data from Excel. That was easier than writing Excel macros to make things happen in PowerPoint!

Create a Slide for Each Excel Item

In these macros, the main PowerPoint slide is duplicated. Then, the data from Excel is added to the text boxes on the new slide.

There are 4 macros, with variations for

• 1 or 2 text boxes on the slide
• all Excel rows, or based on criteria

You can download the free files from my Contextures site . There’s a zipped folder with the PowerPoint presentation, and an Excel file with data for the slides.

Slide Data in Excel List

There’s a small named table in the sample Excel file, with data for the PowerPoint slides.

You can use this for testing, before trying the macros with your own Excel data.

PowerPoint Main Slide

In PowerPoint, the first slide in the presentation has two text boxes.

The macro duplicates the first slide, and puts the Excel information in those text boxes

In the sample file, don’t move the main slide, if you want the macros to work correctly!

That first slide in the presentation is based on a Master slide.

• You can edit its Master slide, to change the background or text box settings.
• You can also replace that chart icon with your company logo, or add other features.

More PowerPoint Slides

In the PowerPoint file that you can download from my Contextures site, there are 2 other slides.

• Those additional slides have notes on using the macros, and formatting the Slide Master.
• These slides aren’t needed by the macro, and you can delete them.

How to Run Macro to Create Slides

To create PowerPoint slides, from a list in Excel, follow these steps:

• Open the Excel file where your list is stored
• Activate the sheet where the data is stored – the list must be formatted as a named Excel table
• Open the PowerPoint presentation that contains the macros and main slide
• Be sure the main slide, that you want to duplicate, is the first slide in the presentation
• At the top of PowerPoint, on the View tab, click Macros
• Select one of the Create Slides macros, and click Run

Check the New Slides

After the macro runs, you can check the new slides that were added to the PowerPoint presentation.

• In this example, I ran the macro for 2 text boxes, and checked column 3 in the data, for a “Y”
• Three of the rows have a “Y”, so 3 slides were added to the presentation.

NOTE : This macro code is further down the page, and all four macros are in the sample PowerPoint file.

Save the PowerPoint Slides

After you run the macro, and create the duplicate slides:

• Save the PowerPoint file with a new name .
• Then, in that new file, delete the main slide and the two notes slides, or hide them.

NOTE : If you simply export the new slides, you’ll lose the formatting, because they’re based on the Master Slide in the original PowerPoint file.

Create a Presentation Template

Another option is to save the PowerPoint file in PowerPoint Macro-Enabled Template (potm) format.

By default, that file will be saved in your Custom Office Templates folder.

Then, to create a new set of slides from Excel data:

• In PowerPoint, click File, then click New
• In the Templates section, click Personal
• Click on the Slides from Excel template, then click Create

PowerPoint Slides From Excel Macro Code

Here is the code for the CreateSlidesTest_Text2   macro that fills two text boxes on a slide, and checks the Excel table for criteria.

NOTE: To use the macro with a different Excel table, you can change the variable settings, in this section of the macro code.

This macro creates slides for items in the Excel list, after checking a criteria cell, and fills 2 text boxes.

• In Excel, checks the test column ( colTest ), and creates a slide if it contains the specified text string ( strTest )
• In the PowerPoint slide, text from the specified columns ( col01 and col02 ), is entered in the 1st text box and 2nd text box

Learn More About PowerPoint Macros

There are PowerPoint code samples on the Microsoft site , that helped me get started with these macros to create slides from Excel data.

For more examples, you can check the StackOverflow forum, or PowerPoint sites.

Get the PowerPoint Slide Files

The macros that create slides are stored in the PowerPoint file. There are no macros in the Excel workbook

______________________________

PowerPoint Slides from Excel List

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4 thoughts on “PowerPoint Slides From Excel List”

Does this work on Macs? I keep getting the “No Excel table found on active sheet” when I try to run it. I’ve been using the sample slides and sample worksheet and I am sure to have the sheet with the table “activated” (clicked on? this just means clicked on, right?) when I try to run the macros. None of them work, they all give the sam error message. I also went into VBA editor Tools/References in both programs to make sure the other was clicked on. No luck. Thoughts? Help?

