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Have you ever needed to include data from Excel or a slide from PowerPoint in your
Word document? This note shows you how to use copy and paste to get the best
results. It also covers how to create a link between documents so that pasted data is
updated automatically.
The right tool for the job
Microsoft Office applications each have a specific purpose. While it is possible to use
formulas in Word and type text into Excel, you should always use the best tool for the
job. But what if you want to bring together elements from different applications?
Microsoft Office makes it easy to combine text, figures and graphics in a single
document.
Linking and embedding – what’s the difference
As well as simply copying an item from one application and pasting it into another, you
can insert it as a linked or embedded object. The main difference between linked and
embedded objects is where the data is stored and how you update it.
When you link an object, the information in the file you have copied it to (the
destination) is updated if you modify the source file.
When you embed an object, the destination file does not change when you modify the
source, but you can edit the object from within the destination file using the source
application.
Using Excel data in Word
If you have data in an Excel worksheet, you can copy and paste cells into your Word
document. However, instead of simply clicking on the Paste icon, click on the down
arrow
below it to display the Paste Options gallery.
Working together with Word, Excel and PowerPoint 2013
Working together with Word, Excel and
PowerPoint 2013
This allows you to paste the cells in different formats.
Running your cursor over the options will show you
how the data will look.
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The paste options
Keep Source Formatting
Retains worksheet formatting.
Use Destination Styles
Applies default table style (normally a simple grid).
Link & Keep Source Formatting
Creates a link and retains worksheet formatting.
Link & Use Destination Styles
Creates a link and applies the default table style.
Picture
Inserts as image.
Keep Text Only
Inserts as text and tabs.
Tip: If your copied table is wider than the page, try this. On the Table
Tools Layout tab, click on AutoFit and select AutoFit Window. Word will
attempt to fit the table onto the page.
Using the link options
Rather than simply copying the data, you can use the Link options in the Paste Options gallery to
create a link between the files. If you edit the data in the source file, the destination file will be
updated as well. This can be useful if you have a document that is regularly updated with figures
from a spreadsheet, such as a monthly report.
When you open a document containing a linked object you will be prompted to update it with the
data from the linked file.
If the document is already open, and it does not update automatically when you make a change to
the source file, you can update it manually. To do this, right-click on the linked object and select
Update Link.
Note: Only data in the range you originally selected will be updated. If
you want to include additional rows or columns, you will have to repeat the
copy and paste link operation. If you know you will be inserting rows or
columns later – for months, for example – a workaround is to copy the
range as it will be in its final version, then in Excel, hide the rows or columns
you don’t want to appear (Format – Hide & Unhide). When you want the
hidden data to appear in Word, select the rows or columns above and below
the hidden ones and unhide them, then update the link in the document.
Using Paste Special
Paste Special in the Paste Options gallery includes some additional formats.
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To create a link, select Paste link on the left. The most commonly used options are Microsoft Excel
Worksheet Object and Formatted Text (RTF).
Microsoft Excel Worksheet Object allows you
to double-click on the object in the Word
document to open the source file in Excel. You
cannot use Word’s table formatting, however.
Formatted Text (RTF) pastes the data as a
table you can format.
Unformatted Text is useful if you want to
paste individual Excel cells into a paragraph of
text in Word, rather than having them appear
in a separate table.
If you paste the data as a Microsoft Excel Worksheet Object, Office
inserts the entire workbook, not just the copied cells. This means that
anyone double-clicking on the object will have access to everything in the
Excel file – this is something you might not want to happen!
Managing links
Changing the source file
If you move or rename a source file, the link will break. To re-establish the link, open the
destination file, click on the File tab and on Edit Links to Files at the bottom of the panel on the
right to open the Links dialog box. (Note that you will only see this option if you have links in your
document.)
Select the link to the moved or renamed file
and click on Change Source. Navigate to the file
and click Open.
If you have several links to the same file, you
will have to repeat the operation. You can hold
down [Ctrl] or [Shift] to select multiple links –
the Change source dialog box will open for each
link.
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Breaking links
If you send a document that includes links to other people, they will see an error message if they
try to update the file since the links will have broken. If you have finished editing your document,
you can prevent the errors by breaking the links manually before sending it.
Click on the File tab and on Edit Links to Files at the bottom right. Select all the links and click on
Break Link. Once a link is broken it cannot be reinstated – you will have to redo the copy and
paste.
Note: If you delete a linked object from your Word document, you must
also break the link. Simply deleting the object does not remove the link –
you will still get prompts to update it. The object will also reappear if you do
update.
Locking the linked object
If you don’t want to break the link, but do want to prevent changes to the source file affecting the
linked object, you can lock the object until you are ready. For example, you might want to present
a snapshot of the data at a specific time, but still be able to work on the figures in the source file
without the destination file being updated.
In the Links dialog box, click on the link and under Update method for selected link, click Locked.
When you want the object to update again, deselect Locked.
Note that if you want to prevent the source file from being changed by anyone else, you can
protect it – click on File and on the Protect Document button. You can encrypt with a password or
restrict editing access.
Copying Excel charts
You can copy Excel charts in the same way as cells; however the paste options are slightly
different.
In Word, click on the down arrow at Paste to display the Paste Options gallery.
As well as the link options, Use Destination Theme & Link Data and
Keep Source Formatting & Link Data, there are also options to Use
Destination Theme & Embed Workbook and Keep Source Formatting
& Embed Workbook.
