Have you created a present­a­tion in Power­Point and want to insert an Excel spread­sheet into it? It’s re­l­at­ively simple and straight­for­ward, since Microsoft Office products are highly com­pat­ible. You basically have three options to choose from: You can link or embed an Excel spread­sheet in Power­Point, create a new Excel spread­sheet in Power­Point or insert an existing Excel spread­sheet into Power­Point as an image. In this guide, we’ll explain the dif­fer­ences between these options and give you step-by-step in­struc­tions.

Linking Power­Point to Excel: Ad­vant­ages and in­struc­tions

Have you created an Excel spread­sheet and want to show its contents in Power­Point, but still be able to edit the spread­sheet later? In that case, you should insert the Excel file into your Power­Point by creating a link to the Excel data. Changes to your original Excel spread­sheet will then be auto­mat­ic­ally updated in your present­a­tion when you reopen the file after saving and closing.

Proceed as follows:

  1. Open your Power­Point present­a­tion and position your cursor in the place where you want to insert the Excel data in the slide. In the menu bar of the ‘Insert’ tab, select the Object button.
Image: PowerPoint ‘Insert’ tab: ‘Object’ button
On the ‘Insert’ tab, select ‘Object’.
  1. A dialogue box appears. Click Create from file and select the file location of your Excel worksheet. Finally, select the Link checkbox and click OK. The spread­sheet has now been inserted into your present­a­tion. If necessary, you can adjust the size of the spread­sheet using the ap­pro­pri­ate Power­Point shortcut.
Image: ‘Insert Object’ dialogue in PowerPoint
In the ‘Insert Object’ dialogue box, select ‘Create from file’.
  1. If you want to edit your Excel spread­sheet, double-click the spread­sheet you inserted into Power­Point. You will auto­mat­ic­ally be taken to your spread­sheet, opened in Excel.
Tip

With Microsoft 365 from IONOS, you can work on your documents in any Office ap­plic­a­tion from any location and on different devices. Inserting an Excel spread­sheet into Word is also a cinch with the Office suite.

How to create a new Excel spread­sheet in Power­Point

Want to create a new spread­sheet for your Power­Point present­a­tion and still be able to use Excel’s functions? In that case, you can create the Excel spread­sheet directly in Power­Point. Here’s how it’s done:

  1. Open your Power­Point present­a­tion and place the cursor exactly where you want your spread­sheet to appear in the slide. Open the ‘Insert’ tab and click Table.
  2. Select Excel Spread­sheet or Insert table at the bottom of the dropdown menu.
Image: PowerPoint: Insert Excel Spreadsheet
On the ‘Insert’ tab in Power­Point, select ‘Table’ and then ‘Excel Spread­sheet’ or ‘Insert table’.
  1. Power­Point will create an empty spread­sheet. You can now add your content. All the functions you already know from Excel are available in the Power­Point menu. When you’re finished with your spread­sheet, click outside the spread­sheet to return to your Power­Point menu.
Image: Spreadsheet in PowerPoint with Excel functions
You can use Excel functions to edit the spread­sheet you created in Power­Point.

Inserting an Excel spread­sheet into Power­Point as a picture

What if you no longer need to make changes to an Excel spread­sheet and you simply want to insert it into Power­Point while main­tain­ing the existing format­ting? In that case, you can insert the spread­sheet as a picture:

  1. First, open your Excel spread­sheet and use your cursor to select the entire spread­sheet or the section of data that you want to show in your Power­Point present­a­tion. Copy the selected area either by right-clicking and choosing Copy or using the Excel shortcut Ctrl + C.
Image: Select and copy the Excel spreadsheet
Select and copy the data in your Excel spread­sheet that you want to paste into Power­Point.
  1. Now open the Power­Point present­a­tion and position your cursor in the place where you want the Excel data to appear in the slide. Under ‘Home’, select the ‘Paste’ button and then Picture.
Image: Pasting a picture into PowerPoint
Paste the picture by choosing ‘Home’ and ‘Paste’.
  1. You can then freely adjust the size of the table as you would any image.
Note

If your Power­Point present­a­tion is very long, use the Power­Point outline view to maintain a general overview and make your work much easier.

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