I don’t think it works on Macbook. I had the same error, tried it on a Windows laptop and worked perfectly.

It also has some problems with large data sets and stops running the code after a few hundred rows, (I had almost 1000 rows) but a quick fix would be to delete the rows that it has already done and run again. It will add the new slides after the last slide in the powerpoint.

To the person behind this: thank you so much. You have saved me hours of my life. I was populating each of my slides manually and it took me the whole day to get through 1/16th fo the work. With this code, took me <5 minutes. Thank you so much.

Did you ever figure out how to do this on a mac? If so, please share…

When I click RUN, it only makes about 10 of 219 slides. I am trying to do a list of names. The error says “Could not complete Slides”

Any help would be appreciated

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Automating PowerPoint from Excel

Apr 16, 2020 | DataPoint , DataPoint Automation , How-To , Merge

This datapoint plugin is really fantastic and it matches our business needs. Is it possible anyone from your team contact me for further discussion including commerical, collaboration?

Perfect. You have a mail in your mailbox already!

This looks great. Could this pull multiple data points from Excel and populate a powerpoint template? Could your team reach out please.

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Insert Excel File into PowerPoint? [Here’s How to Do It!]

By: Author Shrot Katewa

There may be a time when you have data in an Excel file which you want to represent in your PowerPoint presentation. It is also good to make it dynamic so that when the data changes in the Excel file the same changes in the PowerPoint as well.

But, how do you insert data from excel in PowerPoint?

To embed an “Excel” file in PowerPoint, click on the “Insert” tab, and click on the “Objects” option in the “Text” group. Then, click on “Select from File” in the dialog box, and click on the “Browse” button. Select the excel file, and click “OK”. Enable the “Link” option and click “OK”.

In this article, I’m not only going to show you how to insert data from Excel into PowerPoint, but also show you the steps to embed an Excel sheet directly in your PowerPoint, either in part or full. Then, we shall also understand how to insert a chart from Excel into PowerPoint.

So, let’s get started!

1. How to Insert an Excel Worksheet into PowerPoint?

To insert an Excel worksheet into Microsoft PowerPoint, you can simply paste the Excel data in the presentation slide. All you have to do is follow the 3 quick steps.

Step-1: Copy the Excel Data

To copy Excel data, you have to first open the Excel worksheet. In the worksheet, select the cells you want to incorporate in Excel.  “Right Click”  on the Excel data and select the  “Copy”  option from the right-click menu. Alternatively, you can press the  “Ctrl+C”  keys on your keyboard to copy the data.

Step-2: Click on the “Copy” option

The next step is to open the PowerPoint slide where you want to insert the Excel data.  “Right Click”  anywhere on the slide and click on the  “Paste”  option in the right-click menu. Alternatively, you can press the  “Ctrl+V”  keys on your keyboard to paste the copied data.

Step-3: Click on the “Table Design” tab

Finally, you can edit the Excel data inserted as a table in Microsoft PowerPoint. To do so, click on the  “ Table Design ”  tab in the menu bar located at the top of the screen. You can also click on the  “Layout”  tab by the  “Table Design”  tab for more editing features.

1.1 How to Embed an Excel Worksheet in PowerPoint? 

By embedding an Excel worksheet in PowerPoint, you can automatically update the worksheet in a slide when editing data in Microsoft Excel. To embed an Excel worksheet, follow the 6 simple steps.

Step-1: Click on the “Insert” tab

The first step is to open the  “Insert”  menu. In the menu bar at the top of the screen, click on the  “Insert”  tab . 

Step-2: Click on the “Object” button

In the  “Text”  group of the  “Insert”  menu, click on the  “Object”  button. The  “Object”  icon is at the bottom of the right column in the  “Text”  group. This will open the  “Insert Object”  dialog box.

Step-3: Click on the “Create from file” option 

In the left column of the  “Insert Object”  dialog box, click on the  “Create from file”  option. Then click on the  “Browse”  button in the middle of the dialog box. It will open the file browser window.

