How to Link an Excel Chart to PowerPoint?

Even today, Excel and PowerPoint are extremely popular applications in most business spaces globally. Excel is used for all data analysis and report generation, and the results are presented via PowerPoint.

With such widespread use of both applications, having knowledge of using both seamlessly and efficiently makes our work easy and saves time.

Talking of making things easy, how do you link an Excel chart to a PowerPoint presentation? If you link Excel charts to your PowerPoint presentation, you can easily include live data from an Excel spreadsheet in your presentation.

That means when you make any changes to your Excel data, it automatically updates the chart in your slides. You can keep all your data and information updated and in sync by linking an Excel chart to a PowerPoint slide.

A few advantages of linking Excel charts to PowerPoint are:

• You can centralize data management and easily make changes across different presentations.
• The PowerPoint chart gets automatically updated whenever there’s a change in source data in Excel.
• It saves time and improves accuracy and efficiency. 

Why Should You Link And Not Embed an Excel Chart to PowerPoint?

It is better to link an Excel chart to a PowerPoint slide instead of embedding it when you require updates in your presentation every time you update your Excel data. So, whenever you make any changes to your source data in Excel, it will automatically update your PowerPoint without needing to update it manually. 

Key differences between linking and embedding:

Feature	Linking	Embedding
File Size	The file size is smaller.	The file size is larger.
Data Updates	It updates the PowerPoint automatically when the source Excel file is changed.	It does not update automatically; it needs to be done manually.
Data Source	It relies on an external Excel file.	It contains a copy of the Excel data.
Editing Data	You can edit data directly in the source Excel file.	You need to Edit data within the embedded Excel sheet.
Broken Links	There is a risk of broken links if the source file is moved or renamed	There is no risk of broken links.
Collaboration	It is easier to collaborate with others who have access to the source file.	It is more suitable for standalone presentations.

How to Link an Excel Chart to PowerPoint?

It is easy to link an Excel chart to a PowerPoint, and the steps are explained below:

1. Prepare Your Excel Chart: The first step is to make your chart in Excel and format it as required.
2. Copy the Chart: Once you have prepared the chart, select it and copy it by right-clicking on it and choosing “copy” or simply pressing Ctrl+C.
3. Paste the Chart into PowerPoint: Go to PowerPoint, right-click on the slide, and select “Paste Special.” Then, select “keep source formatting & link data” or “keep destination formatting & link data.”

5. Update the chart (if Needed): Once you have copied the chart in PowerPoint, you can make changes in Excel if required; the chart in PowerPoint will automatically get updated. If it does not, you can do it manually by selecting the linked chart in PowerPoint and selecting the Update link.

Please Note: If you move the Excel file or the PowerPoint presentation to a different location, the link might break. Keeping both files in the same folder or using relative file paths is best.

<SlidesAICTA1 />

Conclusion

Once you know how to link an Excel chart to PowerPoint, it will become easy for you to manage all your data across multiple presentations. It will help you stay more organized and ensure whatever changes and updates you make on our Excel chart are automatically updated in PowerPoint.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Can I link multiple Excel charts to one PowerPoint slide?

Yes, linking more than one chart from the same or even different Excel sheets to a single PowerPoint slide is possible.

• Can I link charts from different Excel files to the same PowerPoint presentation?

Yes, it is possible. You can link charts from various Excel files to the same presentation.

• Can I link any type of Excel chart to PowerPoint?

You can easily link different types of Excel charts, such as bar charts, line graphs, pie charts, etc., to your PowerPoint slide.

• What are the disadvantages of embedding an Excel worksheet?

If you embed an Excel worksheet, it will increase the size of the file and also make it difficult to manage all updates.

• What happens if the Excel file is moved or renamed?

If you move or rename your Excel file, the link will break. So, you will have to update the link in PowerPoint and point it to the new location of the Excel file.

• What happens if I paste the chart without using “Paste Special”?

If you paste the chart without using “Paste Special,” it will create a static image of that chart, which won’t get updated when the Excel source data changes.

• Can I control the update frequency of the linked chart?

It is not possible to control the update frequency of the linked chart as it gets automatically updated whenever the Excel file is opened, changed, or saved.