How to Insert Excel Data in PowerPoint?

Presentations are about text, images, videos, custom visuals and charts. A PowerPoint presentation can include anything that helps to elaborate the topic in better way. For business settings, charts and other statistics are important part of presentations.

Excel is one of the most popular tools for data processing. If you have a few charts and data sets in an Excel sheet, you can insert Excel data in PowerPoint. PowerPoint allows different methods to add data and charts from Excel.

Insert Excel Data in PowerPoint

The easiest method to insert an excel sheet into PowerPoint is copying data from Excel and then pasting in the PowerPoint. This method offers easy insertion but works best for limited data only. Adding too much data and figures in your slide from Excel sheet will create a chaos.

There are AI tools with advanced features that offer smart ways to optimize and style PowerPoint slides for professional settings. For a common user, this method might work.

What are other options available to insert Excel data into PowerPoint? How to create slides in PowerPoint within minutes? Let’s answer the most important question first.

1. Insert Excel Chart in PowerPoint

You have the table or chart ready in the Excel spreadsheet, and now you want to insert the table from Excel to PowerPoint. There are different options when you paste a table or chart into PowerPoint. Follow these steps to insert an Excel chart in PowerPoint.

Step 1: Copy the Chart from Excel

Open the Excel sheet on your computer and copy the table or chart that you want to insert in the PowerPoint slide. Use CTRL+C or right-click and copy option to copy the chart from Excel.

Step 2: Open PowerPoint >> Paste Chart

Your desired table or chart is copied; now open PowerPoint presentation and select the slide where you want to paste the Excel table. Use CTRL+V, right-click, and paste or paste the option from the top menu.

When you paste the chart into PowerPoint, there are five different options. Every option offers certain functionality. Let’s discuss all possible options for pasting a chart from Excel into PowerPoint.

1. Use Destination Theme

As the name suggests, when pasting data, chart will use the theme of the PowerPoint. This option is used when you have to keep every element of the presentation in single theme. Instead of using the theme of the Excel sheet, chart uses the theme or style of the slides.

2. Keep Source Formatting

If the formatting in Excel sheet is better than PowerPoint and you want to keep the theme of the Excel sheet, use the second option while pasting your chart. This option will not follow the theme of the PowerPoint presentation. Same chart or table will appear in PowerPoint as Excel sheet.

3. Keep Destination/Source Formatting & Link Data

Options 3 and 4 are quite interesting and useful. The user can keep the source or destination formatting but also link data. What does it mean?

Using “link data” option means that any change in the Excel sheet will reflect in PowerPoint too. With this option, you see the copy of the Excel chart in the PowerPoint. When you click on “Edit” chart in PowerPoint, the Excel sheet will open and any change in the Excel will automatically appear in the PowerPoint chart.

4. Paste as Picture

All of the above-mentioned methods to paste a table in PowerPoint from Excel allow editing and modifying data without or without linking. What if you want to restrict editing of data in PowerPoint?

Simply use the last option and paste chart from Excel as picture in PowerPoint slide. This option will paste the Excel chart as a snapshot of the sheet.

Insert Excel File into PowerPoint as an Object

For too big Excel files, it may not be possible to copy and paste Excel sheets into PowerPoint. The other way to add Excel in PowerPoint is to add Excel as an object.

This method will create a preview of the Excel file in the slide and double click on the preview will open the Excel editor to edit and modify the data. Instead of displaying all data of the sheets, you just display the preview of the Excel sheets.

If interested, Excel sheet can be accessed directly from the slide. Follow the steps below to insert Excel data in PowerPoint as an object. This will add entire Excel file in PowerPoint.

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Conclusion- Insert Excel Data in PowerPoint

These were some useful and easier methods to insert Excel charts and data into PowerPoint. Every method offers some unique functionalities that you can explore. In the age of AI, don’t let the conventional methods limit your creativity. Try ChatGPT for PowerPoint now and take the lead.

Frequently asked questions

Copy and paste the table from Excel into PowerPoint like a chart, and then choose any option to paste that suits your project needs.

After copying data from Excel, go to PowerPoint and choose “paste as an image” and your Excel data will be displayed as an image. This method is useful when you want to restrict the editing feature.

Use the insert option and then add Excel file as an object. This will add the Excel file as an object. This method is useful for adding larger files with lots of data.