Step-4: Select the Excel file

In the file explorer pop-up window, select the Excel file that you want to embed into the PowerPoint slide. Then click on the  “OK”  button at the bottom of the window to add the Excel file.

Step-5: Click on the “Link” option

In the  “Insert Object”  dialog box, click on the  “Link”  option by the  “Browse”  button to embed the inserted Excel worksheet. A checkmark will appear indicating the link has been added. 

Step-6: Click on the “OK” button

Now all you have to do is click on the  “OK”  button at the bottom of the  “Insert Object”  dialog box to embed the Excel worksheet into the PowerPoint slide (as shown in the image above).

1.2  How to Embed a Section of Excel Data in PowerPoint? 

The  “ Paste Special ”  feature in PowerPoint allows you to embed a section of an Excel worksheet into a slide. To do so, follow the 4 simple steps.

Step 1: Copy the section of Excel worksheet

The first step is to copy the section of the Excel worksheet that you want to embed into PowerPoint. In the Excel file, select the section and  “Right Click”  on it. Click on the  “Copy”  option in the right-click menu to copy the section.

Step-2: Click on the “Paste Special” option  

The next step is to open the PowerPoint slide. In the  “Clipboard”  group of the  “Home”  menu, click on the  “Paste” button. Then click on the  “Paste Special”  option in the dropdown menu under the  “Paste”  option.

Step-3: Click on the “Microsoft Excel Worksheet Object” option

In the  “Paste Special”  dialog box, click on the  “Paste link”  option from the left column. Then click on the  “Microsoft Excel Worksheet Object”  option in the  “As”  box.

Step-4: Click on the “OK” button

Now all you have to do is click on the  “OK”  button at the bottom of the  “Paste Special”  dialog box to embed the copied section of the Excel worksheet into the slide (as shown in the above image).

2. How to Insert an Excel Chart into PowerPoint?

In Microsoft PowerPoint, you can insert an editable chart from Excel. All you have to do is follow the 2 easy steps. 

Step 1: Click on the “Copy” option 

In the Microsoft Excel file,  “Right Click”  on the chart that you want to insert into PowerPoint. Then click on the  “Copy” option from the right-click menu. You can alternatively press the  “Ctrl+C”  keys on your keyboard to copy the chart.

Step-2: Click on the “Keep Source Formatting & Embed Workbook” option

The next step is to open the PowerPoint slide where you want to insert the Excel chart.  “Right Click”  on the slide. Click on the  “Keep Source Formatting & Embed Workbook”  option under the  “Paste Options”  section in the right-click menu to paste the editable Excel chart.

3. How to Insert an Excel File as an Icon into PowerPoint?

To insert an Excel file into Microsoft PowerPoint as an icon, you can use the  “Insert Object”  feature. Follow the 7 quick steps.

In the menu ribbon located at the top of the screen, click on the  “Insert”  tab to open the  “Insert”  menu.

Step-2: Click on the “Object” option

At the bottom of the right column in the  “Text”  group of the  “Insert”  menu, click on the  “Object”  option. This will open the  “Insert Object”  dialog box.

Step-3: Click on the “Browse” button

In the  “Insert Object”  dialog box, click on the  “Create from File”  option. Then click on   the  “Browse”  button to open the  “Browse”  pop-up window.

In the  “Browse”  window, select the Excel file that you want to insert. Then click on the  “OK”  button at the bottom of the window. 

Step-5: Click on the “Display as Icon” option

Now you can click on the  “Display as Icon”  box on the right side of the  “Insert Object”  dialog box to add the Excel file as an icon.

Step-6: Click on the “Change Icon” button

If you want to change the icon for the Excel worksheet, click on the  “Change Icon”  button. This will open the  “Change Icon”  dialog box where you can select an icon to add to the presentation slide.

Step-7: Click on the “OK” button

Finally, click on the  “OK”  button at the bottom of the  “Insert Object”  dialog box to insert the Excel file as an icon.

