How to keep your Excel and PowerPoint tables in sync

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If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you spend time working with numbers in Excel. If you’ve done an analysis in Excel, you probably know the effort it takes to replicate your formatting in a PowerPoint table for a presentation.

This month, we’ll be showing you the ins and outs of this process and how to save time bringing your Excel tables to PowerPoint.

Enjoy the read!

Copying tables from Excel to PowerPoint

There are several options for bringing your Excel data into a PowerPoint table. However, each method has its quirks that affect:

• The formatting within PowerPoint.
• The connection between Excel and PowerPoint.
• How you can update any numbers in PowerPoint.

Use destination styles

Using destination styles is the default method for a simple copy and paste. This is what you’ll get if you use CTRL+C on the range of cells in Excel and CTRL+V in PowerPoint.

The table is pasted in the style of your current PowerPoint theme. You can then edit the cells just like if you had built the table directly in PowerPoint.

Using destination styles is helpful, but the table will likely require some fine-tuning, like applying bold, making color changes, etc. to fit with your overall slide layout.

Importantly, when you use this method, the data in your PowerPoint table isn’t connected to your Excel. Any changes to the Excel numbers will require a manual update to the slide. Also, by using the destination style based on your presentation’s theme, you’ll lose any formatting you’ve already made in Excel.

Keep source formatting

If you have set specific formatting in Excel and you don’t want to lose it in your PowerPoint presentation, then ‘keep source formatting’ is the option to choose.

Each copied cell is editable in a PowerPoint table, but the format, such as colors, alignments, or even conditional formatting, remains the same as your Excel table.

Like using destination styles, there’s no connection to Excel. Any changes to Excel require a manual update to the slide.

Embed

Embedding is an option if you want Excel functionality directly within PowerPoint. Your Excel table initially appears in PowerPoint, much like when you choose to keep source formatting. However, clicking on the table in PowerPoint lets you edit the cells within a copy of your Excel.

The downside is that the embedded Excel interface is very cumbersome, and it’s difficult to make changes within PowerPoint. Also, embedding only makes a copy of your original Excel file. So, as with the other options, any changes you make to the original file won’t be reflected in PowerPoint.

Picture

This option pastes your Excel table as an image. The data and formatting can’t be edited on the slide, but you can move or resize the image like you would with any other picture.

This can be useful if you want to capture a snapshot of what your Excel file looks like at the moment it’s pasted, and you don’t want to worry about it changing later. However, if you do want to reflect changes you make in Excel, it means you’ll need to copy and paste the image again, as the updates won’t be applied automatically.

Keep text only

If you choose to keep text only, PowerPoint removes all formatting from the Excel table, only keeping the text.

This can be practical when you’re copying a single text-heavy cell, but it isn’t at all suitable for data ranges, as you lose the tabular structure (as seen in the the image above).

Linking Excel to PowerPoint with paste special

Using the Paste Special option, you can insert tables in PowerPoint that are synced to Excel. When you update the data and formatting in Excel, your changes automatically appear in PowerPoint. This feature is convenient if you frequently update your data.

1. In Excel, copy the cell range that you want to paste into PowerPoint.
2. In PowerPoint, on the Home tab, select Paste > Paste Special.
3. Select Paste link, then select Microsoft Excel Worksheet Object and OK.

The cell range appears in PowerPoint as a table with identical formatting to Excel. Any changes that you make to the cell range in Excel will automatically appear in PowerPoint. However, you can't change the table's formatting in PowerPoint. To change the table's formatting, edit the cell range in Excel.

Adding an Excel table to PowerPoint with thinkcell

If you’re a thinkcell user, you have options with a much-improved sync between Excel and PowerPoint.

Whether you choose to keep the original Excel formatting or use an image of the data, you’ll have a live connection between the two sources. Any updates to Excel can be easily reflected in PowerPoint. This means less time spent on formatting and reformatting.

Insert a table with Excel formatting

Create a thinkcell table that matches the formatting defined in Excel. The formatting is still fully editable in PowerPoint, so you can refine it for your slide like you would for any thinkcell table. You can also keep the live sync and seamlessly reflect any formatting changes you make in Excel.

1. In Excel, highlight the cells you want in PowerPoint.
2. Select Link to PowerPoint from the thinkcell tab.
3. Select Table with Formatting and choose where in your presentation to add the table.

This method is ideal if your Excel is regularly updated, whether in formatting or in the numbers. Also, inserting with Excel formatting is useful if your company uses specific formatting (e.g., number format or colors), as this will be maintained in PowerPoint.

Insert an image of your Excel table

If your table must match Excel exactly, you can insert it as an image where formatting is controlled directly in Excel.

1. In Excel, highlight the cells you want in PowerPoint.
2. Click the Link to PowerPoint button in the thinkcell tab.
3. Select Table as Image and choose where in your presentation to add the table.

Even though this is an image, you can automatically reflect any changes in Excel on the slide. This saves precious time and eliminates the need to copy and paste repeatedly. This method is especially invaluable when working with sensitive numbers that need full confidence.

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