These do not create a link, but do allow you to edit the data. To do this, right-click on the chart in
Word and select Edit Data to open a Chart in Microsoft Word datasheet, or Edit in Excel 2013 to
open Excel. Note that this does not change the data in the original Excel spreadsheet.
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Inserting an Excel spreadsheet into Word
You can insert an entire spreadsheet into Word without copying and pasting.
In Word, click on the Insert tab and in the Text group, click on Object . Click on the Create from
File tab, browse to your spreadsheet and click Insert. If you want to create a link, click Link to file.
Note that this will place all the data on the sheet onto the Word page. You can resize the Excel
object if necessary.
To modify the data, double-click on the object – the file opens in Excel. If you created a link, the
object will also update in the Word document.
Copying from PowerPoint into Word
You can copy individual objects or an entire slide from PowerPoint into a Word document.
Copying objects
If you have used SmartArt to create a diagram, copying it into Word is easy. Select Use Destination
Theme or Keep Source Formatting from the Paste Options gallery, to paste it as a SmartArt
graphic which you can also edit in Word. If you paste it as a Picture, you can’t edit it as SmartArt,
but you can use the Picture Tools Format options to change how it looks.
If you have created a diagram using shapes or pictures, grouping everything together in
PowerPoint first makes it easier to copy them without leaving bits behind. Select all the objects
and in the Arrange group, select Group.
Shapes and grouped objects pasted using the Use Destination Theme and Keep Source
Formatting options on the Paste Options gallery become ‘floating’ drawing objects. They will sit
on top of any text and can be dragged around on the page. Shapes and images can be edited in
Word using the Drawing Tools and Picture Tools tabs.
If you paste them using the Picture option, however, they become ‘inline’ images – that is, they
become part of the paragraph they have been pasted into and will only move with that paragraph.
Note that ungrouped images copied from PowerPoint will be pasted as inline regardless of which
option you choose. To change the wrap setting, click on the Layout Options button.
For more information on positioning images, see the note Working with Images in Word 2013 in
our Documents Catalogue at www.ed.ac.uk/is/skills/documents-catalogue.
Note that you can’t paste objects copied from PowerPoint as links, only full slides.
Copying slides
To copy an entire slide, click on it in the Slides pane or in Slide Sorter view and select Copy. The
only options available in Word’s Paste Options gallery are Keep Source Formatting and Picture.
The only difference between them is a slight colour change.
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For more choices, click on Paste Special. The options available here are Microsoft PowerPoint
Slide Object, Bitmap and Picture. The Picture options will give you slightly different resolutions
and colours. Pasting as a Slide Object allows you to double-click to open the slide in PowerPoint.
To create a link, select Paste Special and click Paste Link. Avoid using Bitmap since this tends to
generate an error message.
Note: It is not possible to select multiple slides, paste them all into
Word. Only the first slide will display; although if you use Paste Special to
paste them as an object, you can double-click to view them in PowerPoint.
To avoid having to copy and paste each slide separately, open the clipboard
first and copy them (you will have to copy one at a time). Then you can use
Paste All. See Using the clipboard below.
Using the clipboard
The Windows clipboard only stores one copied item at a time. However, the Office clipboard
stores up to 24 cut or copied items in a session, including items from non-Office applications, such
as text from a website. You can paste these items into any Office document. This means that you
can copy several items from one document and paste them into another without having to jump
backwards and forwards between the documents.
Note that if you close all Office applications, the clipboard will be cleared of all but the last item
you copied. If you shut down or log off, it will be cleared completely.
You must first open the clipboard to be able to use it. To do this, on the Home tab, click the dialog
box launcher in the Clipboard group . The Clipboard pane opens on the left of the screen. As you
copy or cut items they are added to the top of the list.
If the clipboard is displayed in an active application, you will see the icon on the taskbar at the
bottom of the screen. You can launch another application and double-click on the icon to open the
clipboard. Alternatively, open it from the Clipboard group.
To paste an item from the clipboard, click on it in the pane. (Note that the Paste option on the
Home tab will only paste the last item copied.)
You can delete an individual item from the clipboard by clicking the arrow next to it and selecting
Delete. To delete all items, click Clear All.
To paste everything on the clipboard at once, click Paste All.
You can control how the clipboard is displayed by clicking the Options button at the bottom of the
pane.
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Note: The option to paste items as links is not available from the
clipboard. To do this, you will have to use the Paste Options gallery or Paste
Special.
Creating Word handouts from PowerPoint slides
Although you can create printed handouts directly from the Print option on the File tab in
PowerPoint, you can also export the slides to a Word document. The advantage of this is that you
can add your own formatting, such as headers and footers, and also use the file elsewhere, in an
email, for example.
In PowerPoint, click on the File tab and on Export. Click on Create Handouts and on Create
Handouts again to display the Send to Microsoft Word dialog box.
Choose a layout option.
If you want updates to the slides reflected in the Word document,
select Paste link. Note that changes will not include any slides you
delete or add after pasting the link.
When you open the Word document, you will be prompted to update
the links. If the document is already open, click on the File tab and on
Edit Links to Files. Select all the links and click Update Now. A
shortcut is to press [Ctrl] and [A] to select everything in the
document then press [F9].
Resources
For more information on Word features and functions, see the Working with Text section on our
Documents Catalogue at www.ed.ac.uk/is/skills/documents-catalogue.
For information on our training courses, see www.ed.ac.uk/is/skills.
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