Credit to cookie_studio (on Freepik) for the featured image of this article (further edited).

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11 minute read

11 Best Excel Presentation Tips in 2024

Brandon Pfaff

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There’s more to a spreadsheet than just the numbers on the page. It is equally important to make your spreadsheets look professional, easy to read, and visually appealing to your viewers.

The same way a lawyer with a crooked tie and disorganized papers might raise an eyebrow in court, your Excel presentation won’t hit the right marks with your audience if it looks clumsy and bland, no matter how many hours of research goes into making it or how important the information contained within it is.

Whether you are creating a spreadsheet for personal use, to pass information to your team or share with your project manager, the secrets locked away in this post will be of immense use to you. Let’s take a look at the best Excel presentation tips to help you create standout spreadsheets .

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1. Get a template online

If you are a busy person, and you cannot fit an Excel presentation design into your schedule, enter the ex machina: pre-made Excel templates. You can choose from an array of purpose-specific templates with beautiful designs, fonts, and colors. Simply enter your values to customize it, and you are ready to go.

Of course, using a template means you will not get better at designing things yourself. If getting things done is your priority instead of getting better at designing presentations, then, by all means, use a template and be done with it. On the other hand, if you want to know how to make your Excel presentation better on your own, then find someone to teach you or stick around until the end of this post.

Check out our 50 best Excel templates to make your life easier  and our  33 Excel business templates for workplace productivity .

2. Name your worksheets correctly

Excel presentation is all about clarity. For this single reason, the importance of a correct and reliable project or worksheet name cannot be overemphasized. It could be a sentence, a phrase or just a word. Just make sure it is easy to understand by you or by anyone you will be sharing the file with.

You also must make sure it is distinct from the names of other worksheets stored on your computer. After all, what is the use of all the tips you will learn here today if you will not be able to find the worksheet you applied them on?

3. Define your header/title

Your header and title can be anything but it needs to stand out. Your header must be able to speak to the reader and make the reader know at first glance what the header is.

To do this, try a larger font for your header, underline and embolden it. You should center align it and use a different font color. It has to stand out but also blend with the template color scheme and overall aesthetic look. You can also use a different readable for your header. Just remember, we want to make it distinct, not isolated.

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4. Dos and don'ts of fonts

Full transparency: Fonts make or break your spreadsheet. Always use a uniform font for your data, you can use the same font for your header or you can change that of the header. You can use three fonts in a single presentation and that is the recommended maximum, else you would be pushing it. In this case, less is infinitely better.

These are the guidelines to follow in selecting the right format for your font.

Here is a quick tip, fonts of the sans-serif group are the best for your Excel spreadsheet if readability is your goal. Calibri, Helvetica, Arial or Playfair are few examples. If used with the right alignment, spacing, and color, they can bring out the best in your Excel presentation.

This ultimately depends on your presentation but officially, font 12 is often advised with double spacing to improve readability. As stated earlier, the header font can be larger. The headers should be larger than sub-headers which in turn should be larger than data fonts.

You want to create a sharp contrast between the text color and the background colors e.g. a light color text on a dark background and vice versa. This is where the "zebra stripes" rule comes in, which will be discussed later in the post.

People don’t often use the alignment tool in Excel. If you want to make your presentation look beautiful and business-like , you will need to maximize the alignment feature.

5. Create space for breathing room

When you see tightly packed, clumsy or wordy text or spreadsheet, your brain automatically gets tired of reading it before you even start. But when there is breathing space and the spreadsheet is divided up into categories, it becomes more pleasant to the eyes and ripe for interpretation by the brain.

This brings us to the B2 rule. Try to start your presentation on column B, row 2. Leaving the A column and the first row blank. It works like magic. You should also make sure that the column and row dimensions are the same.

Additionally, don't autofit the height and width of your document. You need to have flexibility and creative control of your workspace. Instead, manually adjust the height and width so that they have just enough white space but not too much to give your presentation some breathing room and improve readability.

6. Add an image

Whether it’s a photograph, an artistic sketch or your logo, images go a long way in making your spreadsheet better. Images make your presentation look official and possess the professional feel in many of the beautiful presentations you have seen. Pictures speak a thousand words. While Excel is not designed to accomplish the kind of presentation you can make in PowerPoint, a picture will help you to drive the point home and make your presentation memorable.

7. Go off the grid

Do you know that erasing all grid lines apart from those of your result will have people asking how you did it and if you used the same Excel software they use? Try it today. In your spreadsheet

Go to the View tab on the ribbon.

• Under the Show section, uncheck the box next to Gridlines .

8. Zebra stripes: Excel jungle law

Zebra stripes are alternating dark and light colors on rows lying on top of each other. This helps in a number of ways. First, it has this aesthetic feel that makes your work seem orderly, especially if you are displaying hundreds of rows of data. Second, it helps correlation and readability. A reader can track a row from the right-hand side to the far left and not lose track of what row his or her eyes are set upon.

You can zebra stripe using many methods. When you create a table in Excel, by default this will be zebra striped (Tip- select your data and use the shortcut Ctrl + T on a PC or ^ + T on a Mac to quickly create a table). On the Design tab, under Table Styles, you can change the color and style of your zebra stripes.

It can also be done using a formula in conditional formatting if desired. Conditional formatting is done by highlighting values that satisfy certain requirements (e.g. all odd-numbered rows). It can be copied from cell to cell using the painter tool in the Home toolbar.

9. Use charts, tables , and graphs

Most presentations are incomplete without some form of visual representation. Whether table, graph or chart, you need to visually represent your raw data in mediums that would be understood in a single glance. Charts, graphs, and tables should not be underestimated, especially if you have cumbersome data spanning many columns and rows.

In the Excel ecosystem, the chart, graph, and table features are like symbiotic siblings. You need them to bring out the beauty in the brevity of your work.

10. Create cell styles

Excel has many preset cell styles but you can create your own custom styles that will be more customized, and easier to use and edit because you created it. This is actually an alternative to getting a template if graphics consistency is your goal. After creating a beautiful spreadsheet with the above information, you can save the style so that you can apply it to future presentations.

Now your presentation is perfect with the right feel and style. Simply highlight the cells with your design for saving, then go to the Home toolbar, click on "more" at the base of the style gallery, then select "new cell style". A style dialog box will open, name the style, edit its properties and save.

If it isn't broken and it works efficiently, why change it? You can, however, add a touch of variability by changing the color palette from time to time.

11. Show restraint

You have learned all of these tips and you are ready to start your presentation -  be careful of overdoing it. Use color sparingly and don't combine too many tips at once. You need to tread the fine line between underwhelming and too much to find the "just enough" middle ground. Make sure your presentation is perfectly balanced, as all things should be.

Ultimately, the way your Excel presentation turns out depends on how well you communicate your data to your audience. Although, it does help to know the psychology of colors, good fonts. Browse beautiful spreadsheet presentations online to figure out what the "best" looks like. But at the end of the day, the ball is in your court and we hope that your dedication to practicing, sharpening and perfecting your presentation skills in Excel will be rewarded with cheers.

Ready to design your own Excel presentations?

If you would like to sum up the data on your Excel spreadsheet so that its insights are conveyed in a straight-forward manner, then follow this step-by-step guide. You’ll end up with a presentation that summarizes your data in a way that’s painless to analyze.

If you’re eager to brush up on your Excel skills, check out our Excel course and master the fundamentals to boost your productivity.

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Brandon is a full time CPA specializing in all things tax. When he is not serving clients, he enjoys spending time with his wife and son, real estate investing, and sipping fine bourbon.

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How to Add an Excel Chart to a PowerPoint Presentation

Copy and paste, or use the Link Data command

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Charts add a little extra punch to your PowerPoint presentation instead of listing bullet points of data. Conveniently, charts created in Excel can be copied and pasted into your PowerPoint presentations. As an added bonus, update charts in your PowerPoint presentation when changes are made to the original Excel data.

Instructions in this article apply to PowerPoint for Microsoft 365, PowerPoint 2019, PowerPoint 2016, PowerPoint 2013, PowerPoint 2010, and Excel.

Copy Your Chart From Excel

Any chart that you create in Excel can be copied and pasted into any Microsoft Office app.

Open the Excel file that contains the chart you want to copy and select the chart.

Select Home > Copy .

There are other ways to copy the chart. Right-click on the chart and select Copy . Or, use the Ctrl + C shortcut.

Close Excel.

Choose How to Paste Your Chart

The chart you copied in Excel is stored on the Clipboard. Now it's time to paste it into a PowerPoint slide.

Open PowerPoint and navigate to the slide where you wish to paste the Excel chart.

Select Home and select the Paste down arrow. Or, right-click the slide.   The different options for pasting a chart display.

Choose Use Destination Theme & Embed Workbook to paste your chart into PowerPoint with the ability to edit it in PowerPoint and match your presentation's color scheme.

Choose Keep Source Formatting & Embed Workbook to be able to edit it in PowerPoint and keep the original color scheme from Excel.

Choose Use Destination Theme & Link Data to be able to edit it by making changes to your original data in Excel. The chart will match your PowerPoint presentation's color scheme.

Choose Keep Source Formatting & Link Data to edit it by making changes to your original data in Excel. The chart will keep the original color scheme from Excel.

Choose Picture to paste a picture of your chart into PowerPoint. The picture cannot be edited and is not tied to any data.

Update Excel Charts in PowerPoint

If you chose to Link Data when pasting your Excel chart into PowerPoint, changes made to the original spreadsheet file will update the chart in PowerPoint.

To manually update chart data:

Select the chart in PowerPoint.

Select Chart Tools Design .

Select Refresh Data .

Microsoft Office Update Prompt

Each time you open a PowerPoint presentation that is linked to another Microsoft Office app, such as Excel or Word, you're prompted to update the links in the presentation file. If you trust the source of the presentation, choose Update Links . All links to other documents are updated with any new changes.

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Insert Excel data

In PowerPoint, you can embed tables and worksheets from Excel in your presentation slides.

In Excel, click and drag to highlight the cells you want to copy.

Right-click the copied cells and select Copy .

In your PowerPoint presentation, right-click and select the Paste Options you want:

Use Destination Styles – Choose to edit your copied cells like a PowerPoint table, but with PowerPoint's color scheme and fonts.

Keep Source Formatting – Choose to keep your table editable in PowerPoint while maintaining the same source formatting from Excel.

Embed – Choose to keep a copy of your table in PowerPoint in case you want to edit the data, which will open in Excel.

Note:  If you're working with a large Excel file, it'll inflate your PowerPoint presentation to a big size. You may also unintentionally be giving more access to your Excel file than you intend to.

Picture – Choose to paste your table as a picture to get the same benefits as embedding except you can format your cells like a picture and add effects to it. You won’t be able to edit data once it’s been pasted though.

Keep Text Only – Choose to paste your table as straight text and to do all formatting in PowerPoint.

If you pasted as a picture, on the Picture Tools Format tab, select the quick picture style you want to use. Adjust the table to your liking.

Insert Excel data in PowerPoint

Copy an Excel chart to another Office program

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Change source files destiantion in PowerPoint 2019 for Excel files with the ability to specify Excel sheet not just a file

Hello, Microsoft.

I have a problem. There is a lot of Excel graphs and diagrams from multiple Excel files pasted special with link preserved in PowerPoint Presentation. I need to preserve the ability to edit graphs in Excel later on. After the presentation is completed, these multiple Excel files are combined into one Excel file (this algorithm can't be changed unfortunatelly). Now I need to change file source in PowerPoint, which is no problem via File → Info → Edit links to files. But the trick here is that I can't specify the sheet inside the file to be linked to the specific graph. Which is a huge pain as there is almost a hundred of graphs and the same number of corresponding sheets in Excel file. Is there a solution?

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• Microsoft Agent |

Welcome to the Microsoft Community, we are happy to assist you.

We understand that you are having issues with the Office 2019 version. Unfortunately, in accordance with Microsoft's product lifecycle strategy, Microsoft will no longer provide technical support, bug fixes, or security fixes for Office 2019.

Detailed information can be found on the official page:

Microsoft Office 2019 - Microsoft Lifecycle | Microsoft Learn

While Office 2019 is still available, you may be experiencing issues that are difficult to resolve.

But for your issue, we have done an analysis and while you can update the source files linked to Excel charts, specifying a specific worksheet in the file directly through PowerPoint's interface is not supported. However, automating this process by using VBA scripts may resolve this limitation.

Questions about VBA can be posted on Stack Overflow (English only, you can use a translation tool to aid communication).

Please post VBA programming questions to Stack Overflow using the vba tag and other relevant tags.

Best regards

Zoro-MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

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Thank you for prompt reply. Is Microsoft planning to solve this issue in Office 2021 which is still supported?

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How to Add References in PowerPoint

PowerPoint presentations serve as effective means of communicating information. However, ensuring that any information referenced within the presentation is cited correctly is essential. This gives credit to the source and adds credibility to your presentation. This article will delve into the importance of adding references in PowerPoint, the different types of references, and provide step-by-step instructions on how to add citations, bibliographies, and reference lists. We will also address the formatting and best practices for citing sources within presentations and provide troubleshooting tips for common issues.

Why adding references in PowerPoint is important

Adding references in your PowerPoint presentation is imperative as it signifies that you've tried to research and support your production with credible sources. Properly cited references are also essential to avoid plagiarism, a serious offense in academic and professional settings. Additionally, referencing strengthens the credibility of your work as it helps to build trust by providing evidence to support your points. Lastly, citing references in your PowerPoint presentation highlights the extent of your research, which can help establish your expertise in a given field.

Moreover, adding references in your PowerPoint presentation can help your audience further explore your topic. Providing a list of sources allows your audience to delve deeper into the subject matter and better understand the topic. This can be particularly useful in academic or professional settings where the audience may be interested in conducting research or learning more about the topic.

Understanding the different types of references

References can be categorized into two different types, namely in-text citations and bibliographies.

In-text citations:

In-text citations are used to credit the authors of a particular piece of work within the body of your PowerPoint presentation. In-text citations are commonly used when quoting or paraphrasing content from another source. These citations can be in the author-date (APA) or numerical format (Chicago, Vancouver).

Bibliographies:

Bibliographies or reference lists are used to identify works cited in your presentation. These are typically found at the end of your PowerPoint presentation and include sources such as books, journals, articles, and websites used in the research process.

It is important to note that the format of in-text citations and bibliographies may vary depending on the citation style required by your instructor or publisher. Some common citation styles include APA, MLA, Chicago, and Harvard. It is essential to familiarize yourself with the specific citation style requirements to ensure that your references are accurate and properly formatted.

How to add a citation in PowerPoint

Adding citations in PowerPoint is a straightforward process that can be done in a few easy steps:

• Navigate to Insert Tab and select "Header & Footer."
• In the "Slide" tab of the pop-up window, select "Footer" and type in or copy/paste your reference in the prompted field.
• Select "Apply" to add a footnote with reference to your current slide.

It is important to note that adding citations to your PowerPoint presentation gives credit to the original author and adds credibility to your work. By citing your sources, you show your audience that you have done thorough research and are presenting accurate information. Additionally, including a bibliography slide at the end of your presentation can provide your audience with a list of resources for further reading.

How to add a bibliography in PowerPoint

The following steps outline the process of creating and adding a bibliography in PowerPoint:

• In the "Slide" tab of the pop-up window, select "Footer" and type in or copy/paste your bibliography in the prompted field.
• 3. Select "Apply" to add a footnote with a bibliography to your current slide.

It is important to note that the sources included in the bibliography should be appropriately formatted according to the chosen citation style. This includes information such as author names, publication dates, and titles. Additionally, it is recommended to double-check the accuracy of the sources and their corresponding citations to ensure the credibility of the presentation.

Step-by-step instructions for adding a reference list

The following steps describe how to add a reference list in PowerPoint:

• Navigate to Insert Tab and select the "New Slide" dropdown.
• Select the "Title and Content" type of slide.
• Use the newly created slide to create a reference list by typing or copying/pasting references in the "Content" section.

It is important to note that the reference list should be formatted according to the citation style required by your instructor or organization. Common citation styles include APA, MLA, and Chicago. Double-check the formatting guidelines before adding the reference list to your presentation.

Tips for formatting references in PowerPoint

Formatting your references in PowerPoint is crucial as it aligns with the APA or MLA guidelines. The following tips will help you format your references correctly:

• Use hanging indents – the first line of every reference should align with the left margin, while the subsequent lines are indented.
• Arrange references alphabetically – references are arranged alphabetically according to the first author's last name.
• Use italics – book titles and journal names should be italicized.
• Use proper punctuation – ensure you use commas, full stops, and semicolons accurately.

Best practices for citing sources in presentations

When citing sources in PowerPoint presentations, it is essential to follow some best practices. These include:

• Provide sufficient information – ensure you have the author's name, date, and publication title for every source cited in your presentation.
• Be consistent with formatting – use the same citation style throughout your presentation.
• Highlight sources used – indicate which sources are directly quoted, paraphrased, and used as reference sources.

How to add footnotes and endnotes in PowerPoint

Footnotes and endnotes serve the same purpose as in-text citations. However, they appear at the bottom of the PowerPoint slide or at the end of the presentation, respectively. Follow the steps below to add them:

• In the "Slide" tab of the pop-up window, select "Footer" and type in or copy/paste your footnote in the prompted field.
• Select "Apply" to add a footnote to your current slide.

Troubleshooting common issues with adding references in PowerPoint

Some common issues associated with adding references in PowerPoint presentations include selecting and implementing the incorrect citation style, failing to include all relevant information in the citation, and formatting errors. It's essential to review and proofread your PowerPoint presentation to ensure that all citations and references are correctly formatted and accurate.

Tools and resources for managing references in PowerPoint

Many helpful resources are available to assist with managing and citing references in PowerPoint presentations. Some tools include EndNote, Mendeley, RefWorks, Zotero, and EasyBib. Identifying the best tool that suits your needs and preferences is important to streamline the citation and referencing process.

Examples of effective use of references in PowerPoint presentations

Effective use of references in PowerPoint presentations includes citing credible and relevant sources to enhance argumentation and provide supportive evidence. It's vital to ensure that the references used are up-to-date and align with the topic or subject matter being presented. Additionally, proper citation and formatting of the references elevate the overall quality of the presentation.

Integrating reference management software with PowerPoint

Reference management software such as EndNote can be integrated with PowerPoint. This lets users organize, access, and cite references directly from the PowerPoint interface.

How to avoid plagiarism when adding references in PowerPoint

Plagiarism can be avoided by adequately citing or referencing all sources used in the presentation. Ensure that any direct quotes are indicated as such and that text paraphrased or summarized is appropriately attributed. Additionally, when using reference management software, ensure that the correct citation style is selected and that the information entered is accurate and complete.

Proper citing and referencing of sources in PowerPoint presentations are critical for establishing credibility, avoiding plagiarism, and providing supportive evidence. This article has examined the importance of adding references in PowerPoint and the different types of references and offered step-by-step instructions on adding citations, bibliographies, and reference lists. It has also addressed formatting, best practices for citing sources, troubleshooting tips, and tools and resources for managing references. By following the guidelines outlined in this article, you can improve the quality of your PowerPoint presentations and enhance your professional reputation.

Related Resources

6 Powerful Tips for Crafting Outstanding Investor PowerPoint Presentations

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How To Create Professional PowerPoint Slide Decks: Zebra BI's Ultimate 2023 Guide

How to Add Checkboxes in PowerPoint: A Comprehensive 5-Step Guide for Engaging Presentations

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